How to have a conversation

To quote Mike Cohn, stories 'serve as placeholders for conversations.'

Despite this being a well known idea, everyone has had at least one experience of a badly defined story leading to the wrong thing being built.

In this workshop I will give you a framework to make those placeholders become conversations that are learning experiences that lead to great features.

We will cover running refinement sessions using the Three Amigos style:
​
Starting with a description of that that is anyway (Gotta start somewhere).
Lightweight psychology of people in teams (Amigos means friends, how do you get to that).
Activities to keep your refinement sessions fresh (there are three quizillion retro formats, why should retros be the only fun thing?)
How to feed that outcome back into your backlog. (We've learned something - and we need it to stay learned).

We'll be trying out some of the activities, and (time dependant) we will run a fish bowl on your specific problems.

Transcript

1. armakuni.com
   How to have a conversation
   Billie Thompson
   

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2. Introductions
   2
   ● Billie Thompson
   ● Developer
   ● Fav. Animal Capybara
   PurpleBooth
   ArmakuniHQ
   Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you
   

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4. We’ve worked with these people
   4
   

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5. 5
   Return creativity & joy to the world of
   software engineering
   

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6. 6
   Let’s play a game!
   The Agile Mexican Wave
   Todo Done
   In Progress
   Story 4 Story 3 Story 1
   Story 2
   

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7. 7
   Let’s play a game!
   The Agile Mexican Wave
   Todo
   In
   Progress
   Done Todo
   

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8. Let’s play a game!
   The Agile Mexican Wave
   8
   Todo Done
   In
   Progress
   

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9. 9
   Todays Menu
   ● Back to basics
   ● Psychology
   ● Supporting the right story
   You will read this bit of text last
   

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10. 10
    Back to basics: What is a story?
    

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11. 11
    User stories [...] serve as placeholders for
    conversations about the users’ detailed needs.
    Mike Cohn
    Advantages of User
    Stories for Requirements
    

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12. 12
    User stories start the process by writing down just
    two pieces of information: each goal to be satisfied
    by the system and the rough cost of satisfying that
    goal.
    Kent Beck
    User Stories Applied
    Foreword
    

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13. 13
    Every story must provide the customer with
    identifiable business value. This rule helps the
    customer to invest time and resources in the stories
    that matter.
    chromatic
    Extreme Programming
    Pocket Guide
    Photo: David H. Adler - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ptmpsiat/323303029/
    

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14. 14
    Concurrent development makes it possible to delay
    commitment until the last responsible moment, that
    is, the moment at which failing to make a decision
    eliminates an important alternative.
    Mary Poppendieck
    Lean Software
    Development
    

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15. 15
    ✨ Three Amigos! ✨
    

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16. 16
    How do we wait till the last
    responsible moment?
    

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17. 17
    How do we decide what to do in a
    Hypothesis Driven, High Autonomy
    Team?
    

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18. 18
    How we engage enough people to
    reduce bus factor?
    

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19. 19
    How can we improve the
    effectiveness of our team?
    

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20. 20
    ✨ Three Amigos! ✨
    

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21. It’s a conversation
    21
    Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project
    

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25. 25
    Planning or IPM
    Oh that boring one I
    don’t go to?
    

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27. 27
    Automated Test
    Run
    

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29. 29
    Automated Test
    Run
    

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31. 31
    Automated Test
    Run
    

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32. 32
    Feature
    Delivered
    

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33. 33
    Retro
    

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34. 34
    Three Amigos
    Shorter meetings?
    Sign me up!
    

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39. 39
    DEVELOPER
    What my coworkers
    think I do
    What my mom thinks I
    do
    What my boss thinks I
    do
    What I think I do
    What society thinks I
    do
    What I actually do
    

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40. 40
    TESTER
    What my coworkers
    think I do
    What my mom thinks I
    do
    What my boss thinks I
    do
    What I think I do
    What society thinks I
    do
    What I actually do
    

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41. 41
    PRODUCT OWNER
    What my coworkers
    think I do
    What my mom thinks I
    do
    What my boss thinks I
    do
    What I think I do
    What society thinks I
    do
    What I actually do
    

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42. 42
    You are not your job, you're not how
    much money you have in the bank.
    You are not the car you drive. You're
    not the contents of your wallet. You
    are not your fucking khakis.
    Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
    

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43. 43
    Set the stage for a good meeting
    

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44. 44
    Try to pose for yourself this task: not
    to think of a polar bear, and you will
    see that the cursed thing will come to
    mind every minute.
    Fyodor Dostoevsky, Winter Notes on Summer Impressions, 1863
    

