the scrum product owner practice surviving the agile rollercoaster as part of a product owner team...
TRANSCRIPT
The Scrum
Product Owner
PracticeSurviving the Agile
rollercoaster as part of a product owner team
Jeff [email protected]
AgileProductDesign.com
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 2
©Alistair Cockburn2005-6 Slide 3
PEOPLE Learn Skills in a 3-stage Progression: Follow / Break Away / Achieve Fluency
Level 1: following (shu)Learn “a technique that works”(Success = following the technique)
Level 2: breaking away ( ha )Learn limits of the technique
Learn to shift between techniques
Level 3: fluent ( ri )Shift techniques at any momentPossibly unable to describe the shifts
We will use this progression throughout the course.
3
Today I’ll cover 3 areas
1. Models to help us understand product design
2. Practice that supports product design
3. Product design practice in the Scrum Product Owner team
4
Before we start, on a bit of paper, or in a notebook, write
down your biggest, most burning question regarding:
Scrum, Agile Development,
the Product Owner Role, or life in general.
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 5
By “Design” I mean the decisions we make regarding the software solution we choose to build.
“The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding precisely what to build.”
-- Fred Brooks In his 1987 essay “No Silver Bullet”
"A requirement is a relationship to a decision: If you get to make or change the decision, it's design to you; if you don't get to make or change that decision, it's a requirement to you."
-- Alistair Cockburn
6
Garrett’s Elements of User Experience Model describes a series of dependent decisions.
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 7
Software user experience is built from dependent layers
Jesse James Garrett’s Elements of User Experience: http://www.jjg.net/elements/
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 8
The surface layer describes finished visual design aspects
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 9
The skeleton describes screen layout and functional compartments in the screen
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 10
Structure defines navigation from place to place in the user interface
task panes
modal dialogs
modal wizards
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 11
The “places” in the user interface are built to support user-task-centric scope
user tasks:• enter numbers• enter text• enter formulas• format cells• sort information• filter information• aggregate information• graph data• save data• import data • export data• print • …..
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 12
Business goals drive user constituencies choices and contexts supported to form strategy
business goals:• displace competitive products• motivate sale of other
integrated products• establish file format as default
information sharing format• …user constituencies:• accountant• business planner• housewife• …usage contexts:• office desktop• laptop on airplane• pda in car• …
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 13
Garret’s Elements of UX stack can apply to the user experience of other complex products
These layers of concern apply not only to software but a
variety of products.
In particular, products that support a wide variety of user tasks benefit from this kind of
thinking.
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 14
Let’s look at the strategy for a product we all use: the place we live
goals:• live comfortably • eat well• stay clean• be healthy• keep up with Jones’s• …user constituencies:• me• spouse• child• …usage contexts:• suburban neighborhood• near good schools• near shopping• …
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 15
What might I, and my other user constituencies, do to reach our goals?
user tasks:• store food• prepare food• eat food• sleep• bathe• store changes of clothing• stay out of rain• entertain guests• entertain self• …
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 16
Arranging tasks by affinity allows me to think about contexts that best support tasks. Contexts in a home have common names we all know.
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 17
When designing a particular interactioncontext such as a “kitchen,” I optimize layout and tool choices to support tasks I’ll do there
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 18
“I’m going to spend a lot of time here, I want my experience to be as pleasant as possible…”
Surface
Skeleton
Structure
Scope
Strategy
19
Underneath Garrett’s model is a simple 3
layer model
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 20
Norman’s simple model for a human in pursuit of a goal
problem or goal
How I’d like to feel, or what I’d like to achieve
take some
action action evaluation did that action deliver that results
I expected?
goal evaluation is my goal met or problem
resolved?
the worldinformation and tools
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 21
Distilling this down to goals, tasks, and tools
problem or goal
How I’d like to feel, or what I’d like to achieve
the worldinformation and tools
take some
action action evaluation did that action deliver that results
I expected?
goal evaluation is my goal met or problem
resolved?
goal
task
tool
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 22
software
Software contains features that support a number of tasks and a number of goals
goals
tasks
toolsfeatures
23
One last model looks at a design process that alternates between
problem analysis and solution definition
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 24
Design alternates between analyzing the problem context and exploring possible solutions
Often, design starts with a candidate solution in mind. Exploring the problem helps validate the solution. As time passes, problem analysis activities are replaced by solution definition activities.
