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RAPID PROJECT INCEPTION

  Opportunity for Increased Agility
INTRODUCTION
• Rajeev Singh

• ThoughtWorks
  – Global IT Consultancy
  – Helps organizations drive agility and create
    software
     www.thoughtworks.com




                                                   1
AGENDA
• PRESENTATION (30 mins)
  – History of Agile and it’s benefits
  – Focus of Agile
  – Big Picture of Agile in our industry
  – Anatomy of Rapid Project Inception
• Q&A (20 mins)



                                           2
Genesis in Iterative and Incremental Development

HISTORY OF AGILE


                                                   3
Concept of agility has been around for almost 50
  years




                                               4
LAST 50 YEARS
Reference: Craig Larman, Victor R. Basili, quot;Iterative and Incremental Development: A
          Brief History,quot; Computer, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 47-56, Jun., 2003


• X-15 Hypersonic jet
• Project Mercury software development
• TRW /Army Site Defense – Ballistic Missile
  Defense
• LAMPS (Light Airborne Multipurpose System),
  Navy’s Helicopter-to-Ship weapon’s system
• NASA’s Shuttle Program (1977-1980)
• Spiral Model of Software Development and
  Enhancement (1985)

                                                                                       5
THE COMMON THREAD

• These projects had timeboxed ITERATIONS
• They all wanted to identify and eliminate risk
  early




                                                   6
IT WASN’T ALWAYS AGILE
• The approach was called ITERATIVE and
  INCREMENTAL software development




                                          7
BENEFITS WERE ENORMOUS
•   Allowed a retreat
•   Provided feedback early
•   In-Tune with End User needs
•   Responsive (not predictive)




                                  8
IT ALSO PROMOTED
• Collaboration
• Self-Organization
• Learning and Communication




                               9
MAINSTREM ADOPTION
• This new approach to software development
  gained momentum in the industry in the
  1990s
• Software developers realized the benefits and
  were willing to adopt and adapt




                                              10
BUT NOT SO FAST
The PMO/Planning/Governance bodies are still
  document drive, plan sequentially, and have a
  gated approach




                                              11
Where are we today?

FOCUS OF AGILE


                      12
WE HAVE EVOLVED
• A wider community in Software Developer
  practice Agile
• Benefits perceived are not just Risk
  Elimination, collaboration, communication,
  etc. but also Time to Market.
• Agile is seen as an enabler to delivery Quality
  Products More Often


                                                    13
Agile’s Economic Impact – Early breakeven compared to
Waterfall




We can move faster from Idea to Income (Concept to Cash)
Reference:
Examining the quot;Big Requirements Up Front (BRUF) Approach“ – Scott Ambler
http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/examiningBRUF.htm                      14
IS THERE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?
• Yes!
• We can focus on upstream and downstream
  areas to software development
• Agile can be a competitive strategy




                                            15
COMPETITIVE STRATEGY?
• Hmm, how so?
• Well, beat your competition in the race to
  market
• Change your motto from Quality Products
  More Often to Quality Products More Often
  and Quickly



                                               16
How can we be Quick?

FOCUS ON UPSTREAM


                       17
WHY UPSTREAM?
• That’s where it all starts
• That’s where most time is spent
• It may take months to prepare business cases,
  fund ideas, and charter projects




                                              18
What happens before the first release to market?

Inception (can be as much as 70% of the time before release-1)
Development
Deployment and Rollout                                           19
IMPACT OF A SHORT INCEPTION OR RAPID INCEPTION




Still release as often
First release is quicker
Quality Product More Often and Quickly           20
How can we speed up and shorten the inception?

RAPID PROJECT INCEPTION


                                                 21
DO WE NEED INCEPTION?
• It depends. It’s not a required activity.
• Larger project usually require inception to
  establish project parameters and set pre-
  design direction




                                                22
IS THERE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?
• “We already do inceptions, and I don’t see
  how we can speed it up or improve it.”
• “What do you mean by, “It’s too long”? Ours
  only take 2-3 months.”




                                                23
Answer the following questions and if it’s a YES
  for more than one question, there’s a case for
  improvement




                                                   24
HOW’S YOUR INCEPTION
• Does inception take more than 40% of the time
  of the first release cycle?
• Is it being done in silos? Are Product Ideation and
  Product Management teams not collaborating?
• Is it scattered between departments and teams?
• As a participant do you find inception
  unproductive?
• Do you find inappropriate consumables
  (deliverables) coming out of inception?

                                                    25
Participants seem to understand and agree, but actually
they don’t
Do you find team members having different mental models even after
project inception?



