Improving the Development Process 13 th May, 2008

Tec Flow Chart expand contract TARGET DECIDE ACT Summaries Next Steps

White Hat No planning seems to occur No continuity. Continually jumping between issues means that you lose track of what you were doing Everything seems to be a “big emergency” which must be done immediately Customer appears to set our priorities Sales promise things to customers with little thought for schedules We seem to do any enhancement that comes along, regardless of whether it adds any value to the product Backlog of work for QA to do. Not enough QA resources to handle the volume of work to test. Support are currently assisting QA facts figures Information asking questions defining information needs and gaps

No planning seems to occur

No continuity. Continually jumping between issues means that you lose track of what you were doing

Everything seems to be a “big emergency” which must be done immediately

Customer appears to set our priorities

Sales promise things to customers with little thought for schedules

We seem to do any enhancement that comes along, regardless of whether it adds any value to the product

Backlog of work for QA to do. Not enough QA resources to handle the volume of work to test. Support are currently assisting QA

facts

figures

Information

asking questions

defining information needs and gaps

Red Hat Everyone appears to be trying to manage development (e.g. Clients, Suanne, Gerard, Doug and Martin) Development is difficult because of the number of coding streams Not enough thought into estimates Development are completely reactive Everything seems to be a panic because of a crisis No planning Not enough resources in each department Constantly shuffling resources to cope with the latest problem Lack of specifications Roadmap does not include fixing bugs No continuity Number of streams is confusing to customers FreeBalance should differentiate between “customer-centric” and doing something just because the customer says we should do it Development does not believe the four week iteration concept will work because we are so reactive at the moment intuition feeling emotion no justification

Everyone appears to be trying to manage development (e.g. Clients, Suanne, Gerard, Doug and Martin)

Development is difficult because of the number of coding streams

Not enough thought into estimates

Development are completely reactive

Everything seems to be a panic because of a crisis

No planning

Not enough resources in each department

Constantly shuffling resources to cope with the latest problem

Lack of specifications

Roadmap does not include fixing bugs

No continuity

Number of streams is confusing to customers

FreeBalance should differentiate between “customer-centric” and doing something just because the customer says we should do it

Development does not believe the four week iteration concept will work because we are so reactive at the moment

intuition

feeling

emotion

no justification

Black Hat Not enough resources Rest of company will not be on board with the new process Crisis will still occur which need addressing immediately Increase customer annoyance – will now have to wait at least four weeks to get a resolution to their issues Customer A may have a problem that is planned to be fixed in the next iteration. This will be communicated to the customer. Customer B then raises higher priority issue which will push Customer A’s issue down the queue. What will happen if you need a business analyst during the development week New process will require more management Will extend projects – a process which may have required three weeks of solid development will now be increased to twelve weeks to include the analysis and QA Manuel always escalates issues to the top of the pile which need addressing immediately judgement caution justification

Not enough resources

Rest of company will not be on board with the new process

Crisis will still occur which need addressing immediately

Increase customer annoyance – will now have to wait at least four weeks to get a resolution to their issues

Customer A may have a problem that is planned to be fixed in the next iteration. This will be communicated to the customer. Customer B then raises higher priority issue which will push Customer A’s issue down the queue.

What will happen if you need a business analyst during the development week

New process will require more management

Will extend projects – a process which may have required three weeks of solid development will now be increased to twelve weeks to include the analysis and QA

Manuel always escalates issues to the top of the pile which need addressing immediately

judgement

caution

justification

Yellow Hat Increase headcount Lose support for earlier versions Build in mandatory upgrade cost into pricing model (see Hal for explanation) Leverage extreme programming Set up data beforehand Need more people in service department so that developers are not doing services work; “Service dept should be recruiting from places other than development” Employ person to act as go-between for Development and Support. This person would gain knowledge in all products. Would stop all developers getting interrupted as this person would be familiar with everything. Have one developer for assisting helpdesk and another for working on new stuff. logical positive benefits value justification

Increase headcount

Lose support for earlier versions

Build in mandatory upgrade cost into pricing model (see Hal for explanation)

Leverage extreme programming

Set up data beforehand

Need more people in service department so that developers are not doing services work; “Service dept should be recruiting from places other than development”

Employ person to act as go-between for Development and Support. This person would gain knowledge in all products. Would stop all developers getting interrupted as this person would be familiar with everything.

Have one developer for assisting helpdesk and another for working on new stuff.

logical positive

benefits

value

justification

Green Hat One person to deal with support permanently, go to client sites, investigate issues, do SQL scripts Keep development staff on development work, not on services engagements Stop being a development organization and become a services organization until Portugal delivers the new platform. Do not do any new work on the existing product set, instead concentrate on services billable enhancements etc. Improve visibility for the development activities up and coming Improve visibility for the services work up and coming – would lessen the ‘crisis’ issues since we would have advance notice (rather than finding out on the morning that we need to fix issues immediately because we have people on the ground in Country X – we must have known these consultants were going there and could try to identify potential issues beforehand rather than the “drop everything” approach) We still need to know what is going to be in FA 6.3. This has not yet been decided Developer to be interface between CSR and development – 2 nd line support Need a masterplan for at least 6 months creativity alternatives proposals interesting changes

One person to deal with support permanently, go to client sites, investigate issues, do SQL scripts

Keep development staff on development work, not on services engagements

Stop being a development organization and become a services organization until Portugal delivers the new platform. Do not do any new work on the existing product set, instead concentrate on services billable enhancements etc.

Improve visibility for the development activities up and coming

Improve visibility for the services work up and coming – would lessen the ‘crisis’ issues since we would have advance notice (rather than finding out on the morning that we need to fix issues immediately because we have people on the ground in Country X – we must have known these consultants were going there and could try to identify potential issues beforehand rather than the “drop everything” approach)

We still need to know what is going to be in FA 6.3. This has not yet been decided

Developer to be interface between CSR and development – 2 nd line support

Need a masterplan for at least 6 months

creativity

alternatives

proposals

interesting

changes

Blue Hat Try out the 3 / 4 week iteration plan and get the other departments on board – some team members remain skeptical Suggest hiring more people; More QA required More Services staff required Extra developer required to act as 2 nd line support / CSR – Development go-between set agenda next steps keep discipline summary requests

Try out the 3 / 4 week iteration plan and get the other departments on board – some team members remain skeptical

Suggest hiring more people;

More QA required

More Services staff required

Extra developer required to act as 2 nd line support / CSR – Development go-between

set agenda

next steps

keep discipline

summary

requests