time
business problems & goals analysis
user research
user modeling
task analysis (how do users achieve goals today?)
task design(how might users better reach goals?)
user scenario writing
Incremental release planning
user interface design
user story writing
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 25
Design alternates between analyzing the problem context and exploring possible solutions
Often, design starts with a candidate solution in mind. Exploring the problem helps validate the solution. As time passes, problem analysis activities are replaced by solution definition activities.
time
business problems & goals analysis
user research
user modeling
task analysis (how do users achieve goals today?)
task design(how might users better reach goals?)
user scenario writing
Incremental release planning
user interface design
user story writing
26
Now let’s look at practices that a
product owner users to move from problem analysis through to solution definition
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 27
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 28
Collaborative centers around model building
[a model is] a description or analogy used to help visualize something (as an atom) that cannot be directly observed
- Merriam-Webster on-line
A goal of a model isn’t completeness or accuracy, but communication
For our purposes: a model is any visual representation of our current understanding of a concept
We’ll build models to understand our problem context, and explore solutions
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 29
Often when we verbally discuss ideas, we may incorrectly believe we have the same understanding
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 30
Representing our ideas as models allows us to detect inconsistencies in our understanding
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 31
Through discussion and iterative model building we arrive at a stronger shared understanding
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 32
Using that common understanding we can work together toward shared objectives
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 33
Low fidelity card models are used to facilitate discussions and build common understanding
Common model forms include: Affinity diagrams Chronological models Decompositions Ad hoc charts
Mix and match as you see fit
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 34
Collaborative modeling looks like this
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 35
1
Collaborative modeling sessions follow a simple, repeatable structure
2 3
Use Collaborative Modeling Sessions to: Build up tacit shared knowledge within the team Build communication and collaboration skills within
the team Help the team to gel as an affective workgroup
Prepare Write a short statement to set goals and scope for
the session Identify participants – 4-8 is ideal Fill These Roles:
Information Suppliers Information Acquirers Information Modelers Facilitator Documenter
Schedule & set up work session facility
Perform Kickoff with goals and scope Get information figuratively and literally on the
table using brainstorming or discussion Model the information to clarify, add details, distill
details, and understand relationships Close by summarizing the results, on camera if
possible
Document & Communicate Capture model with photo and/or movie Document as necessary Post in publicly accessible place Display as a poster
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 36
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
37
Business objectives describes why we’d
choose to buy or build the software
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 38
Look for benefit to the buyer or builder of the software
For software built for internal use: Save money Increase efficiency Solve problems that are costing money or decreasing efficiency Improve customer satisfaction Generate revenue by supporting or improving service offerings
For software built for commercial sale: Generate revenue through sale Improve/expand market share Open new markets
The IRACIS* mnemonic helps us remember to look for business benefit that will
Increase Revenue Avoid Cost Increase Service* Gane & Sarson’s IRACIS model, 1977
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 39
When asking for business goals look for expressions of business problems or desired outcomes
Express goals as business problems or business outcomes
It’s tempting for business stakeholders or users to describe their proposed solution as a goal
Solution-centric goal: “I’d like a cost effective ski parka” Problem-centric goal: “I’d like to stay warm and dry while skiing”
Use root cause analysis to get behind solutions to goals and problems
Toyota’s “5 whys” describes root cause analysis Poking it with “the why stick” is often what my colleagues say
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 40
Use a Goal Question Metric approach to identify appropriate goal metrics
Leverage a simple approach from the GQM methodology
1. Identify and prioritize goals
2. Question each goal:
If we were making progress toward this goal, how would we know?
What would change in the business as a result of reaching this goal?