                                                                     26
What is Rapid Project Inception?

ANATOMY OF RAPID PROJECT
INCEPTION

                                   27
IT IS
• Collaborative &           • Workshop Driven
  Inclusive                 • Utilizes Low-Fi
• Time boxed and Rapid        Techniques
• Iterative and Feedback
  Driven
• Highly Visual (Tangible
  Models)
• Business Value Focused


                                                28
Collaborative and Inclusive
There’s wide representation in the workshops




                                               29
WORKSHOPS AIM TO
•   Define the problem
•   Achieve Common Understanding
•   Identify Key Business Features
•   Prioritize the features
•   Estimate
•   Consider Technical Options
•   Develop initial plan and timeline

                                        30
Everyone participates
Only the right people are in the room. Distractions like electronic toys are
discouraged.



                                                                               31
WORKSHOPS
•   Business Process Model   •   Lo-Fi Prototypes
•   Future Perspective*      •   Estimation
•   Anchors & Engines*       •   Prioritization
•   Roles and Goals          •   Release Planning
•   As-Is                    •   Iteration 0, 1 Planning
•   To-Be                    •   Showcase
•   Integration Points
                             Patterned on Luke Hohmann’s workshops
•   Initial Systems          http://www.enthiosys.com
    Architecture

                                                                     32
Low -Fi
White boards, index cards, sticky notes and markers are about as much
as we need.



                                                                        33
Facilitator Driven
To maximized knowledge generation, trained facilitators runs the
sessions so that the key participants are best utilized.



                                                                   34
WHO PARTICIPATES?
• Business Analysts, Developers, Quality
  Analysts, Project Managers, Sponsors, Sbuject
  Matter Experts, End-Users, Legal
• Empowered Individuals, who can make
  decisions
• Duration – 2-3 Weeks
• Timeboxed – Not Rigid, Not Schedule Driven
• Heavy Visual Aides
                                              35
TIME TABLE?
• Duration – 2-3 Weeks
• Schedule is not rigid
• Facilitators plan the sessions but may choose
  not to share it with all the participants




                                                  36
THE GOAL IS SUFFICIENT DETAILS
Analysis is just enough details so that everyone is on the same page




                                                                       37
WORKSHOPS ARE TECHNICAL ENOUGH
Integration Points are identified, if there’s a need.




                                                        38
39
ISN’T TIMEBOXING
        COUNTERPRODUCTIVE?
• Usually not
• Every workshop has a goal and an acceptance
  criteria
• Workshops are aimed at answering specific
  questions




                                                40
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA




                      41
DELIVERABLES OR CONSUMABLES?
• The aim is to produce artifacts that we think
  will be utilized and are necessary at that stage
• We, therefore, try to create artifacts that are
  consumables and not deliverables




                                                 42
CONSUMABLES
• Objectives, Roles & Goals, Future Perspective,
  Scenarios
• As-Is / To-Be (processes)
• Lo-Fi Prototypes, Master Story List
• Priority List
• Estimates
• Integration Points, Initial Systems and Application
  Architecture
• Release Plans, Iteration 0, 1 Plans
• Risk Logs
                                                    43
Although the workshops utilize Lo-Fi techniques,
  the information is still compiled electronically
  daily, outside of the core collaborative hours,
  by the facilitators




                                                 44
MASTER STORY LIST
This is just one example of the consumables that are created. An Excel
sheet (electronic format) is compiled and made available to the
participants


                                                                         45
ARE ALL WORKSHOPS REQUIRED?
• No
• Rapid Project Inception is tailored for every
  project
• Greenfield Vs. Brownfield projects,
  maintenance or enhancement projects are
  just some considerations that determine the
  structure of a rapid project inception


                                                  46
PERIPHERAL ACTIVITIES
• Because we meet for 6-7 hours daily,
  energizing activities are utilized to keep the
  participants productive
• At the end of day everyday there’s a
  retrospective. The objective is to get feedback
  from participants on how they feel the process
  is going and what the facilitators can improve
  upon

                                                47
WEEK - 1




           48
WEEK - 2




           49
Rapid Project Inception definitely seems very
  structured

What are some of the benefits you have realized
 with this apporach?




