Agile Inception Deck

The Agile Inception
Deck
by Jonathan Rasmusson
Monday, 13 August, 12
Agenda
Part I - What is the Agile Inception Deck?
Part II - Creating our own
Beautiful code
Beautiful user experience
How can we be doing

everything right ...
and still get it wrong.
Good design
On time. On budget.
Great team
We are all in agreement then.
Oh.
The assumption of
consensus where none
exists is what
most projects.
Need something that ...
What if we did this ...

Ah!
Enter the inception deck

10 questions youd be
crazy not to ask before
you start your next project.
~ couple days, a week

1-6 months of planning

1. Ask why we are here.
2. Create an elevator pitch.
3. Design a product box.
4. Create a NOT list.
5. Meet your neighbours.
6. Show the solution.
7. What keeps us up at night.
8. Size it up.
9. Whats going to give.
10. Whats it going to take.
Start
Your project
End
Too late!
Ask the tough questions here

Purpose
Eliminate confusion and misunderstanding.
Set expectations.
Highlight challenges.
Get alignment.
BEFORE project begins.
Part I: Seeing the big picture

1. Ask why we are here

Teams make 1000s of decisions and tradeoffs when building software.
Want them to make the right ones.

To do that they need to be informed.
They need to know why.
#1 reason for doing this project?
Why are we here?

Better road
access?
Logistics
tracking?
Regulatory
compliance?
Efficiency?
Safety #1
How to get the why?

= Go and see =
(Genchi Genbutsu, )

(a volunteer please)
Pitch me the Wii.
Whats beautiful about

having 30 seconds?
Why elevator pitch?

Brings clarity and focus to project.
Forces team to think about the customer.
Forces hard decisions to be made:
who is it for? how is it different?
The Wii elevator pitch
For [parents with young families]

who [are scared by traditional game consoles]
the [Nintendo Wii]
is a [family entertainment system]
that [lets families play together].
Unlike [the XBox and PS3 which have complicated
joysticks and controllers]
our product [uses a natural, gesture based approach
to gaming that lets the whole family play (even
grandma)].
The elevator pitch
For [target customer]

who [statement of the need or opportunity]
the [product name]
is a [product category]
that [key benefit, compelling reason to buy].
Unlike [primary competitive alternative]
our product [statement of primary differentiation].
The elevator pitch

For [construction managers]
who [need to safely track peoples locations at the
construction site]
the [Construction Safety WorkPermit (CSWP)]
is a [safety communication tool]
that [allows people to be evacuated safely from sites
in the event of an emergency].
Unlike [our current paper based system]
our product [is web based and can be accessed by all
contractors from anywhere].
The Construction
Safety Permit System
Ideal for mine sites
Process permits faster!

Process permits safer!
Track peoples time better!
Where you need it. When you need it.
What if your product

was a box?
What would it look like?
Would you buy?
Features vs Benefits
Features vs Benefits
555 horsepower engine

0-100 km/h in 4.7 secs
Brake energy
regeneration
All wheel drive
Pass easy on highway

Impress your friends
Save money
Break safely with loved
ones
Design a product box

for the Wii
(15 min)
Step 1: List the benefits

Why buy?
Come up with three
reasons why someone
would buy the Wii.
(5min)
Step 2: Create a slogan

Something
catchy
Wii can all play
All together now
Will move you
(no slogan is too cheesy!)
(5min)
Step 3: Draw your creation

<Product name>
Slo
Your own image here
n
ga
Draw
<benefit #1>
<benefit #2>
<benefit #3>
(5min)
Why would we buy?

The Wii
yo
e
ov
ii m
W
u
Clarity
Focus
Alignment
Intent
Let grandma play

Fun for whole family
Family that plays together...
Lets talk about scope

How do you tell someone whats
IN scope
for their project?
4. Create a NOT list

OUT
IN
Stuff we
UNRESOLVED
Sample NOT list

IN
Create new permit
Update permit
Basic search
Basic reporBng (x1)
Print
Delete permit
OUT
IntegraBon with legacy system
Oine capability
UNRESOLVED
IntegraBon with logisBcs tracking system (LTS)
Security swipe card
Your project community

is always bigger
than you think.
(story)
5. Meet your neighbours

Safety officers
Production
support
Database
administrators
Technical writers
Help desk
Infrastructure
Core team
Everyone else!
Security
Greater community
Put your core team
members here ...
People to start building

relationships with
Core team
and everyone else

out here.
Governance (SOX)
Security audit
Production readiness
Business transformation
Change management
Database administrators
Corporate architecture
Training group
Technical writers
Legal
Help desk
Networking/infrastructure
Practice leadership team
Risk and compliance
Branch supervisors
Part II: Making it real

8. Size it up.
You pick your

architecture ...
when you pick your
team.
6. Show the solution

Browser
Security
Validation
Services
Domain logic
DB2
Mainframe
Webservices
To be decided
Technologies:
- <language>
- <libraries>
- <tools>
- <technology>
Unresolved
Out of scope
SAP HR
Third-party card
swipe system
Tibco
Beware!
ETL
Batch
SQL Server
SQL Server
Clustered
No test
environment
How should we deal

with all the craziness?
7. What keeps us up at night?