3. Use answers to these questions to identify metrics for goals
Metrics help quantify ROI Metrics helps justify ongoing development expense The desire to track metrics often generate important product
features
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 41
Good business objectives help validate prospective solutions
A good set of business objectives help us validate the solutions we choose to construct
A good set of business objectives are: short: a single page or slide prioritized measurable
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 42
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 43
Common models such as actors, roles, profiles, & personas describe users
Actor & Goal Often a job title or the common name
for the type of user in a system
User Role Short name describing a user in pursuit
of a goal – users change roles as their goals change
User Profile Adding summary information about the
types of users who fill a role or perform as an actor begins a process of “profiling”
Persona Choosing specific characteristics of a
person and compiling those into a archetypal description of that person creates a strong design target
On-line Shopper: browse and purchase merchandise on line
Customer Support Rep: aid customers over the phone and on line with issues
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 44
Common models such as actors, roles, profiles, & personas describe users
Actor & Goal Often a job title or the common name
for the type of user in a system
User Role Short name describing a user in
pursuit of a goal – users change roles as their goals change
User Profile Adding summary information about the
types of users who fill a role or perform as an actor begins a process of “profiling”
Persona Choosing specific characteristics of a
person and compiling those into a archetypal description of that person creates a strong design target
Casual Browser: pass time by browsing products online
Comparison Shopper: compare price and features for items I wish to buy
Gift Shopper: find a gift for someone that likes the types of products this website sells
Impatient Buyer: find what I need and get through the checkout process quickly
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 45
Common models such as actors, roles, profiles, & personas describe users
Actor & Goal Often a job title or the common name
for the type of user in a system
User Role Short name describing a user in pursuit
of a goal – users change roles as their goals change
User Profile Adding summary information
about the types of users who fill a role or perform as an actor begins a process of “profiling”
Persona Choosing specific characteristics of a
person and compiling those into a archetypal description of that person creates a strong design target
Web Shoppers
Users: 50,000 customer visit this sporting goods website monthly
Activities: browsing, price comparing, gift shopping, handling returns
Computer Skills: vary wildly from first time users to expert – although moderate computer skills are typical
Domain expertise: typical customers are avid outdoor enthusiasts…
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 46
Common models such as actors, roles, profiles, & personas describe users
Actor & Goal Often a job title or the common name for
the type of user in a system
User Role Short name describing a user in pursuit of
a goal – users change roles as their goals change
User Profile Adding summary information about the
types of users who fill a role or perform as an actor begins a process of “profiling”
Persona Choosing specific characteristics of a
person and compiling those into a archetypal description of that person creates a strong design target
Steve races mountain bikes competitively. He shops the web on a regular basis to keep abreast of new equipment releases on the market, and to make sure he has the best equipment he can afford.
He’s used computers for years and considers himself an expert user. He maintains his own website and blogs about his races and upcoming schedule.
Steve relies on reviews from his peers to judge the quality of equipment. He often writes reviews of his own for stuff he’s tried out.
Steve Powellcompetitive mountain biker
“I’m looking for stuff that’ll help me stay ahead of the pack”
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 47
software
Software products support a variety of users and their goals.
tasks
features
goals
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 48
software
In organizations where users are paid to use the software, user goals are driven by business goals
tasks
features
goals
All these goals mean lots of tasks, and lots of potential
features in our software
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 49
Design imperatives describe good characteristics the software should have based on the user type
Inside your user model are clues about the type of user interface and user interface characteristics needed by your user.
Document these as design imperatives.
Think about: ease of learning retention of learning efficiency of interaction reliability of interaction
user satisfaction user convenience necessity for proficiency importance of accuracy
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 50
A good user model helps us identify functional scope and necessary characteristics of the software
A good user model helps: identify functional scope identify necessary characteristics of the software stakeholders understand and empathize with target users validate proposed software solutions
An effective user model is prioritized to help rule out unnecessary functional scope and design imperatives
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 51
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 52
Use simplified workflow models to organize user tasks and represent workflow – this is a Story Map
Draw a left to right axis representing timeIdentify high level activities performed by users of the system and place them above the time axis in the order that seams reasonable
Within each activity, organize tasks in the order they’re most likely completed. There’s likely variation in how they’re completed – so arrange them in a typical order.
If you had to explain the process to someone, arrange them in the order you’d tell the story.
Fill in task details such as business rules or possible features that satisfy the tasks below each task.
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5
time
Activity 1
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 53
A good User Story as used in Scrum and other Agile approaches describes the use of the system
The user story form considered “best practice” in Scrum references your user model and user goals.
As a [type of user]
I want to [perform some task]
so that I can [achieve some goal]
As a harried shopper
I want to locate a CD in the store
so that I can purchase it quickly, leave, and continue with my day.
