2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Inception Overview WE BUILD GREAT PRODUCTS NOT JUST GREAT [:code] Inception Initial Concept Introductory conversations Pre-Inception Proof of Concept (optional) Pre-Design Development Maintenance 1 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Table of Contents Overview Testimonials How-To: Preparing for an Effective Inception Support on Your Visit to Kiev 2 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Overview Inception is a powerful and extremely efficient way to clarify and shape product solution, get all the project stakeholders on the same page and inspire the team. During the 2-day session in Kiev, Inception participants explore business goals, roles, use cases, etc. As a result, a constructive roadmap is created allowing the team to effectively start the project and deliver a solution that will provide exceptional value to its users. Pre-Inception Inception Introduction Demo Issues/benefits/risks and goals Roles and workflows Prioritization Application roles Components Workflows/screens Consumer Domain knowledge Business goals Other goals Proof of concept (optional) Pre-design Development 3 Maintenance 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Introduction IInception starts with all participants introducing themselves around the table, explaining their role and responsibilities. Needless to say, it is important for all the product stakeholders to have their responsibilities split and well-defined. Our recommended approach is using RASCI model. Demo After the introduction, client goes into showing a demo of what he currently has and sharing his thoughts on the product. This might be any kind of information exposing the product idea: screens, diagrams, data flow charts, wireframes, etc. Issues/benefits/risks and goals Discussion of the future application starts with the consumers’ perspective - who they are, what kind of issues they have and benefits they want to receive -- and then moves on to the client’s domain knowledge. Since the client is in the context, maintains the product/idea for quite a while and holds all the data related to it, we have to get all this knowledge from him and really make sure that we understand everything correctly.With the team getting deeper into context, we start interviewing client for goals (i.e. business related, etc.) and help him put these goals down on paper in a way consistent for our comprehension. Roles and workflows After a bit of a break we move on talking through all the roles, making sure they are consistent and prioritized. The crucial ones are identified and the rest are pushed onto the next development stages. Eventually, for each role we define the workflows it’s supposed to go through and draft the screens of the most critical workflow parts. Prioritization The next Inception stage is organizing everything using MoSCoW prioritization method. It helps us arrange client’s domain knowledge in a technical roadmap which would guide us through all the client’s requirements during the actual development process. Roadmap is a weekly forecast on deliverables and budgets, as well as a synchronization point for all the project stakeholders. It is continuously updated based on the iteration results; and combined together with user stories, it makes the development scope transparent throughout the whole production period (refer to the picture in the bottom of this page). Risks and potential solutions Finally, with the goals set, we put them on the board and move on to writing down risks on the paper cards (i.e. related to business, process, integration, data, technical aspects, etc.). Each card is then discussed along with the possible solutions of how these risks can be mitigated. 4 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Roadmap Example inception Inception 6 7 v planing Planing and estimation 6 8 v Init Fix cucumber tests 3 9 > v Init Parallel dev? 8 v Init Setup understanding of flowdoc + oodesign + oocss - screens how to : 8 v Init Design/screens schedule 8 v Init Process schedule (standup, retrospective, flowdoc, to-pair, local to-pair) 8 v Init Schedule client visit 8 v added initial layout, backbone + marionette + handlebars 9 v theme-packager As a developer I want to build customized theme based on YML file (extend theme import) 5 10 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45238121 > > v basic-layout User sees "old" themes list on the sidebar1 10 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45238755 v basic-layout User wants to see chosen theme applied on the right 1 10 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45239033 v logos Admin uploads a logo 2 10 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45479809 v logos Admin wants to see uploaded logos 1 10 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45479849 v logos Admin deletes a logo 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45479893 v logos Admin previews site with specific logo 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45925309 v logos Admin enables/disables a logo 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45479867 v logos Limit logo uploads to 4 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45751289 v logos Admin views logo upload errors 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45928801 v banners Admin wants to upload a banner image 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45480019 v banners Admin sees list of banners 0 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/45480045 v banners Admin enables/disables banners 1 11 http: //www.pivotaltracker.com/story/show/46091943 v Epics Stories Est. week Pivotal link 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Week day start > 2/11 2/18 2/25 3/4 3/11 3/18 3/25 4/1 Week day finish > 2/17 2/24 3/3 3/10 3/17 3/24 3/31 4/7 Time spent > 51 53 44 42 95 86 113 80 Velocity > 6 6 3 10 9 19 20 10 Hours per story-point > 8.5 8.8 14.7 4.2 10.6 4.5 5.6 8.0 ... and it goes like this for complete set of the project features. 