Agile Planning and Estimation at UNEP-WCMC

An Ignite talk on agile planning and Estimation at UNEP-WCMC

Transcript

1. "To achieve greatness two things are needed, a plan, and not quite enough time" Leonard Bernstein
2. Columbus had a plan But his estimates weren’t so good… He got the size of the Earth wrong He got the size of the Eurasian landmass wrong He got the location of Japan wrong " (and never actually got there)
3. But his journey was still valuable
4. Client requirements Elements of technology User behaviour
5. “If we follow to the second all 2000 tasks on this gantt chart, the project will come in on time and on budget” A. Liar
6. "No plan survives contact with the enemy" Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke
7. The Cone of Uncertainty
8. Change is a good thing, why fight it?
9. Agile teams recognise these problems and plan throughout the project
10. A good plan is one that stakeholders find sufficiently reliable that they can use it as the basis of decision making
11. Consider these statements… “Yes Sir, we’ve had our best guy on it, and we can deliver the project on the 26th September. Yes, book the multi-million pound launch for the 27th, you can count on us”
12. VS “Our estimates suggest we’ll be done at the end of September, but we should factor in some variance. Lets aim for launch in early October, but review that decision a month into the project”
13. The first statement builds expectation unnecessarily, and increases risk.
14. Ok, but how do we build trust with stakeholders without all the charts and paperwork?
15. Lets be honest about the risks, & embrace uncertainty Not be afraid to give realistic estimates Plan to maximise our learning across the project, to deliver the best product we can. Build trust with the client by being honest and working closely with them throughout the length of the project.
16. Involving the CLIENT is vital because… 1.  It builds trust 2.  Reduces risk 3.  Leads to a better product
17. Involving USERS is also vital because… 1.  It maximises our learning opportunities which… 2.  Reduces risk 3.  Leads to a better product
18. Estimate by Feature So we can prioritise based on Risk vs Value
19. Revise estimates during the project When knowledge gained is significant enough to alter the current course of work When unforeseen problems arise, or are more significant than originally estimated
20. And Columbus? Re-calculated and learned along his journey He found an entire continent He over-delivered