StoryBox - A story of getting things done the Agile way
1. StoryBox | A Story of getting things done the agile way
Adrian Liem
July 2013
STORYBOX
A story of getting things done
the agile way
2. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
1. Background of UBC
2. The Ask
3. Our Approach
4. The Result
5. Lessons learned
6. Questions
Overview
3. UBC : The University of British Columbia
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Not to be confused with...
”BC” - Boston College
a university in Central America
University Baptist Church
Union of the Baltic Cities
United BioSource Corporation
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation
7. UBC
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
The University of British Columbia
2 campuses: Vancouver and Kelowna, BC, Canada
57,706 students
8,440 international students from 149 countries
11,836 degrees granted
275,000 alumni in 120 countries
10,186 faculty and 6,716 staff
$2 billion annual operating budget
$519 million per year in research funding for 7,990 projects
153 companies spun off from UBC research
$10 billion in economic impact
8. Marketing & Communications
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
UBC Pre-2012
Coordinated by Public Affairs (with limited mandate)
Strong focus on media relations
Some university-wide initiatives (Re-branding 2007)
No formal, central Marcomm team
At the best of times: informal, internal collaboration
At the worst of times...
9. FIEFDOMS IN AN EMPIRE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glodjib/
10. Marcomm at UBC
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
De-centralized, distributed, dispersed
150+ staff with part or full-time responsibility for marcomm
spread across two campuses, multiple satellite locations
no direct line of reporting to central
no central unit with formal responsibility for university-wide
marketing communications strategy
11. 2012: A new beginning
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Communications
and Marketing Office
Brand team
Design team
Web team
P
+ Digital Storyteller
+ Market Researcher
Public Affairs
Office
Media Specialists
Brand team
Design team
Web team
Photographer { hotographer
12. UBC Communications and Marketing
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Our Raison D’Etre
Bring our brand to life
Compel our target audiences to engage with the university
Enable an integrated distributed model of marcomm
13. Integrated whatnow?
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
“Integrated Distributed”
Autonomous entities with formalized ties to central initiatives
Some dual-line reporting, some restructuring
Increased level of collaboration and internal communication
(ask us again in two years)
14. Elevate through Storytelling
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Our Goals
Improve our storytelling CAPACITY
Build our storytelling MUSCLE
Increase storytelling COLLABORATION
16. The Curse
UBC is story-rich
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
17. How can we
find the best ways
to tell the right stories
to our target audiences?
18. How can we
find the best ways
to tell the right stories
to our target audiences?
19. The Needs
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Problems we’re trying to solve
What stories should we tell in this year’s annual report?
Who else within UBC is writing a story on social sustainability?
What has already been written about Professor X?
Our President is travelling to Asia - what stories can he tell
about UBC’s involvement in the Asia Pacific region?
How can we elevate and shine a light on the best stories from
the pockets of campus?
20. The “ask”:
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Help me find UBC stories.
I’m looking for...
Our best stories
Stories about [insert field of research]
Stories relevant to [insert target audience]
Stories happening in [insert international location]
Stories demonstrating [insert strategic pillar]
Stories with photos / video
Fully-fleshed out stories, but also the seeds of an idea for a story
21. Build me a “stories database”
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Situation Analysis
Unclear and undefined requirements
We don’t know what we don’t know
No idea how many stories we have about what/whom
No direct connections to many of our story sources
Complex organizational environment
Embedded culture of decentralization
Juggling multiple projects with limited resources
Need a working solution in 3 months
22. Traditional Approach
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
One Step at a Time
Discovery + Research
User Experience
Design
Develop + Produce
Test > Refine > Test
Release + Take to Market
23. Like a waterfall
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Planning
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Maintenance
24. Waterfall Method
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Stages
Discovery + Research
User Experience
Design
Develop + Produce
Test > Refine > Test
Release + Take to Market
Deliverables
Project Brief, Strategy
IA structure, Wireframes
Mockups/Comps
“Beta” site, Content
QA notes
Big splash campaign
25. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Waterfall
Strengths
Linear
Clear steps
Well-defined
Discrete stages, defined roles
Predictable
Fixed timeframe, fixed budgets
Planning
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Maintenance
27. Waterfall
Risks
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Success hinges on each stage before it
Requirements can change rapidly
Small margin for error
Difficult and costly to change course midway
Learning and knowledge transfer is limited
28. Project-Specific Risks
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Decentralized Environment.
Face many unknowns, takes time to capture full set of needs.
Technically, easy. Organizationally, very hard.
Need widespread participation.
High risk of being thrown a loopball midway through.
Short timeframe.
Don’t have much time to turn-ship.
29. Our Strategy
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Confront the Challenges Head-On
Involve our end-users in the process
Actively solicit and be receptive to feedback
Build prototypes to help define the scope
Be prepared to change course, to “pivot”
30. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
What’s the alternative?
32. Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
aagile
Quick, light, nimble
AAgile
Software development methods
where solutions evolve through
an iterative and incremental
approach.
33. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Our Approach
a A
34. DISCLAIMER
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
I agile.
(but I’m not Spiderman)
35. Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Basics
Reaction to heavyhanded nature of waterfall methods
An iterative and incremental approach
People and interactions over processes and tools
Cross-functional, self-organizing teams
”Customer collaboration”
Build working solutions that can be immediately evaluated
Adapt and respond to change
36. Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Key Principles
Reaction to heavyhanded nature of waterfall methods
An iterative and incremental approach
People and interactions over processes and tools
Cross-functional, self-organizing teams
”Customer collaboration”
Build working solutions that can be immediately evaluated
Adapt and respond to change
37. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
People over Processes + Tools
(But there are still Processes + Tools)
38. User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Short, simple descriptions of a feature
told from the perspective of the person
who desires the new capability.
