Planning is essential to the success of every organization. Some don’t plan enough, which leads to flabby processes and loosey-goosey management. Others over plan, which leads to rigidity and brittleness. So how do you find that happy middle ground?
A hallmark of Agile is, of course, “flexibility.” So you’d be excused in thinking that planning, in principle, rubs against the grain of a malleable, adaptable, Agile organization. In reality, though, the planning process can be worked into Agile product development using Scrum and used flexibly to fit projects of various sizes and durations. Planning doesn’t have to entail rigidity.
Yes, Agile development requires planning. According to some, there are precisely five levels of Agile planning. But what does that entail? And does your solution require each one? Here, we explain.
1. Product Vision (AKA Product Goals)
You may have encountered Product Vision in Scrum-related images and infographics. A Product Vision is an idealized manifestation of the product you are aiming to create. Call your product into your mind’s eye. There it is, doing what it does in all its de-bugged, customer-satisfying glory. You can describe it in detail. You know who it’s for. You know how to market it.
But how do you make that product a reality? Product Goals are concrete, cumulative, achievable steps that lead an organization closer to the Product Vision. Product Goals are measurable, explicit, and transparent to all stakeholders. They’re discrete stepping stones that, when traversed, ultimately take you to your destination: the functional and valuable product described by your Product Vision.
A fundamental level of planning, then, is to outline your Product Vision and to specify some Product Goals to bring that vision into reality.
2. Roadmap
Some Scrum practitioners advocate the use of Product Roadmaps. Others, not so much. It’s worth noting that a Product Roadmap is not in the Scrum Guide.
The basic idea behind a Product Roadmap is to provide stakeholders with detailed information about how the product will come to fruition. A Roadmap will contain specific milestones that, when achieved, will take you closer and closer to a functional product.
Roadmaps can be goal-oriented, focused on the end rather than the work it would take to achieve the end. Alternatively, Roadmaps can be time-oriented, specifying the work that is being done now, and how that work will change as time moves forward. This approach is not focused on the end, but rather on the means that will ultimately achieve the end.
In any case, Roadmaps are simple and flexible plans, and should be transparent to stakeholders involved in the creation of the product.
3. Release Plan
A Release Plan specifies the moments in a product’s life cycle in which functional, usable features will be made available to stakeholders, customers, marketing campaigns, event planners, and perhaps others.
One of the principles of Agile development is to satisfy stakeholders “through early and continuous delivery” of working products. This can be closely aligned with Product Goals but not necessarily bound to them. Releases should happen as often as your business needs and not be limited to Goals.
A product’s Release Plan is a publicly available reflection of that planning and those timelines, and should always be responsive to changing requirements.
4. Iteration Planning (aka Sprint Planning)
Every complex outcome is built by many small steps or iterations. Iteration Planning is a team’s way of specifying how one of those steps is to be achieved. But if you look through the Scrum Guide, you won’t see any talk of Iteration Planning.
Instead, you’ll see a section on Sprint Planning. Sprints are one of the fundamental units of Scrum. They limit risk by creating Done and usable increments and deliver value in small batches allowing opportunities for feedback. . And, of course, they need to be planned.
Sprint Planning is designed to be efficient, thus the timeboxing. The purpose of Sprint Planning is to forecast what work is to be done during the next Sprint and how that work is to be achieved. The purpose of that work is represented by the Sprint Goal, which serves as the business reason for doing the work during the Sprint.
“Sprints are the heartbeat of Scrum,” according to the Scrum Guide. Taking that sentiment seriously entails realizing the importance of Sprint Planning in any product’s life cycle.
5. Daily Stand Up (aka Daily Scrum)
Another planning event covered in the official Scrum Guide is the Daily Scrum (sometimes known in practice as the Daily Stand Up). The goal of the Daily Scrum is to assess how the team is advancing toward the Sprint Goal and to recalibrate any work for the day with changes in the Sprint Backlog.
The Daily Scrum should be short and is usually held in the same location every day to remove complexity. Imagine how annoying it would be to meet in a different place and time everyday. Daily meetings enhance a team’s ability to meet goals and optimize their collaborative performance. The Daily Scrum fosters communication between team members, making additional meetings unnecessary.
Forget the Levels–Work With Experts
Even though the Scrum Guide makes no mention whatsoever of the five levels of Agile Planning, it is discussed ubiquitously online, leading many to think that there are varying ways that companies can approach Agile transformations. It’s important to make note, however, that though Scrum leans on flexibility that doesn’t mean it’s flexible in the nature of how it works.
So, if you can’t trust the internet to help lead you to better processes and products, who can you trust?
Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are a group of experts specializing in Agile development frameworks, strategies and tactics , more specifically the Scrum framework. We offer a wide range of consulting services that can help your business make plans for effective product development, product management, and product delivery.
Responsive Advisors is a dynamic service that can interface with your organization, quickly offer up effective solutions, and continue to advise and build awareness about Agile transformation as your company grows and changes.
Tagged with: