The document discusses planning and estimating for long term projects in the federal government using agile methodologies. It provides an overview of key concepts for product roadmaps, estimating scope at different levels, defining assumptions, creating a product vision, and conducting release planning. The document is intended to demonstrate representative examples of agile estimating and project management practices within the federal government.

1. Long Term Planning and Estimating
In
a
Federal
World

2. Software
Engineer
Agile Coach &
Trainer
A Little About Me…
@brandonraines
Product
Owner

3. • History
of
Agile
in
the
Government
• Execu<ve
Level
Por?olio
Management
• Ar<facts
to
Plan
and
Es<mate
• Product
• Detailed
• Es<ma<on
Methodology
• Tracking
Progress
Agenda
3

4. • Agile
is
widely
used
across
the
Government…this
agency
• Agile
implementa<on
differs
across
different
business
areas
• Lean/Kanban
• eXtreme
Programming
• Scrum
• SAFe
• This
briefing
provides
a
representa<ve
sample
of
Agile
es<ma<ng
and
project
management
within
the
Government
• S<ll
improving
and
adop<ng
best
prac<ces
Agile in the Government…
4

5. CIO
Strategy
Product
Vision
Prioritized
Backlog
Mission
Need
Mission and IT Alignment
5

6. Continuous Adaptive Planning
6

7. • Detailed
requirements
are
not
developed
up
front,
therefore
not
es<mated
• Scope
at
the
Detailed
level
can
and
will
change
• Scope
at
the
Vision
level
is
less
likely
to
change,
otherwise,
a
new
effort
• Scope
at
the
Goal
level
is
less
likely
to
change
• Es<mate
for
the
Product
completed
at
the
Vision
and
Goal
level
• Dedicated
team
effort
• A
Product
Owner
• Work
in
sprints
Assumptions
7

8. • How
will
mission
be
impacted
as
a
result
of
this
product?
• What
will
be
the
appreciable
difference
as
a
result
of
this
investment?
• What
problem
is
solved?
• Who
is
impacted?
Product Vision
8

9. For (target customer)
Who (statement of need)
The (product name) is a (product category)
That (key benefit, compelling reason to buy)
Unlike (primary competitive alternative)
Our product (statement of primary differentiation)
Product Vision
9Geoffrey
Moore
–
‘Crossing
the
Chasm’

10. Product Vision Example
10
Performance
Plus
is
the
common
performance
appraisal
system
used
by
all
employees
to
conduct
goal
se`ng,
discuss
progress
throughout
the
year
with
their
managers,
and
evaluate
annual
performance
against
objec<ves
and
performance
competencies.
It
is
the
tool
that
allows
employees
to
directly
contribute
to
an
ongoing
record
of
their
accomplishments,
while
ensuring
that
they
connect
individual
expecta<ons
with
mission
priori<es.
All
employees
will
use
Performance
Plus
to
complete
their
annual
performance
evalua<ons.

11. • A
planning
and
communica<ons
tool
• To
develop
delivery
strategy
• Bridge
the
gap
between
year,
mul<-­‐year,
sprint
and
release
planning
• Based
upon
exis<ng/to-­‐be
business
processes
that
solve
a
business
problem
• Enumerates
the
Minimum
Valuable
Increment
(s)
for
the
mission
• A
framework
for
deciding
when
plans
should
change
What is a Roadmap
11

12. • Develop
a
Release
Goal
• Iden<fy
Success/Acceptance
Criteria
• Es<mate
Success
Criteria
to
achieve
release
goal
• Example:
Release Planning
12
Record
Employee
Performance
Goals
All
employees
with
a
current
designa<on
of
GS-­‐12
and
below
will
be
able
to
record
biographical
informa<on
about
themselves.
An
employee
can
also
declare
performance
goals
and
declare
a
mentor
to
help
guide
them
through
a
performance
period.
These
ac<vi<es
must
be
enabled
by
the
beginning
of
the
ra<ng
period
which
starts
1
June
2016.
These
ac<vi<es
must
be
available
24/7
and
with
the
ability
to
allow
all
GS-­‐12
employees
to
use
these
ac<vi<es
simultaneously.

13. What is Our Product Roadmap
Bio
Data
Appraisal
Document
(AD)
Rebu6al,
Special
Performance
Document
System
Admin,
Reading
Room
• Employee,
Ra<ng
official
and
HRO
can
create
an
AD
•
AD
can
go
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
• Employee
and
HRO
can
ini<ate
a
Rebulal
on
either
an
MFR
or
AD
•
Rebulal
can
go
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
• HRO
can
ini<ate
a
Special
Appraisal
Document
through
an
abbreviated
workflow
• HRO
can
create
a
Reading
Room
•
Reading
Room
can
be
used
by
all
Members
•
System
Configura<on
through
GUI
• Employee,
Ra<ng
official
and
HRO
of
GS-­‐12
and
below
can
create
bio
data
• Bio
data
can
cycle
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
Product
Launch
• Released
to
all
workforce

14. • Vision
• High
Level
Goals
mapped
to
Business
Process
(Roadmap)
• Success
Criteria
(Mission)
• Defini<on
of
Done
(Technical)
• Sprint
Length
(Ini<al)
• A
cross
func<onal
es<ma<ng
team
• Es<ma<ng
technique
(Rela<ve
Es<ma<ng
preferred)
Tools Needed to Estimate Projects
14

15. When Will We Get There
Bio
Data
Appraisal
Document
(AD)
Rebu6al,
Special
Performance
Document
System
Admin,
Reading
Room
• Employee,
Ra<ng
official
and
HRO
can
create
an
AD
•
AD
can
go
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
• Employee
and
HRO
can
ini<ate
a
Rebulal
on
either
an
MFR
or
AD
•
Rebulal
can
go
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
• HRO
can
ini<ate
a
Special
Appraisal
Document
through
an
abbreviated
workflow
• HRO
can
create
a
Reading
Room
•
Reading
Room
can
be
used
by
all
Members
•
System
Configura<on
through
GUI
• Employee,
Ra<ng
official
and
HRO
of
GS-­‐12
and
below
can
create
bio
data
• Bio
data
can
cycle
through
the
workflow
from
open
to
closed
Product
Launch
• Released
to
all
workforce

16. Team
Members
Hours
per
Sprint
#
of
Sprints
Burn
Rate
Overhead
/
Expenses
Es<mate
Estimate Cost
16
Es<mates
are
defined
as:
Total
SW
Project
=
SW
Development
Labor
+
Other
Labor
+
Non-­‐Labor

17. Velocity Chart

18. Tracking Progress
18

19. • Frequently
inspec<ng
the
plan
and
adap<ng
it
at
different
levels
ensures
value
is
delivered
Inspect and Adapt
19

20. What’s Next on the Improvement Backlog
• Length
of
<me
to
deliver
value
added
customer
releases
• Consistent
inspec<on
and
adap<on
• Consistent
applica<on
of
Agile
methodology

21. Summary – Did We Get There?
• Don’t
specify
detailed
requirements
• Scope
at
the
Detailed
level
can
and
will
change
• Es<mate
for
the
Product
at
the
Vision
and
Goal
level
• Have
cross
func<onal
team
es<mate
• Engage
the
Mission
-­‐
• Adapt
the
plan
through
feedback

22. shokuninadvisors.com
brandon.raines@shokuninadvisors.com
Brandon
Raines
@brandonraines
Drop
me
a
line…