How to plan a feature (short version)

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Radoslav Stankov How to Plan a Feature

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Radoslav Stankov @rstankov

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Complicated feature !

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Where to start?

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Waterfall methodology

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" Waterfall Methodology

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... this what we get

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Agile methodology

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# Agile Methodology

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No need for upfront design, just...

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... code like a cowboy

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... this what we get

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Lean

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Shape Up

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We are in build phase ... now what?

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Tools when you need them...

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$ Shape Up Hill Chart

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$ Shape Up Hill Chart

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Plan for today

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% Drawing & Spike ' Agenda

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% Drawing

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( Draw state/ﬂow we want to achieve ) Draw current state/ﬂow * Database structure ➡ What we need todo (plan) % Drawing

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, Tools Excalidraw - great for single player Whimsical - great for collaboration    PlantUML - great for documentation Figma - for UI collaboration with designer Miro/FigJam - for group brainstorming ... use whatever works for you -

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https://blog.rstankov.com/how-i-plan-and-execute-features/

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done todo won't do in progress https://blog.rstankov.com/how-i-plan-and-execute-features/

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. Showcase 1

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Feature: Stacking on product page product page (not in stack) -> do you use -> yes -> review  product page (not in stack) -> do you use -> no -> search (alternative) -> review   product page (in stack) -> still using? -> yes -> ask for tip -> add tip  product page (in stack) -> still using? -> no -> search (alternative) -> review . Showcase 1 (end to end test scenarios)

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. Showcase 2

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. Showcase 2

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. Showcase 3 (brainstorm)

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. Showcase 4 (advice)

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. Showcase 5 (advice)

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PlantUML https://www.plantuml.com/

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@startuml "Browser" -> "Cloudflare": HTTPS Request "Cloudflare" -> "AWS ELB": HTTPS Request "AWS ELB" -> "Frontend (AWS ECS)": HTTPS Request "Frontend (AWS ECS)" -> "Backend (AWS ECS)": GraphQL Request "Backend (AWS ECS)" -> "Redis (Rediscloud)": Cache Query "Backend (AWS ECS)" -> "Database (AWS RDS Aurora)": SQL Query "Backend (AWS ECS)" --> "Frontend (AWS ECS)": JSON Response "Frontend (AWS ECS)" --> "Browser": HTML Response @enduml PlantUML https://www.plantuml.com/

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( Explain the problem to someone (vocal or in writing) ) Why something won't work / While doing this ideas will come / Explain the problem

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( Create empty file on Desktop ) Write quick & dirty code in empty file * Imagine a perfect world for this code 0 Delete file # If solution is 1 ➡ think of something else ➡ If solution is ✅ ➡ use ideas in project ✍ Code Sketch

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4 ...but “Why don't you use paper? ... I like using paper” “I can't draw, I don't have the skills.”

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4 ...but “Why don't you use paper? ... I like using paper” “I can't draw, I don't have the skills.” 5 Paper is too small, I want inﬁnite canvas 6 Paper is permanent, I want to re-arrange, update 7 I want to share with multiple people and collaborate

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4 ...but “Why don't you use paper? ... I like using paper” “I can't draw, I don't have the skills.” If paper works for you ... amazing, keep using it 8

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4 ...but “Why don't you use paper? ... I like using paper” “I can't draw, I don't have the skills.” I couldn't too, it took me 6~8 months to get good with Excalidraw ... I'm still improving. 9

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4 ...but “Why don't you use paper? ... I like using paper” “I can't draw, I don't have the skills.”

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& Spike

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“A task aimed at answering a question or gathering information, rather than at producing shippable product. Sometimes we can't estimate until the development team does some actual work to resolve a technical question or a design problem.” - WikipediA Spike (software development)

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: Deﬁne scope and time-box ( Write quick & dirty code in a Pull Request ) Review the solution * Close Pull Request without merging # If solution is 1 ➡ Discuss new solution ➡ If solution is ✅ ➡ Open new Pull Request & Spike

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“The goal of a "spike" is to help you draw a map of how to implement a solution with conﬁdence, not to implement a solution.” - Rado

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“The best feature of a "spike" is that it is a safe way to say this approach doesn't work.” - Rado

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4 ...but “We can't do a "spike" for every feature. It will waste too much time.” “You don't need a "spike" to show that your solution isn't good.” “Why do you need to throw away the code?” “Isn't this a Prototype, MVP, PoC?” Don't do it for every feature. Do it when you are not conﬁdent how to solve a problem. ;

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4 ...but “We can't do a "spike" for every feature. It will waste too much time.” “You don't need a "spike" to show that your solution isn't good.” “Why do you need to throw away the code?” “Isn't this a Prototype, MVP, PoC?” Because of "Tunnel vision" and "sunk cost fallacy" ;

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4 ...but “We can't do a "spike" for every feature. It will waste too much time.” “You don't need a "spike" to show that your solution isn't good.” “Why do you need to throw away the code?” “Isn't this a Prototype, MVP, PoC?” Because it is usually a mess. I don't delete it, I just copy parts I need into a clean new PR ;

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4 ...but “We can't do a "spike" for every feature. It will waste too much time.” “You don't need a "spike" to show that your solution isn't good.” “Why do you need to throw away the code?” “Isn't this a Prototype, MVP, PoC?” Kinda - yes. The difference is in how big it is, who is meant for team or external, and do we ship it in production. -