5 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Testimonials TennisHub chose Railsware because of their full cycle product development experience and a key element is their Inception framework. I traveled to Kiev for Inception and it was absolutely awesome. The level of detail and thoughtfulness that Railsware brings to the table is truly exceptional. We discussed the intent of the application, market, business model, technical risks and, based on all of these factors, reorganized priorities to define precisely what features offer our customers the most value. I can say with certainty that Inception and the Railsware team are key reasons why TennisHub has been so successful. Eddie Ross, CEO, TennisHub.com Firstly, I have to say Railsware's Inception is not an easy thing but by doing it, I saved money, time and perfected my product vision. Let me explain how - this 2-day collaboration process is all about knowledge transfer, looking at the product from different angles, sorting out and prioritizing the details. Part of this process is also bringing up potential risks: technical, business etc. Even though I had spent 6 months prior to the Inception conceiving what I thought was that perfect application, we still uncovered several risks during the Inception that led me to reconsider my initial product vision. That is the the value of the Railsware Inception! Without the Inception, we would have wasted precious development resources on the wrong things. The Inception have helped avoid that waste of time and money. Babatope Awotona (Project under NDA) I have to admit, that when Railsware proposed us to come to Kiev for a two day workshop - a so-called Inception - with four members of the Railsware team, while we were basically only expecting an offer for our project, I was a little skeptic. This skepticism proved to be completely inappropriate. It was an awesome experience to have four experts looking at your product with full passion from minute one onwards until the very end of these two days! Not only from a technical perspective, but also from a product and customer perspective these two very intense days were very beneficial and we are able to become a much more clearer vision of what the future product should look like, to dicuss potential risks and to prioritize essential features over less important ones. Lastly, the opportunity to get to know your future team that you'll spend a lot of time with so well even before the project has started, is an opportunity that I would not want to miss for future projects anymore. Tim Ruffner, CEO & founder Talendo.ch 6 

Railsware How-To: Preparing for an Effective Inception Inception is an absolutely great way to effectively start the production process. And in order for the Inception to go faster and smoother, we usually have a few preliminary interactions with the client to make sure that we have enough data on both sides to kick off.Below is the checklist of details we ask our clients to prepare in advance. Introduction stakeholders involved in the product, their responsibility and contact info. Prepare for demo wireframes, mockups, screenshots of apps you like (similar features, design); competitor products; screens, pictures, real-life stories, scenarios; additionally to all the information above - any information you have/want to show, presentation, specification. Goals/risks consumer focus who are the real life roles (@Lawyer, @Traveller, @Sales rep, @Driver); issues/benefits/risks of those real-life roles. domain knowledge something a domain expert knows, but consumers lack knowledge of; something that will help consumers resolve their issues, create benefits, mitigate risks. business goals anything that can change the way the application should be made for the business; benefits/issues/risks - toward the business; biz/tech; revenue model, leads generation, marketing model; terms (when to start, when to get it delivered), partners, integrations, contracts; budget. other goals any other issues/benefits/risks that didn't fall into categories above. 2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine 7 

2013 www.railsware.com +1 (646) 397 4918 [email protected] European HQ 10-A Naberezhno-Kreshchatitska Kiev 04070, Ukraine Railsware Support on Your Visit to Kiev According to the Railsware Client Visit Policy, we will offer you the following complimentary support upon your arrival to Kiev: Transfer from/to Airport Accommodation in Railsware Corporate Apartment near to the Railsware Kiev office Local phone Lunch in the office In order for us to match your accommodation requirements, please send us your basic wish-list and the dates of your stay in Kiev. If the client prefers to book a hotel — we advice Radisson BLU (http://l.rw.rw/hrb) or Podol Plaza (http://l.rw.rw/hpp) Also one of the team members will make a city tour for you guys. And our administrative staff will make sure that your stay is always comfortable. In the evening — the team members and other railswarians will join you for the dinners to have a good talk. We advise to take the flight through Holland, Germany and United Kingdom. Try to avoid France/Paris (due to delays, lengthy gate transfers and they often lose your luggage). Roles/workflows - solution that you envision application roles (user, administrator, anonymous user, paid user). components- key components, sub components; a type of a sitemap representation. workflows / screens login workflow, sign-up workflow; uploading and sharing your photo; creating a company. Prioritization goals, risks, roles and worklfows are prioritized using MoSCoW method; so that critical domain knowledge information is delivered to the software developers and could be used in the roadmap to prioritize development path. 8