39. User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
The Template:
As a [type of user],
I want [some goal],
so that [some reason].
40. As a [type of user],
I want [some goal],
so that [some reason].
User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Example
As an Editor for a campus publication,
I want to be able to search for stories by date,
so that I can find stories for our back-to-school edition.
41. Example
As an Editor for a campus publication,
I want to be able to search for stories by date,
so that I can find stories for our back-to-school edition.
User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
User
Goal
Reason
As a [type of user],
I want [some goal],
so that [some reason].
42. Person
Feature
Benefit (motivation)
Example
As an Editor for a campus publication,
I want to be able to search for stories by date,
so that I can find stories for our back-to-school edition.
As a [type of user],
I want [some goal],
so that [some reason].
User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
43. User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Form + Formats
Sticky notes, index cards, spreadsheets, online tools
http://www.flickr.com/photos/expatminister/
44. The Value of User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Benefits
Captures desired features in a simple, concise way
Simplifies task of gathering requirements
Shifts focus from writing about requirements to discussing them
enabling the team to respond faster
45. Scrums
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Rugby: An analogy
- scrum to get the ball
- sprint
- pass the ball back + forth
- go the distance as a unit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/muzzanese/
46. Scrums in Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Scrum: A model for organizing meetings
Planning Meeting
Meetings to organize cycles of work
aka “Sprint Planning Meeting”
Pick user stories to build out during the next “sprint”
Daily Scrums
Timeboxed meeting to provide status updates
What did you work on?
What are you going to work on?
What obstacles do you face?
47. Sprints in Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Sprints: When the work happens
Timeboxed
1 sprint = 1 week to 1 month
Most common length of a sprint: 2 weeks
Outcomes
Set of new features
Designed, developed, tested, ready for release
1 sprint = 1 cycle of work, the next “set” of features
48. Agile
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
SCRUM
Decide what you’re going to do.
SPRINT
Do it.
Scrum Sprint Scrum Sprint Scrum
51. Grooming the Backlog
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Some stories are “epics” and will take more
than 1 sprint.
Example
As a Writer, when I add a new story about social
sustainability, I want the system to email our
photographer, and our Public Affairs office, and
everyone who needs to know about the story.
52. Breaking down an “epic”
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
As a Writer, I want the ability to tag a story with, for example the
words “social sustainability”, so that I can describe my story as
specifically as I can.
As a Writer, I want the system to notify other people that I have
added a story they might be interested in, so that they can read
my story and then decide if they can use it for their own work.
As an Editor, I want the ability to be notified when a particular
type of story, for example a story about “social sustainability”,
has been added to the system, so that I can stay on top of the
latest stories as soon as they’re released.
53. Person
Feature
Benefit (motivation)
Example
As a Writer,
I want the ability to tag a story with, for example the words
“social sustainability”,
so that I can describey my story as specifically as I can.
As a [type of user],
I want [some goal],
so that [some reason].
User Stories
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
54. Product Backlog
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Status + Priority
Broader Feature Set / Epics
58. Agile beyond software
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Where?
Internal consultations
Workshops
What?
Cross-functional teams
Feedback loops
Respond to change
61. Why?Agile beyond software...
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Increases collaboration, collaboration encourages buy-in
Cross-functional teams increases knowledge exchange
Able to adapt to feedback and change
Able to test hypotheses before investing too much time
62. Agile approach to Workshops
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Facilitate cross-functional collaboration
Set up the physical space to support discussions (mini scrums)
Explicitly talk about the desire for feedback, iterations, cycles
Incorporate feedback
Describe what has changed each time (proof points)
Experiment, be prepared to change on the fly
63. Outcomes
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
What we thought we needed
Structured categorization system (Taxonomy)
Open-ended tagging system (Folksonomy)
Open-ended meta-data
64. Outcomes
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
What we actually needed
Structured categorization system (Taxonomy)
Open-ended tagging systems (Folksonomyies)
Open-ended meta-data
+ To build a shared understanding of a “story”
+ Technology to enable workflows not replace them
Multiple
(that could grow over time)
Specific
70. WordPress
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Why?
Suitable
Core features align well with overall goals + needs
Familiar and easy to use
Many staff already using WordPress
Internal expertise in WordPress development
Higher probability of adoption
Sustainable
Technical infrastructure already in place
Flexible
Well-suited for rapid iterations and revisions
71. WordPress
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Basic Setup w/ Customizations
Custom Theme
Custom post type: “Stories”
Custom taxonomies
Open-ended tags
Managed categorization
77. StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Local
Perspective
Institutional
Lens
Bingo!
78.
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84. StoryBox Results
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Zero to working prototype in 1 month
Within 6 months:
500+ stories
139 people
68 units (departments, offices)
Actively used for the 2012/2013 Annual Report
85. StoryBox Next Steps
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Not all roses...
Pressing need to better understand local/distributed needs
and interests
Phase 2
Build further into day-to-day workflows
Tie in to broader storytelling strategy
86. Agile - Why it worked for us
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
Well-defined goals, unknown “end product”
We knew the problem well, we weren’t sure about the solution
Scratching our own itch
We had direct access to our “end users”
We were a sub-set of our end users
Right team, right infrastructure
We had people willing to be agile and to try Agile
We had a suitable technical infrastructure in place
87. Considering Agile?
StoryBox | A story of getting things done the agile way
What to look for
“In-house” projects
Have “T-Shaped” people who work well in teams
Undefined scope, unclear end product
Need for speed, short timeframes
Direct access to target market
88. StoryBox | A Story of getting things done the agile way
Thank you!
Adrian Liem
adrian.liem@ubc.ca
@adrianliem