Richard Sheridan (Cofounder and CEO, Menlo Innovations) wrote Joy Inc to share insight into all XP practices that worked for his Org. Here he shares a simple sprint planning process that is working for them.
End Chaos, Eliminate Ambiguity
Do the simplest thing that can possibly work.Kent Beck, XP Explained
Scope creep! Of course, in my earlier days, I wanted to be helpful. I came to learn that this hallway project management approach did not make my life any better. What about estimates!?! We avoid all this chaos at Menlo. We operate with clarity, simplicity, and predictability.
Write It Down
One of the strongest rules at Menlo is that nothing gets done on a client project unless it is first handwritten on a index card/story card. These are signed and dated by whoever writes them. PMs have a index card box on their tables where these new cards are collected. They assign sequence no to avoid duplicates. This simple tool destroys the possibility of hallway project management.
No Work Without Estimation
A card written down does not mean it will be ever worked on. Each story card must be estimated by the people who do the work. This happens in our weekly estimation session. Once estimated, a photocopy of the estimated card is folded to a size relative to the estimate (Planning Origami technique). Folded cards are laid on a planning table alongside empty planning sheets that correspond to the client’s weekly budget, one sheet for each pair. Each planning sheet is inscribed with an empty box that is sized to hold 32 hours of folded story cards. We set aside 8 hours for the standard work of our processes: weekly estimations, weekly show and tell, weekly project kick-off conversation, daily stand-ups, team communications.
Declare What You Are Doing And Not Doing
After we’ve done our estimation work internally, our client comes in and reviews the estimated cards and prioritizes them through the planning game process. If a card makes it onto one of the planning sheets for the week, the client has just authorized us to work on the card and bill them for the week. This simple visual system is clear and adoptable.
Record Your Decisions
We make a PDF of the planning sheet for our files and e-mail our clients, so that they too have a record of their decisions.
Unambiguously Assign Work
Every card has the Menlonian initials assigned to work on the task.
At Menlo, there is zero ambiguity in the decision making as our simple paper-based tools answer all the questions without extra effort.
Summary
Simple, clear, unambiguous tools create opportunity for meaningful conversations that aren’t confounded by technology. Conversations have to be given a chance to occur exactly when they need to — and our space, our culture, and our process make sure that is the case.
Once the decisions are made and declared unambiguously, we must establish the practices that will ensure that the work will be done with rigor and discipline. Only then will you have the chance to produce the type of quality that yields the pride of a job well done.
altLearners 