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Agile Release Planning, Management, and Communication

Resource Systems. Agile Release Planning, Management, and Communication. Agenda. The need for agility History of Product Development Delivery of EPCOT Future Challenges & Recommendations Reflection Questions?. Fueling the Need for Agility. November, 2007 decision to adopt SAAS

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Agile Release Planning, Management, and Communication

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  1. Resource Systems Agile Release Planning, Management, and Communication

  2. Agenda • The need for agility • History of Product Development • Delivery of EPCOT • Future Challenges & Recommendations • Reflection • Questions?

  3. Fueling the Need for Agility • November, 2007 decision to adopt SAAS • Strategic decision expected to yield: • More frequent releases to customers • Steadier stream of income • Efficient Deployment and Support • October 2008 Epcot Deadline • First delivery under the SAAS model • 3 New Product Lines • AHCA Convention & Expo

  4. Some felt excitement…

  5. Product Development Felt…

  6. History of Product Development • 6-8 month release cycles • Confidence in developing, testing, and implementation • 5 member team • 1 main product • Other departments streamlined for success

  7. EPCOT Upends our World • Need to restructure application • New development environment • 3 New product lines • 2-3 Month development windows • 3 New developers http://freedomthirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/world-upside-down.jpg

  8. Initial EPCOT Challenges • Where do we start? • New product lines not yet defined • Not sure of structural change needed • Development and communication silo's • Adding new developers

  9. No Time to Test Waters! http://sweetanniesjewelry.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/comfort-zone2.jpg

  10. We must go… http://www.fullsteamahead.net/buttons/newlogo.jpg

  11. We Adopted Scrum • Agile Development Methodology • Scrum Master Certification • Dissemination of agile values: • Iterative Sprint Delivery • Team Collaboration • Customer Driven Specifications • Daily scrum, retrospective meetings • VS Team Foundation System(TFS) • Daily Builds of Application

  12. EPCOT Reflection • Product Development was relieved when EPCOT reaches beta • Rest of organization is unaware of reality: • We still have backlog to finish • Beta’s are now generating even more backlog • Suddenly we need • Project plan and priorities • To communicate effectively with the organization about our status

  13. Action 1: PCS Enhancements • Home-brewed bug tracking application • Accessible by everyone • Scrum-like enhancements added: • Ability to categorize by sprint • Task Maintenance

  14. Action 2: Created the Project Plan • Required effort of 2 team members • Crucial artifact for Dev Coordination Team and others • It takes a lot of time to maintain it • Call, Email, Walk Over… Do whatever it takes! • Lots of projects and ever changing priorities • Vision was only at 2-3 Months • We don’t have enough time to prepare for releases

  15. Are we really Agile? • No! We’re beginning to revert to old ways • Waterfall Method: Design, Develop, and then Test. • We are able to do the sequential steps within 2-3 months • Scrum Adoption • Was NOT embraced by Business Analysts • No focus on Iterative Development http://www.positive-thinking-for-you.com/images/confidence-jump.jpg

  16. Conclusions & Recommendations • Organized 6 Month Vision • Dev coordination agrees to furnish • Product Development must commit to: • Design specifications that satisfy customer needs • Realistic project timelines • Effective, ongoing communication

  17. #1: Add Product Coordinator • Detail oriented • Maintain project plan • Showcase our critical path • ALWAYS stay up-to-date • Assertive communication skills • Communicate frequently with Dev Coordination Team, Product Development, etc. • Uses internal portal for external communication • Delivery Dates, Project Lists, Date Changes and Why

  18. #2: Improve Our Ability to Predict Delivery Dates • Commitment to iterative development • Flexible project specifications • Meet customer’s actual needs • Ability to mix and match due to time crunch • United effort across Product Development • Scrum is useful for core development processes • Business Analysts should explore others • Dynamic Design Systems: “Must Have”, “Should Have”, “Could Have” categorization of features

  19. #2: Improve Our Ability to Predict Delivery Dates Cont…. • Identify obstacles ASAP • We have daily builds, so let’s use them! • Commit to developer Peer-to-Peer Testing • Better to find bugs early, rather than later. • Informal code reviews • Better resolution times • Knowledge sharing • Maximize “effective” development time • Formalize engineer assignment by product area as needed

  20. #3: Team Created to Evaluate Future Needs • Exponential product growth on horizon • Outsourcing and need for distributed project management capabilities • May need more substantial tools • Team should explore tools like ProjExec® • Online Collaboration and Planning • Real-Time Presence • Alerting

  21. Reflection • Things will NOT Change Overnight • Dev Coordination Struggles to Define 6 Month Vision • We don’t have the right business analyst skill sets • Naturally Comes from Training Team • Can’t be learned by entry-level position. • Current group excels in testing • The one(s) yelling may not be most in need! • Lack of Engineers in Integration Area could rival need for Project Coordinator

  22. Reflection Cont. • “If not now, when?” and “Never say No” mentality needs to be redefined. • Can we continue to grow at the desired pace, while still maintaining this philosophy?

  23. Questions?

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