                                                50
BENEFITS
• Build efficiency in the process
• Early identification of dependencies
• Increased understanding of requirements and
  business value
• Strong Working Relationships between project
  team, customers, and business partners
• Builds the pace for start of development
• Clear and Unified Vision
                                             51
Clear and unified vision
We end up having the same mental models




                                          52
There definitely must be some challenges

If it were so easy, everyone would be already
   doing it




                                                53
CHALLENGES
• Availability of Participants for 2-3 weeks
• Scalability – What if you have multiple projects?
• Effective Facilitation Skills – It is only as good as
  the facilitators. Where do we get these effective
  facilitators from?
• Time reporting – Believe it or not, but this is a
  challenge. “Our time reporting system doesn’t
  have a code for it yet.”
• Determining a fit – Creating a workshop roadmap
  is not trivial

                                                      54
THANK YOU !
RAJEEV SINGH
(312) 543-7347




rsingh@thoughtworks.com



bizvalu.blogspot.com

                          55

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Rapid Project Inception

  • 1. RAPID PROJECT INCEPTION Opportunity for Increased Agility
  • 2. INTRODUCTION • Rajeev Singh • ThoughtWorks – Global IT Consultancy – Helps organizations drive agility and create software www.thoughtworks.com 1
  • 3. AGENDA • PRESENTATION (30 mins) – History of Agile and it’s benefits – Focus of Agile – Big Picture of Agile in our industry – Anatomy of Rapid Project Inception • Q&A (20 mins) 2
  • 4. Genesis in Iterative and Incremental Development HISTORY OF AGILE 3
  • 5. Concept of agility has been around for almost 50 years 4
  • 6. LAST 50 YEARS Reference: Craig Larman, Victor R. Basili, quot;Iterative and Incremental Development: A Brief History,quot; Computer, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 47-56, Jun., 2003 • X-15 Hypersonic jet • Project Mercury software development • TRW /Army Site Defense – Ballistic Missile Defense • LAMPS (Light Airborne Multipurpose System), Navy’s Helicopter-to-Ship weapon’s system • NASA’s Shuttle Program (1977-1980) • Spiral Model of Software Development and Enhancement (1985) 5
  • 7. THE COMMON THREAD • These projects had timeboxed ITERATIONS • They all wanted to identify and eliminate risk early 6
  • 8. IT WASN’T ALWAYS AGILE • The approach was called ITERATIVE and INCREMENTAL software development 7
  • 9. BENEFITS WERE ENORMOUS • Allowed a retreat • Provided feedback early • In-Tune with End User needs • Responsive (not predictive) 8
  • 10. IT ALSO PROMOTED • Collaboration • Self-Organization • Learning and Communication 9
  • 11. MAINSTREM ADOPTION • This new approach to software development gained momentum in the industry in the 1990s • Software developers realized the benefits and were willing to adopt and adapt 10
  • 12. BUT NOT SO FAST The PMO/Planning/Governance bodies are still document drive, plan sequentially, and have a gated approach 11
  • 13. Where are we today? FOCUS OF AGILE 12
  • 14. WE HAVE EVOLVED • A wider community in Software Developer practice Agile • Benefits perceived are not just Risk Elimination, collaboration, communication, etc. but also Time to Market. • Agile is seen as an enabler to delivery Quality Products More Often 13
  • 15. Agile’s Economic Impact – Early breakeven compared to Waterfall We can move faster from Idea to Income (Concept to Cash) Reference: Examining the quot;Big Requirements Up Front (BRUF) Approach“ – Scott Ambler http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/examiningBRUF.htm 14
  • 16. IS THERE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? • Yes! • We can focus on upstream and downstream areas to software development • Agile can be a competitive strategy 15
  • 17. COMPETITIVE STRATEGY? • Hmm, how so? • Well, beat your competition in the race to market • Change your motto from Quality Products More Often to Quality Products More Often and Quickly 16
  • 18. How can we be Quick? FOCUS ON UPSTREAM 17
  • 19. WHY UPSTREAM? • That’s where it all starts • That’s where most time is spent • It may take months to prepare business cases, fund ideas, and charter projects 18
  • 20. What happens before the first release to market? Inception (can be as much as 70% of the time before release-1) Development Deployment and Rollout 19
  • 21. IMPACT OF A SHORT INCEPTION OR RAPID INCEPTION Still release as often First release is quicker Quality Product More Often and Quickly 20
  • 22. How can we speed up and shorten the inception? RAPID PROJECT INCEPTION 21
  • 23. DO WE NEED INCEPTION? • It depends. It’s not a required activity. • Larger project usually require inception to establish project parameters and set pre- design direction 22
  • 24. IS THERE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? • “We already do inceptions, and I don’t see how we can speed it up or improve it.” • “What do you mean by, “It’s too long”? Ours only take 2-3 months.” 23
  • 25. Answer the following questions and if it’s a YES for more than one question, there’s a case for improvement 24
