Agility Guide


The blastoff deliverables are necessary for all projects regardless of their aspirations for agility. For example, even the most agile of projects must consider the scope of the work if it is to avoid wandering aimlessly because nobody knows which parts of the work are relevant. The differences between agility indicators here focus on the degree of formality used to record the deliverables.

Rabbits should have a sketch of the work scope model pinned to their walls, the list of stakeholders in a blog, and the project goals written with a broad marker pen on the project war room wall. Rabbits will probably have only a brief meeting at best, with most of the consensus on the blastoff coming from blogs, phone calls, and other informal interactive means. Despite the relative informality, we cannot stress enough the importance of documenting the work scope and ensuring you are thinking about the work, and not just the intended product.

Horses should be more formal and hold a blastoff meeting. They then communicate the blastoff results to the appropriate people, including all the stakeholders. Deliverables are recorded and distributed. Horse projects are likely to benefit from sketching a first-cut, Low-Fidelity prototype to ensure all stakeholders understand where the project is headed.

Elephants have a lot to lose by not having the blastoff deliverables firmly in place before proceeding. In most cases, the deliverables are discovered during meetings with the key stakeholders, and the results are recorded and distributed. Elephants should take the additional step of having the QA people test their blastoff deliverables. Elephant projects are critical, and costly if they make errors. The foundation of the requirements must be rock solid, and proved to be so. Risk analysis and cost estimation are important to elephant projects. Having a clearly defined and properly understood work scope is crucial.

The degree of formality you apply to understanding the blastoff deliverables will vary depending on your agility profile. In any case, it is vital that you do understand the deliverables. This chapter explains what you need to achieve this level of understanding.




Mastering the Requirements Process
Mastering the Requirements Process (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0321419499
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 371

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