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 54
user story
In practice user stories may be written to describe user tasks or the tools that support them
software
tasks
features
goalsAs a harried shopper
I want to locate a specific CD in the store
As a harried shopper
I want to enter a CD title into the search box and initiate a product search
More task-centric:
More tool-centric:
start with task-centric user stories early in
product discussion and modeling
fill in feature-centric stories till later
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 55
Building a workflow model helps facilitate discussion – but requires a bit of space
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 56
Workflow or a reasonable sized system can fill a room
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 57
Discussions in front of workflow models are more productive
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 58
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 59
Build paper prototypes from repositionable components
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 60
Test paper prototypes to determine if they’re usable
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 61
Finished prototypes are pieced together from moveable and removable paper components
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 62
Build navigation maps and storyboards to communicate UI design
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 63
Let’s look at a few of many possible product owner team practices
Facilitated collaborative work
Modeling business objectives
Modeling Users
Modeling workflow as user stories: User Story Mapping
Paper prototyping and usability testing
Planning & road-mapping
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 64
Prioritize task details by necessity to help visualize layers of functionality across the business process
Draw a vertical axis to represent necessity
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5
time
Activity 1
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)
Task Detail(Story)ne
cess
ity
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 65
Identify releases in spans of coherent functionality
Choose coherent groups of features that consider the span of business functionality and user activities.
Support all necessary activities with the first release
Improve activity support with subsequent releases
time
optio
nalit
y
necessary
lessoptional
moreoptional
activity 1 activity 2 activity 3 activity 4
first release
second release
third release
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 66
Distill your release plan into a roadmap
EasyPOS Point of Sale Software
Release 1: Replace the cash register
Business: replaces gets rid of old manual cash registers and gets
accurate up the minute sales information across locations
Users: Cashiers get an easier to use cash register that helps them
make less mistakes, correct them when they do, and save time
balancing cash drawers every night.
EasyPOS Point of Sale Software
Release 1: Replace the cash register
Business: replaces gets rid of old manual cash registers and gets
accurate up the minute sales information across locations
Users: Cashiers get an easier to use cash register that helps them
make less mistakes, correct them when they do, and save time
balancing cash drawers every night.
A roadmap serves to clearly communicate release level objectives to stakeholders
For each incremental release: Give the release a name or simple statement describing it’s
purpose Write a short sentence or two describing what value the business
gets from the release Write a short sentence or two describing what value the users get
from the release
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 67
“Bucketing” groups of major functionality or areas of task support is sometimes easier than feature by feature prioritization
68
Where to do all those practices fit in a typical
Scrum lifecycle?
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 69
The simple Scrum snowman process model
70
But, it’s commonly understood the
snowman is missing a couple balls…
Or, that it takes a taller snowman to model product concerns
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 76
Parallel Track Development Separates Design and Evaluation Into One Track, Building Into Another
design & plan
evaluate
build
Product Owner TeamCompositionBusiness AnalystsInteraction DesignersPrototypersResponsibilitiesGather customer input for
features to be implemented in later iterations
Design next iteration features
Be available to answer questions on current iteration development
Test features implemented in the previous iteration
Development teamCompositionSmaller number of
seasoned developersUI development skills &
analysis skillsResponsibilitiesImplement features for
current iterationCollaborate with Product
Owner team to acquire details to construct software
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 77
Pro
duct
Ow
ner
Team
Develo
pm
ent
Team
Design and Coded Features Pass Back and Forth Between Tracks
implement iteration 1 features
•gather user input for iteration 3 features
•design iteration 2 features
•support iteration 1 development
implement iteration 2 featuresfix iteration 1 bugs if any
•gather user input for iteration 4 features
•design iteration 3 features
• support iteration 2 development
•validate iteration 1 features
implement iteration 3 featuresfix iteration 2 bugs if any
•gather user input for iteration 5 features
• design iteration 4 features
• support iteration 3 development
•validate iteration 2 features
•planning•data gathering•design for
iteration 1 features – high technical requirements, low user requirements
•development environment setup
•architectural “spikes”
Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3
feature design
code
d fe
atur
es
time
feature design
+ bugs found in
usability testing
© 2006-2007 Jeff Patton, All rights reserved, www.agileproductdesign.com 78
The product owner team steers development
The product owner team must: Understand layers of dependent decisions that lead to
stories in a backlog Identify stories to meet release level business objectives Defer decomposing and detailing stories until necessary Re-prioritize and create new stories to allow business
objectives to be met within time and budget constraints Business objectives and user objectives are targets –
user stories are the tools that help you reach them
The Scrum
Product Owner
PracticeSurviving the Agile
rollercoaster as part of a product owner team
Jeff [email protected]
AgileProductDesign.com