module 09 demos and retrospectives gla

Agile Training

©2010 David Consulting Group

09 Demonstrations and Retrospectives

2013The David Consulting Group

Tom Cagley, CFPS, CSMVP of Consulting


The Scrum Process

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Days

Burn-up Chart Example

Done

24 Hours

1-2 Weeks

Daily Standup

Iteration BacklogProduct

Backlog

Continuous Reporting

Demo

Iteration Planning

PotentiallyShippable

Retrospective


Sample Two Week Iteration Calendar

Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting

Demo (1 hour)

Retrospective(1 hour)

Iteration Planning (2-4 Hours)

Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting

Itera

tion

1

Pre-Planning Meeting (1 hour)

Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting

Demo (1 hour)

Retrospective(1 hour)

Iteration Planning (2-4 Hours)

Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting Standup Meeting

Itera

tion

2

Pre-Planning Meeting (1 hour)


The Hurdle: Done

• Definition of Done is a simple list of activities that add verifiable/demonstrable value to the product.

• Focused on value-added steps to allow the team to focus on what must be completed in order to build software while eliminating wasteful activities.

• Agreed in advance of the iteration.

Source: http://www.scrumalliance.org/articles/105-what-is-definition-of-done-dod

Definition of Done•writing code•commenting code •unit testing•integration testing•creating release notes•creating design documents•user testing•training completed


Planning the Iteration Demo / Review Meeting

• Scheduled by the Scrum Master for the last day of the iteration

• Target 1 hour to complete• Includes all members of the core team, and external

stakeholders such as IT Leadership, clients, and business users


Running the Iteration Demo#1 – Setup the Demonstration

– Make introductions, if necessary.– Review the business goals or theme of the iteration (if appropriate)– Identify issues or challenges that impacted the iteration goals. – Explain what the demo will show and what won't be working or is intentionally

'mocked' or stubbed out. #2 – Run the Demonstration

– Review the specific user story that will be demonstrated– Demonstrate the system or solution, ideally with the Product Owner talking and

someone managing the keyboard/mouse. – Capture any defects or issues and update backlog

#3 – Ask for Feedback– When the demo is over, ask for feedback and also ask if the sponsors and

stakeholders think things are on track (solicit feedback when the experience is fresh in their minds).


Avoid If At All Possible

• Some things to avoid when showing a demo include:

– software code – graphs or “stoplight” success indicators of unit tests – excessive emphasis on PowerPoint slides or

screenshots of what the system should look like – Product Owner surprises


Possible Outcomes Of A Demo

Applause!


Sprint Retrospective Meeting

• Scheduled by the Scrum Master and held directly after the demo, and before Iteration planning

• Target 1 hour to complete• Purpose is for Scrum team to discuss

– What went well– What did not go well– What can be improved in subsequent sprints


How To: Retrospectives Overview

• Retrospectives can be applied for Iterations, Releases and Surprise

• Process– Norm Kerth's Prime Directive– Brainstorming (30 minutes ish)– Affinity Diagramming / Mute Mapping (10 minutes ish)– Retrospective objective (20 minutes ish)


How To: Norm Kerth’s Prime Directive

Regardless of what we discover today, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.

• Ask each attendee in turn if he agrees to the Prime Directive • Get a verbal "yes“ (IMPORTANT TO GET A VERBAL YES)• If not, I ask if he can set aside his skepticism just for this one meeting.

If an attendee still won't agree, don't conduct the retrospective.


How To: Brainstorming

• Hand out index cards and pencils, then write the following headings on the whiteboard:

– Enjoyable– Frustrating– Puzzling– Same– More– Less

• Ask the group to reflect on the events of the iteration and brainstorm ideas that fall into these categories. Write each idea on a separate index card.

• Note ask each person to call out the idea as they write it.


How To: Affinity Diagramming / Mute Grouping• Ask the whole group to go to the board and

group the ideas– Put related cards together– Put unrelated cards far apart– No talking

• Once complete the facilitator will circle groups and discuss the name of the group

• When named vote on which categories to improve during the next iteration.

• Hand out little stickers to represent votes. Give each person five votes.

• Participants can put all their votes on one category if they wish, or spread their votes.


How To: Retrospective Objective / Fix One Thing

• After the voting ends, one category should be the clear winner. If not, don't spend too much time on it; flip a coin or something.

• Discard the cards from the other categories. • Frustrated that your favorite category lost? Wait a month or two. If it's

important, it will win eventually.• Come up with options for improving the ONE category.

– Brainstorm some ideas. Half a dozen should suffice.– Don't be too detailed when coming up with ideas for improvement. A general

direction is good enough.

• When you have several ideas, ask the group which one they think is best. If there isn't a clear consensus, vote.

• This final vote is your retrospective objective. Pick just one!• To encourage follow-through, make the retrospective objective part of

the iteration.


Questions . . .

Tom CagleyVP of ConsultingThe David Consulting [email protected](440) 668-5717

mailto:[email protected]

module 09 demos and retrospectives gla

Technology