Agile inception : how to start an agile project ? David Draper, Agile Coach, Valtech UK David.Draper@valtech.co.uk Agile Day 2012 Valtech

1. OBJECTIVES!
By attending this Webinar you will learn:
• Why do we need Inception for Agile projects?
• How to understand stakeholder and user needs
• How to work breadth first
• How to satisfy your organisations needs for budget and
scope certainty without sacrificing Agility

2. SETTING AN AGILE PROJECT UP
FOR SUCCESS!
DAVID DRAPER // HEAD OF ENABLEMENT //
VALTECH UK

3. How do you embark on a new
project?

4. Ò WHAT IS INCEPTION?
Ò OUR APPROACH
Ò TOOLBOX
Ò OUTPUTS

5. INCEPTION TAKES
AN IDEA AND
ELABORATES IT
JUST ENOUGH!

6. JUST ENOUGH FOR WHAT?!
Ò Rough project “shape”
Who benefits?
Who is impacted?
Ò Rough costs

7. RESISTING
ANALYSIS
PARALYSIS!

8. UP-FRONT ANALYSIS CAUSES
INCREASED COST AND
UNUSED FEATURES

9. FIXED PRICE
CONTRACTS DRIVE
BEHAVIOUR
THROUGH FEAR OF
CHANGE!

10. COLLABORATIVE OR CONTRACTUAL?!
“LET’S FIGURE OUT TOGETHER THE
BEST WAY TO MEET YOUR GOALS”
“TELL US PRECISELY WHAT
YOU WANT US TO BUILD”

11. THE PROBLEM WITH REQUIREMENTS …
… MOST OF THEM AREN’T!

12. AGILE REQUIREMENTS PRINCIPLES!
Ò FOCUS ON THE GOALS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS
Ò BRING MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES TOGETHER
Ò DO NOT COMMIT TO DETAILS UNTIL NECESSARY

13. WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS WANT?!
Ò REDUCED TIME-TO-MARKET
Ò OUTCOMES REACHED
REVENUE PROTECTION
REVENUE GENERATION
COST SAVING
Ò FINANCIAL DILIGENCE

14. OUR APPROACH

15. FOLLOW
THE
VALUE!

16. INCREMENTAL
DELIVERY!

17. EVERY PROJECT IS DIFFERENT!
Ò Usability
Ò Technology Up-lift
Ò Social platform
Ò Commerce
Ò Integration
17

18. THE INCEPTION FRAMEWORK!
KICK-OFF
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
SOLUTION DESIGN
SOLUTION DELIVERY PLANNING
CONCLUSION

19. MINIMUM MARKETABLE FEATURES
SYSTEM CONTEXT
BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS
PRAGMATIC PERSONAS
LIKES & DISLIKES
UI DESIGN USER STORY MAPPING
RELEASE THEMES
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
VISION STATEMENT
PAIN POINTS UI WIREFRAMES
NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
TRADE-OFF SLIDERS USER STORIES
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

21. TOOLBOX

22. VISION!
For (target customer)
Who (statement of the need or opportunity)
The (product name) is a (product category)
That (key benefit, compelling reason to buy)
Unlike (primary competitive alternative)
Our product (statement of primary
differentiation)
taken from Geoffrey Moore’s book Crossing the Chasm

23. STAKEHOLDERS!
Ò Who cares?
Ò Permission giver
Ò Interested party
Ò Information source
Ò What makes them tick?
23

24. PERSONAS!
Ò MARKET SEGMENTATION FOR DUMMIES

25. 25!

26. MMFS!
Ò MINIMUM
How small can a product be and still deliver benefit to
someone?
Benefit can be in the form of new information, a marketing
demo or a new feature for end users
Ò MARKETABLE
Each increment should deliver recognisable value
Ò FEATURES
Some features cannot stand alone
Others can be split

27. WIREFRAMES!
Ò Engage stakeholders with
interactive mock ups
Ò Long term and short term
view

29. VISION
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
STAKEHOLDERS / ACTORS
CANDIDATE ARCHITECTURE / UI WIRE FRAMES
MMF 1 MMF 2 MMF 3
HIGH LEVEL
ELABORATED STORIES
STORIES

30. WHAT DO YOU GET?

31. OUTPUTS!
Ò SHARED VISION
Ò ENGAGED STAKEHOLDERS
Ò PERSONA ANALYSIS
Ò ROADMAP & RELEASE STRATEGY
Ò PRODUCT BACKLOG
Ò TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE
Ò UX / UI MOCK-UPS

32. … AND THE OPTION TO HAVE VALTECH DELIVER IT!
Ò RESOURCE PROFILE
Ò DELIVERY APPROACH
Ò ADRID
Assumptions, decisions, risks, issues, dependencies
Ò ENGAGEMENT MODEL
Ò INDICATIVE PRICING BY STAGE

33. AT WHAT COST!
Ò 2-3 WEEKS
Ò MULTI-SKILLED TEAM
ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
BUSNESS ANALYST
TECHNICAL ARCHITECT
USER EXPERIENCE CONSULTANT

34. Thank you