  • 26. HOW’S YOUR INCEPTION • Does inception take more than 40% of the time of the first release cycle? • Is it being done in silos? Are Product Ideation and Product Management teams not collaborating? • Is it scattered between departments and teams? • As a participant do you find inception unproductive? • Do you find inappropriate consumables (deliverables) coming out of inception? 25
  • 27. Participants seem to understand and agree, but actually they don’t Do you find team members having different mental models even after project inception? 26
  • 28. What is Rapid Project Inception? ANATOMY OF RAPID PROJECT INCEPTION 27
  • 29. IT IS • Collaborative & • Workshop Driven Inclusive • Utilizes Low-Fi • Time boxed and Rapid Techniques • Iterative and Feedback Driven • Highly Visual (Tangible Models) • Business Value Focused 28
  • 30. Collaborative and Inclusive There’s wide representation in the workshops 29
  • 31. WORKSHOPS AIM TO • Define the problem • Achieve Common Understanding • Identify Key Business Features • Prioritize the features • Estimate • Consider Technical Options • Develop initial plan and timeline 30
  • 32. Everyone participates Only the right people are in the room. Distractions like electronic toys are discouraged. 31
  • 33. WORKSHOPS • Business Process Model • Lo-Fi Prototypes • Future Perspective* • Estimation • Anchors & Engines* • Prioritization • Roles and Goals • Release Planning • As-Is • Iteration 0, 1 Planning • To-Be • Showcase • Integration Points Patterned on Luke Hohmann’s workshops • Initial Systems http://www.enthiosys.com Architecture 32
  • 34. Low -Fi White boards, index cards, sticky notes and markers are about as much as we need. 33
  • 35. Facilitator Driven To maximized knowledge generation, trained facilitators runs the sessions so that the key participants are best utilized. 34
  • 36. WHO PARTICIPATES? • Business Analysts, Developers, Quality Analysts, Project Managers, Sponsors, Sbuject Matter Experts, End-Users, Legal • Empowered Individuals, who can make decisions • Duration – 2-3 Weeks • Timeboxed – Not Rigid, Not Schedule Driven • Heavy Visual Aides 35
  • 37. TIME TABLE? • Duration – 2-3 Weeks • Schedule is not rigid • Facilitators plan the sessions but may choose not to share it with all the participants 36
  • 38. THE GOAL IS SUFFICIENT DETAILS Analysis is just enough details so that everyone is on the same page 37
  • 39. WORKSHOPS ARE TECHNICAL ENOUGH Integration Points are identified, if there’s a need. 38
  • 40. 39
  • 41. ISN’T TIMEBOXING COUNTERPRODUCTIVE? • Usually not • Every workshop has a goal and an acceptance criteria • Workshops are aimed at answering specific questions 40
  • 43. DELIVERABLES OR CONSUMABLES? • The aim is to produce artifacts that we think will be utilized and are necessary at that stage • We, therefore, try to create artifacts that are consumables and not deliverables 42
  • 44. CONSUMABLES • Objectives, Roles & Goals, Future Perspective, Scenarios • As-Is / To-Be (processes) • Lo-Fi Prototypes, Master Story List • Priority List • Estimates • Integration Points, Initial Systems and Application Architecture • Release Plans, Iteration 0, 1 Plans • Risk Logs 43
  • 45. Although the workshops utilize Lo-Fi techniques, the information is still compiled electronically daily, outside of the core collaborative hours, by the facilitators 44
  • 46. MASTER STORY LIST This is just one example of the consumables that are created. An Excel sheet (electronic format) is compiled and made available to the participants 45
  • 47. ARE ALL WORKSHOPS REQUIRED? • No • Rapid Project Inception is tailored for every project • Greenfield Vs. Brownfield projects, maintenance or enhancement projects are just some considerations that determine the structure of a rapid project inception 46
  • 48. PERIPHERAL ACTIVITIES • Because we meet for 6-7 hours daily, energizing activities are utilized to keep the participants productive • At the end of day everyday there’s a retrospective. The objective is to get feedback from participants on how they feel the process is going and what the facilitators can improve upon 47
  • 49. WEEK - 1 48
  • 50. WEEK - 2 49
  • 51. Rapid Project Inception definitely seems very structured What are some of the benefits you have realized with this apporach? 50
  • 52. BENEFITS • Build efficiency in the process • Early identification of dependencies • Increased understanding of requirements and business value • Strong Working Relationships between project team, customers, and business partners • Builds the pace for start of development • Clear and Unified Vision 51
  • 53. Clear and unified vision We end up having the same mental models 52
  • 54. There definitely must be some challenges If it were so easy, everyone would be already doing it 53
  • 55. CHALLENGES • Availability of Participants for 2-3 weeks • Scalability – What if you have multiple projects? • Effective Facilitation Skills – It is only as good as the facilitators. Where do we get these effective facilitators from? • Time reporting – Believe it or not, but this is a challenge. “Our time reporting system doesn’t have a code for it yet.” • Determining a fit – Creating a workshop roadmap is not trivial 54
  • 56. THANK YOU ! RAJEEV SINGH (312) 543-7347 rsingh@thoughtworks.com bizvalu.blogspot.com 55