Agile Inception Strategies : Presented by Khaarthigha Subramanian
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The document outlines strategies for the inception phase in agile project management, focusing on evaluating project feasibility, defining project scope, and preparing teams. It emphasizes the importance of effective facilitation and collaboration to manage uncertainty, identify risks, and align stakeholder expectations. Additionally, it provides tools and techniques for understanding the business context and goals, alongside recommendations for successful communication and planning in the inception process.
![8/24/17 22
Objectives and Scope
IS IS NOT (but could be)
• [In scope project objectives here] • [Out of scope project objectives here]
UNRESOLVED
• [Unresolved project objectives here]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/agileinceptionstrategiesv1-170823150343/85/Agile-Inception-Strategies-Presented-by-Khaarthigha-Subramanian-22-320.jpg)
Agile Inception Strategies : Presented by Khaarthigha Subramanian
- 1. “A Job well begun: A job half done” Agile Inception strategies Khaarthigha Subramanian
- 2. Experience on Inception? • Experience on inception? • When do you do during Inception? • What are the outcomes? • What all it comprises of? • Challenges • Do’s ( & donts)
- 3. Outline ● Intro on Inception ● Pre-Inception phase ○ Preparation ○ Team Formation ● During-Inception phase items ○ Inception Essentials ○ Tools & techniques ○ Challenges ○ Solving techniques ○ Handle uncertainty & ambiguity ● Post-Inception phase
- 4. Intro to Inception The Inception phase is about determining whether or not to proceed with the project. ○ In an agile world, we attempt to start a project with a minimal understanding of the overall project size and scope. This avoids the heavy-duty up front design and analysis. The drawback is that the full scope of the project may not be fully understood. Our solution is to use this inception to define the project. ○ Artifacts created during the Inception phase should help determine if the project should procede to Initiation, identify and Managing Risk associated with the project, or provide supporting details to allow the project to commence.
- 5. Why we need Inception? ○ Evaluates the feasibility of a project ○ Evaluates significantrisks and issues and constraints ○ Client-context & Readiness to start the project ○ Evaluates scope, schedule, size of project, delivery approaches
- 7. • Logistics & forming Inception team • Expected outputs and outcomes • Understand the client Context -> What are they trying to achieve? • Awareness on the industry • Gather the info – market research, competitors • Just a brief analysis on competitors • Planning the agenda and Schedule • Availability of stakeholders required • Expectations from client stakeholders • Share the goals and align on outcomes • Incorporating the time for huddle & Consolidation • Execution strategy Inception Preparation Essentials
- 8. The Business If it wasn’t already covered in Sponsor Speaks (or prior to the Inception): What does the business do? What do they sell? Who are their customers (high level)? How big are they, where are they? What is their culture like?
- 9. Typical Activities Inception Discover Envision Define Where are they now? • User research • Market Landscape • Technical Discovery • Current reality • Site performance • Brand context Where do I want to go? • Product ideation • Rapid prototyping • User testing • Brand Strategy Development • Content Strategy Development • Competitor Analysis How do they get there? • Ensure common understanding of vision • Decide on archtectural approach • Develop a release plan
- 10. INCEPTION GOALS - EXAMPLE ● Understand the problem and business context ● Determine how software can solve the problem ● Share an understanding of the scope ● Define a candidate architecture ● Develop a credible plan ● Build relationships
- 12. Inception - “Levers for Success” Pre- Inception Business & Project Context Product Solutioning Potential risks & challenges Roadmap & Plan
- 13. Multi dimensional challenges Going fast /deep on one direction of the problem ( knowingly or unknowingly) without understanding holistic picture Conventional / hierarchy org structure -> hinders in meeting right stakeholders Blocked – caught in ambiguity Blocked because of lack of information Multiple answers for the same question Availability becoming issues Eg: User research Client -> expects solution for multiple problems (beyond the focus) Vision and larger Business context not discussed -> leading to working on wrong problem Personality conflicts. People of different mindset
- 14. Techniques could be.. Go deeper on identified objective/ problem area Understand the Business context and holistic picture Being Visual and pictorial in discussions and exercises Coherence of thoughts, inputs from stakeholders Collaboration, team work and alignment Facilitation
- 15. Facilitation over Orchestration • Why Facilitation is essential? • To break the silos • Help everyone co-work easily - Share and align on the context • We can discover much more through informal conversations (for eg: what other business cases are present, Was there any past attempts ? ) • What does Facilitation imply: It is: • Part referee • Part manager • Part teacher • Part therapist • Being & bring Energy • Being very dynamic -> to abandon your approach if it’s not working • Different ways of execution (alternatives) • Quick thinker & adapter • How it can be done effectively? - Understand and Listen to other’s thought - Provoke a thought and discussion knows - When to re-channel a discussion for some other discussion - Time sensitive - Pulling the forum when on tangential direction
- 16. Understanding the holistic picture - Vision ● Before understanding the user’s business problem, we need to identify their drivers and objectives ● Usually, it is more than one problem that the users face at a time ● The result of our understanding the user’s business problem is essential in driving the discussion forward ● The objective here is not to jump in to a solution, but to understand their problem to the core. What direction do they see their business heading in? What thinking have they done about how to solve their problem? Who are their competitors? And who are their customers and what market space they want to be in? Tools used: Futurespective Or Elevator picth If its Product , (product sponsors) -> Value Prop canvas, empathy
- 17. Identify the right & immediate problem statement What do they perceive as their problem or opportunity? What prior info/stats do they have to support this? Business/ Project Context Story Discovery Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning User research Site statistics Competitive position Market landscape
