estimation Archives - Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant

October 14, 2019

Agile Approaches Can’t Save Impossible Projects: Fixed Cost, Scope, Date

You’ve got an impossible project. You have no flexibility. The project is a fixed-price, fixed-scope, fixed-date project. And, you have a specific team to do the work. (There are other impossible projects. Such as when you have a collection of people who multitask among several projects.) Can an agile approach save these projects? No. An agile …

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September 9, 2019September 9, 2019

Thinking About “Beating” a Team’s Goal

Shaun’s comment on Measure Cycle Time, Not Velocity suggested a team might be better off measuring both cycle time and velocity. Why? For two reasons: “Beating” the last sprint goal Assisting the PO in a forecast of when things might be done. Let’s examine these ideas. Clarify Story Points Why even bother with story points? …

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September 4, 2019September 9, 2019

Measure Cycle Time, Not Velocity

I’m not a fan of measuring velocity. Velocity is a point-in-time measure of capacity. That means that when things change for the team or in the code, the velocity often changes. (See Velocity is Not Acceleration.) Instead, I like to measure cycle time. Cycle time is the entire time it takes a team to finish …

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July 23, 2019July 23, 2019

Projects, Products, and the Project Portfolio: Part 2, Assess & Rank the Work

Part 1 was about seeing the value in the various projects. I called the value stream a product so that people would think about who would use it and why. I suggested that we stop work on specific products when you have more products than teams. That would allow you to work on other projects …

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May 10, 2019May 10, 2019

Product Roles, Part 8: Summary: Collaborate at All Levels for the Product

Too many teams have overloaded Product Owners. The teams and PO have trouble connecting the organization’s strategy to what the teams deliver. The teams, PO, management, all think they need big planning. Too often, the POs don’t do small-enough replanning. They’re not living the principles of the agile manifesto. That insufficient collaboration means the PO …

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May 8, 2019May 10, 2019

Product Roles, Part 7: Collaboration Can Shorten Feedback Loops

I started this series with the question: If we have teams for all other aspects of an agile approach, why wouldn’t we want the product owner to also work as part of a team? Could a team reduce the feedback loop durations? In Phase Gate or Other Serial Approaches… When projects use a phase gate …

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April 26, 2019May 10, 2019

Product Roles, Part 5: Component Teams to Create Slices

As I’ve written these product role posts, a number of you have asked about how to use component teams. You might have a security team. Maybe a performance team. Regardless of my desire, you have component teams. You want a more agile approach to manage the interdependencies among the teams. You want to be able …

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April 11, 2019May 10, 2019

Product Roles, Part 3: Product or Feature Teams vs Project Teams

An agile approach requires a cross-functional team. That means that everyone on the team focuses on the same intent. That intent might be an entire product. It might be a feature set as part of a larger program. But, the team focuses as a team. That cross-functional team is a product team or a feature …

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February 25, 2019

Cost vs Value Measurements for Agile Approaches

Some of my clients have struggled with their project governance as they move to agile approaches. In the past, they’ve asked for estimates and costs—by requirement—and then tracked the variance for those estimates and costs. The governance people do not record assumptions. They only record estimates and actuals. They want to “measure” the project success …

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January 16, 2019February 4, 2019

Balance Innovation, Commitment, & Feedback Loops: Part 1: High Innovation Products

Many of my clients are trying to use short feedback loops in agile approaches. That desire bumps up against their management’s desires for longer commitments. This continuum might help them think through their needs for commitment and innovation. High Need for Product Innovation and Change The more need for product innovation and change, the shorter the feedback loops need …

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