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45. 45
    ➰ Iterate ➰
    

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46. armakuni.com
    Agile Scotland
    Edinburgh - December 2019
    Zenon Hannick & Craig Fotheringham
    How to be an
    Evil Scientist
    

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47. The individual
    47
    It allows people individually to be happy
    

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48. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17173201
    48
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17173201
    

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49. 49
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination_theory
    Autonomy Competence Relatedness
    

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50. 50
    You are not your fucking khakis.
    Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
    

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53. The team
    53
    It allows teams to be high performing
    

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54. 54
    https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/identify-dynamics-of-effective-teams/
    

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55. 55
    awful
    eye
    feeble
    seed
    prefer
    tasteful
    quizzical
    silky
    jazzy
    bleach
    hateful
    women
    grape
    rely
    filthy
    writer
    

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56. 56
    What was on the previous slide?
    

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57. 57
    awful
    eye
    feeble
    seed
    prefer
    tasteful
    quizzical
    silky
    jazzy
    bleach
    hateful
    women
    grape
    rely
    filthy
    writer
    

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58. 58
    A Trainable Spaced Repetition Model for Language Learning
    

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59. 59
    A Trainable Spaced Repetition Model for Language Learning
    

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60. 60
    We’re training
    

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61. 61
    We’re training to think alike
    

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64. 64
    The Blueprint Like
    

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65. 65
    Example Mapping
    

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66. View Slide

67. Would you rather break your arm or
    your leg?
    67
    

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68. Compliment the person
    sitting next to you!
    68
    

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69. Let’s play a game!
    The Agile Mexican Wave
    69
    Todo Done
    In
    Progress
    

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70. Example Mapping
    Story
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    70
    

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71. Story
    Example Mapping
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    71
    

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72. Story
    Example Mapping
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    72
    

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73. Story
    Example Mapping
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    73
    

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74. Example Mapping
    Story
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    74
    

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75. Example Mapping
    Story
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    75
    

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76. Example Mapping
    Story
    Rule Rule Rule
    Question
    Question
    Question
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    76
    

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77. Example Mapping
    Story
    Rule Rule Rule
    Example Example Example
    Example Example
    77
    

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78. Example Mapping
    78
    Gather in a circle
    and start
    counting...
    

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79. Example Mapping
    Divisible by 3,
    shout Fizz
    Divisible by 5,
    shout Buzz
    What if it’s divisible by
    5 and 3?
    79
    Gather in a circle
    and start
    counting...
    

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80. Example Mapping
    Divisible by 3,
    shout Fizz
    Divisible by 5,
    shout Buzz
    What if it’s divisible by
    5 and 3?
    What is the range of
    numbers? 1-100?
    My number is 6
    => “Fizz”
    My number is 5
    => “Buzz”
    10
    => “Buzz”
    80
    Gather in a circle
    and start
    counting...
    

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81. Example Mapping
    Not Divisible By
    5 or 3
    Divisible by 3,
    shout Fizz
    Divisible by 5,
    shout Buzz
    What if it’s divisible by
    5 and 3?
    What is the range of
    numbers? 1-100?
    My number is 1
    => shout “1”
    My number is 6
    => “Fizz”
    My number is 5
    => “Buzz”
    My number is 2
    => shout “2”
    10
    => “Buzz”
    81
    Gather in a circle
    and start
    counting...
    

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82. Example Mapping
    Not Divisible By
    5 or 3
    Divisible by 3,
    shout Fizz
    Divisible by 5,
    shout Buzz
    What if it’s divisible by
    5 and 3?
    What is the range of
    numbers? 1-100?
    If lose count? Or make
    a mistake?
    My number is 1
    => shout “1”
    My number is 6
    => “Fizz”
    My number is 5
    => “Buzz”
    My number is 2
    => shout “2”
    10
    => “Buzz”
    82
    Gather in a circle
    and start
    counting...
    

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84. 84
    In one word, describe how you feel
    about this meeting?
    

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86. 86
    Ice Breaker
    Ask everyone in the group a silly
    question!
    

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87. 87
    Example Mapping
    You work at a publishing house, and
    revenues are falling, as is circulation.
    Lots of people are reading your
    website though...
    

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88. 88
    Checkout
    Get feedback
    (It’s not just for Retros)
    

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89. 89
    Invent your own damn session!
    

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90. 90
    Invent your own damn session
    Yes and...
    

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91. 91
    Today I learned hopefully something
    I will test that by doing something
    I will know it works for me
    when measure
    shows change in reading
    

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92. armakuni.com
    Thank you!
    Billie Thompson
    

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