- 18. Drivers & Trade-offs • Return on Investment (ROI) • Capacity building • Process Automation • Investor wealth maximization Business Objectives • Meeting Business objectives • In-time and in- scope delivery • Process automation and optimization • Minimal maintenance efforts Project Goals Drivers Trade offs
- 19. Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception Capturing the Vision Elevator Pitch: Identifies target customer, need and objectives in a 30 second statement
- 20. Example Vision Manheim has lost 10% digital market share in a fast growing digital market Dealers trade 6 million cars today using cell phones & faxes-Manheim isn’t involved Cox should develop a social wholesale marketplace that allows dealers to leverage their existing relationships to buy & sell cars among themselves: Think Facebook meets OVE It would give Cox a view of all of the dealer’s inventory & an opportunity to be involved in all of the transactions ~6 startups are attempting to serve large franchise dealerships with this model Key customer segment: major dealers, representing 3.5M+ internal
- 21. Shared Product Vision - Example Product in a Box: Imagine <the project> is a product in a box on a supermarket shelf. What would appear on the box that would appeal to our customers? Business/ Project Context Story Discovery Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception
- 22. 8/24/17 22 Objectives and Scope IS IS NOT (but could be) • [In scope project objectives here] • [Out of scope project objectives here] UNRESOLVED • [Unresolved project objectives here]
- 23. Coherence , Collaboration over Procedures - Everyone in the team should be aligned - Even if there are differences of thoughts on execution - Directions & options in-front of us - Pulse of the client stakeholders - Collaborate with the client stakeholders on huddles and solutioning - Helps in ensuring the wider aspects to be covered - Increases the trust across the team and the client stakeholders
- 24. Constraints Management • Identifying the constraints for executing the inception , in solutioning • Breakdown -> List down the Constraints , • Constraints could be form of blockers, Ø dependencies, Ø uncertainty, Ø ambiguity • Discussing the constraint with Product/Project Sponsor could help • Calling out / putting out the dependencies, blockers on the table • Collectivelyidentifying the blockers and discussing it openly • Facilitation is a key to do this
- 25. Other Facilitation Techniques Imagine you are selling a productin a trade-fair. The productis similar to the one that we are discussing. To enable maximum sales, design a productbox that would help achieve your goal The box can contain marketing slogans,productinformation, disclaimers,price and product information WHAT WOULD YOU WRITE IN THE PRODUCT BOX? There is boatout there and the faster it moves, the better it is for you. Think of your project as a speed-boat. With the help of post-its identify what aspects will make the boat faster What are the anchors that hold the boat back reducing its speed? WHAT ARE THE FUELAND THE ANCHORS FOR THE SPEED_BOAT? The idea is to understand which set of features are most important, similar to how an optometrist arrives at the correct set of lenses for a 20/20 vision Start by writing one feature each on index cards Place cards on top of each other depending on client’s feedback on what’s most importantto them ARRIVE AT A PRIORITIZED LIST from Luke Hohman
- 26. Relationship with the Stakeholders Know & remember your stakeholders Primary Stakeholders are those who stand to gain (or lose) the most from the outcomes Secondary Stakeholders are those who have the most influence and stand to gain (or lose) the most from the outcomes Key Stakeholders are those who can significantly influence the outcomes and success of the project
- 28. Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception Relative Priority http://fabiopereira.me/blog/2009/06/29/principle-of-relative-priority/ All the decisionsaboutitem priority have toinvolveother items whichare beingtraded in favorof themostimportantone(s). There isno absolutepriority, onlyrelative to other items.
- 29. POST INCEPTION
- 30. Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception 8/24/17 30 Users Existing Systems New SystemsExternal Systems Logical Scope Out of Scope In Scope User(s) Out of Scope System In Scope System Out of Scope System Out of Scope System User(s)
- 31. Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception Assembling a Base Plan Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception
- 32. Business & Project Context Technical Solutioning Estimation and Planning Product Solutioning Pre- Inception 32 Roadmap 2016 2017 Release 1.1 7 Jan 2017 Dev 11 Feb 2017 Release 17 Sept 2016 Dev 22 October 2016 Release 29 April 2017 Dev 3 June 2017 Release 9 Sept 2017 Release 5 August 2017 Deev Release 2.0 Release 2.1 Release 3.0 7 May 2016 Release Release 1.0 28 Sept 2016 workshop 1 April 2017 workshop Today Business Needs catered to, Business Benefits Success metrics
- 35. Problem Statement “AllForU” is a retail service provider where a customer can buy household items. The CEO, Sundar Pichai is planning to invest for providing convenient shopping experience to its customers & their employees to operate.
- 36. Julia Age: 26 Occupation: Real Estate Agent Earnings: 200000/mth Frequent Buyer (more than 2 books a month) , buys fashion items and make-up freak As a Real Estate marketing executive, Julia is constantly on the go juggling multiple clients at once. She likes to get dressed well for being more perfect and confident to influence customers. She meets more the corporate clients and in the field of selling office spaces. At the end of the day she wants nothing more than to go home and relax with a good book. Julia is always looking for great fantasy novels that she hasn’t read yet and when she finds a good book she devours it in no time flat. The last thing Julia wants is to go home and not have a great book waiting for her. Julia uses a Mac laptop and a Samsung Phone while on the go. However she still prefers to read her books on dead tree format.
- 37. Rob Age: 34 Occupation: Manager – Orders management department He’s married and he and his wife have recently had their first child (Charlie). Rob has an hour long commute to work each day via public transit. Rob is always trying to stay one step ahead of his peers by performing his best in meeting the customer’s need and fulfill their orders as early as possible. He is very good coordinator with other counterparts and also a Star Award Winner in his organization as always there are positive feedback from customers on early fulfillment of their delivery. Rob uses an Android Phone running the latest version of the OS, at work he use’s Windows machines Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. At home he prefers to use Linux. On the office computers he’s limited to IE and Firefox, but at home he uses Chrome.