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Storytelling Techniques for Better Requirements
- 1. AW3 Agile Requirements 6/7/2017 11:30:00 AM AW3 Storytelling Techniques for Better Requirements Presented by: Jeff Howey Leading Agile Brought to you by: 350 Corporate Way, Suite 400, Orange Park, FL 32073 888-‐268-‐8770 ·∙ 904-‐278-‐0524 - info@techwell.com - https://www.techwell.com/
- 2. Jeff Howey Leading Agile A former business analyst who now works as an enterprise agile coach, Jeff Howey spends a significant amount of time coaching executives to articulate strategy in a way real people can understand. Then business and product owners can describe the problems they need to solve, and business analysts and product owners can define short, useful, and focused requirements through conversation and short stories. Above all, Jeff's desire is to save others from falling into the pit of writing thick, often-ignored, and soul-crushing requirements documentation. You can find some of Jeff's stories at LeadingAgile.
- 3. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 1 Effective Story Telling Progressive Elaboration for Enterprise Agile-at-Scale (and anyone else, really!) 1 Jeff Howey Your Story Teller Today • Transformation Consultant with LeadingAgile • Business Analyst at heart, Project Manager by necessity • Product Owner champion • Believes Innovation improves through Collaboration • Evangelizes Agile as a means to help work suck less
- 4. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 2 The Problem Business Leader “I need to increase revenue by $20 million” Developers “We need to create working, tested software” 2 Which Leads to… “orchestration chaos” 3 “Black Hole” By User:Alain r - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1150148 ~ HERE ARE YOUR ORDERS ~ FINGERS CROSSSED!
- 5. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 3 So, if you were the Business Leader… Take the risk? or… Apply Pressure! 4 How it should feel… 5 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things
- 8. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 6 Story Telling is a way to… • Define the Product – Clarify Goals – Identify Problems or Capability Gaps to resolve – Discuss measures of success – Identify Customers and Context of Usage • Plan and Coordinate – Validate Priority – Define Solution Options – Evaluate Architectural Risks & Dependencies – Estimate the Effort – Plan the Work 10 Story Telling is simply the way we do PROGRESSIVE ELABORATION How Story Telling Works… 11 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things
- 9. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 7 Tell the Story 12 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things Start the Story! • Identify an Accountable Owner for the Idea • Bring stakeholders along to align expectations • Ensure the Product Owner is included! 13 Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Other “Interested Parties” Business Owner “Accountable Owner” Product Owner
- 10. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 8 Forms of Capturing Ideas Strategy = ∑ (Opportunities) & Opportunity = ∑ (Epics) 14 Strategy Canvas Opportunity Canvas Epic Canvas 15 Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Others “Interested Parties” Business Owner “Accountable Owner” Product Owner
- 11. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 9 Increase Revenue by $20M 16 Strategy: • Add 250K Net New Monthly Subscribers Opportunities: • Increase Mobile Conversion • Offer Loyalty Discounts • Partnership Marketing Opportunity: • Offer Loyalty Discounts Epics: • 12-Month Sub Discount • No Membership Fee • Premium Member Discount • Refer-a-Friend Discount Epic: • Refer-a-Friend Discount Tracing Value from Strategy to Epic 17 Completeness and Correctness • Drives clarity and ensures we build the right things • Requires CONVERSATIONS and validation of ASSUMPTIONS • Extends beyond mere “project request” documentation to be UNDERSTOOD For example: Will our “Refer-a-Friend” Discount really drive more Subscriptions and an increase in Revenue? Let’s ask others in the Business and find out!
- 12. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 10 Define the Idea – Epic Canvas • Strategies – Too large to execute – Long lead-time to metrics – Needs focus to drive organizational behavior • Opportunities – Numerous and are not all equally valuable – Focus on ”speed-to-value” to deliver quickly, test & learn • Epics are our first glimpse of a concrete “Idea” … that are worth defining, prioritizing and doing! 18 Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Others “Interested Parties” Business Owner “Epic Owner” Product Owner Lead Participate Be Aware The Epic Canvas “Get on the same Page” 19 What is the desired outcome? What are the success criteria? Who are the customers? What is the context of usage?
- 13. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 11 Refer a Friend! 20 Business Owner “Epic Owner” Product Owner Desired Outcome: Make & Track Referrals! Success Criteria: • 20K Referrals per quarter • 10K New Subscribers per quarter Context of Usage: • Able to track referrals by Promo Codes • Able to make referrals via Facebook • Able to make referrals via Email • Able to make referrals via SMS Texts Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization 21 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things
- 14. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 12 Prepare the Idea for Prioritization • Understand if the Idea is: – Valuable • This Epic is valuable enough to put on the backlog? – Viable • Architecture supports a build or buy implementation? – Possible • Capacity exists in the delivery system to put this on the Epic Roadmap? 22 Portfolio team Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Portfolio Team Business Owner “Epic Owner” Product Owner Architects & Delivery Leaders Others “Interested Parties” Lead Participate Be Aware Valuable, Viable, Possible • “Just Enough” is known about: – Business Case (Metrics to justify assumptions of future revenue, costs, customer interactions, etc.) sufficient to understand how the Epic solves the business problem behind the Story – Architectural approach and impacts sufficient to validate there exists a buy or build approach to solve the problem (even if the solution option is not yet selected) – Level of effort in ideal weeks, estimated number of Sprints, t-shirt size or other relative estimating technique sufficient to identify Cost of Delay and potential impacts to the existing Epic Roadmap 23
- 16. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 14 Prioritize the Backlog • Define the Details • Priority • Epic Roadmap 26 Product Owner Program Team Business Owner “Epic Owner” Architects & Delivery Leaders Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Others “Interested Parties” Lead Participate Be Aware Refer a Friend! 27 Product Owner Backlog 1. Two-Factor Auth (In Progress) 2. Family Membership (In Progress) 3. Cloud Migration (Not Started) 4. Extend Customer Svc Hours (Not Started) 5. Tweet a Gift 6. Multi-member Online Reports 7. ACME Bank Partnership Refer a Friend
- 17. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 15 28 Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Pre-req to Refer a Friend and Customer Service Epics Needed by July 1 EPIC Refer a Friend! EPIC Extend Customer Service Hours EPIC Cloud Migration EPIC Tweet a Gift #3 #4 #5 Break the Work Down 29 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things
- 18. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 16 Break the Work Down • Story Mapping • Dependency Mapping • Clarity of Acceptance Criteria • Release Planning 30 Product Owner Program Team Business Owner “Epic Owner” Delivery TeamDelivery Team Architects & Delivery Leaders Lead Participate Be Aware Story Telling with the Team 31 “Existing Customer, Rhoda, wants to invite at least 3 friends to receive a one- month subscription for free, so that she gets one-month free for every referral who signs up.” • The team, in partnership with the Product Owner, elaborates the stories and acceptance criteria into Stories that make sense to them for: – Estimation – Release Planning – Development & Testing – Validation & Deployment
- 20. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 18 SOME ADVICE to help you not torture your teams… 34 Plan Ahead! • Schedule in advance – Regular, recurring sessions – As needed • Send drafts of Stories ahead – Links to your Stories, or – Drafts in a “digest” • Invite additional people when needed – Always the Team – Often some key supporters – SMEs when needed 35
- 21. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 19 Be a strong facilitator • Stick to your agenda • Use a parking lot • Timebox and Timecheck • Watch for body language • Set the tone • Tell the Story • Listen • Keep things moving • Tame bullies • Encourage wallflowers • Make it fun 36 Pair-up • Product Owner – Tell the Story, answer questions, facilitate discussion – Don’t fiddle around in the tool when you should be collaborating! • Story Telling Buddy – Make on-the-spot updates in the tool – Keep track of action items and follow-ups 37
- 22. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 20 When Good Enough is Good Enough • Know your team! • Know your organizational or compliance requirements • Know when to stop • Good is a high standard – But not Perfect • “Good enough” changes over time based on Tribal Knowledge & Practices 38 Know when to move on... And Iterate • Rule #1: Timebox – Timebox each Story – Estimate the Story “as-is” if possible – If the Story needs refinement, then Rule #2! • Rule #2: Move On! – Six Letters – Two Words – Easy to Say – Hard to Explain – Harder to Do 39
- 23. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 21 Build It! 40 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things Build It! • Daily Standups • Sprint Review/Demo • Story Acceptance 41 Business Owner “Epic Owner” Delivery TeamDelivery Team Architects & Delivery Leaders Lead Participate Be Aware Others “Interested Parties” Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Product Owner Program Team
- 24. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 22 Validate the Solution! 42 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things Validate the Solution • Validate Feature Acceptance & UAT • Compare Estimates to Actuals to Validate Investment & Learnings • Re-Evaluate the Epic Roadmap based on real Time-to-Complete 43 Portfolio teamBusiness Leader “Executive Sponsor” Portfolio Team Business Owner “Epic Owner” Product Owner Architects & Delivery Leaders Lead Participate Be Aware Others “Interested Parties”
- 25. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 23 Launch! and… Learn! 44 Deploy, Test, Learn and Improve on the next iteration of the Idea Present a clear Business Problem to be Solved Prepare the Ideas for Prioritization Prioritize this Idea against all other backlog items Break the Work Down Launch! Validate the Solution Build the Right Things Launch & Learn • Revisit Strategy & Opportunities • Monitor and Report Metrics showing Benefit Realization of the Epics and Opportunities • Identify ”things we learned” and “things that still puzzle us” • Revisit Priorities based on what has been learned... or needs to be! 45 Business Leader “Executive Sponsor” Others “Interested Parties” Business Owner “Epic Owner” Product Owner
- 27. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 25 Better Pattern at Scale 48Picture: Courtesy of Scott Sehlhorst; www.tynerblain.com Suggested Ceremonies • Start the Story: “Discovery” – Business Peer Review and Elaboration of the Ideas • Define the Idea: “Intake” – Draft the Opportunity and Epic Canvases • Prepare to Prioritize: “Strategic Alignment” – Validate Valuable, Viable, Possible • Prioritize the Backlog: “Solution Validation” – Of the possible options, prioritize what to do next 49
- 28. Better Software West, 2017 Effective Story Telling, Jeff Howey CC BY-SA 4.0 26 Suggested Ceremonies • Break the Work Down: “Story Mapping” & “Release Planning” – Identify Stories, Dependencies, Sequencing – Lay out the sequence of work that fits the team’s capacity • Build It: “Demo” – Demonstrate progress to key stakeholders for early feedback and acceptance • Validate the Solution: “Feature Acceptance” – User Acceptance Testing, Product Owner Acceptance and other Enterprise acceptance requirements • Launch!... and “Retrospect” on the Epic – Incorporate learnings into next round of ideas, improvements and validate business case assumptions 50 Additional Resources • http://www.leadingagile.com/blog • http://tynerblain.com/blog 51 and… Thank you!