Your risk slide.
If you hear something crazy, get it out
there!
This is your opportunity to raise any issues

or concerns youve got.
As well as hear from the other side and

other team members.
Better now than leaving it till later.

Project risks
Director of construction availability
Team not co-located
Unproven technology
New security architecture
Timing of new logistics tracking system
Risks worth tackling
Slow computers
Customer availability
Team not sitting together
Economy cratering
Company getting acquired
Customer getting a promotion
Those that arent

The Lords Prayer...
Grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
8. Size it up
1 ?
3 ?
6 months?
How big?
We dont know exactly (but our sponsors
need a number).
So we guess - 1, 3, or 6 months
About as precise as we can get.
So we gather all our highlevel stories, and
guess how long we think it will take.
Guestimation
Master story list
Add user
Print itinerary
Cancel trip
Book permit
Update permit
Search
Create device
Add swap trade
Add option
Cancel plan
Make sure your sponsors see this!

For example
ConstrucBon
UAT
~3months
1 wk
Training
Ship it!
1 wk
This is a guess. Not a commitment.
Think small
Risk
12 months
Project length
(Randy Mott)
How are you going to deal with ...
Too much to do
and
not enough time.
9. Be clear on whats
going to give.
The Furious Four!
Time
Budget
Quality
Scope
Trade-off sliders
The classic four
ON
OFF
Feature completeness (scope)
ON
OFF
Stay within budget (budget)
ON
OFF
Deliver project on Bme (Bme)
ON
OFF
High quality, low defects (quality)

* They cant all be ON
* No two can occupy the same level
Is this enough?
Other important stuff

Other important stu
ON
OFF
Insanely fun computer game
ON
OFF
Reduce call center trac by 20%
ON
OFF
Increase conversions by 30%
ON
OFF
<insert your favorite here>
Phew!
Almost there ...
What two questions

does every executive
want answered
before sponsoring a
project?
1. How much?
2. When?
10. Whats it going to take
Be clear on your team

#
Role
Skill set
Developers
C#, Ajax, HTML/CSS, TDD, Analysis skills
Tester
Automated test experience (Selenium)
Project manager Part Bme - not billable to project
Customer
Source of truth. Can answer quesBons. Available to team.
Stakeholder
Oversees project. UlBmately accountable.
Put anyone you feel is necessary for the

success of the project on this list.
Clarify whos calling the shots

Our customer
The decider
Sets direction
Calls the shots
Where the team gets

their marching orders
Stakeholders
Get to give input
The core team

Rough budget
3 people x 3 1/2 months @$150/hr
$250K
* 160 hrs/ month

What this project is going to take

Construction
UAT
Training
~3 months
1 wk
1 wk
Ship it!
3 people, 3 months, $250K
Summary
The inception deck is seeking alignment,
awareness, and consensus before starting

our project.
Skip this step at your own peril.

Its much harder to deal with this stuff once
the bomb has gone off.
Best to raise set expectations now about
how we are going to work, and make sure

everyone is cool with how we want to roll.
Enter dojo
Scenario #1
While conducting your first project meeting, your
customer (a former developer) requests that the
application be built in an old legacy computer language
that is no longer supported within the company.
He explains that if the program is written in a language
he understands, he will be easier for him to maintain
and modify.
The employee designated to do the work doesnt
know the legacy language, and does not recommend
building the application in an unsupported technology.
Which inception deck card should we play?


8. Size it up.

8. Size it up.
Scenario #2
Half way through the project, certain stakeholders begin
changing the requirements and priorities.
These changes were not agreed to by all stakeholders, and
conflict with the spirit and direction agreed on at the
beginning of the project.
Not sure whether to incorporate these changes or not, the
team is confused about direction, and is unsure whether they
should include these new requirements.
What can the team do to remedy the situation?
Which card should we play?


8. Size it up.

7.What keeps us up at night.
8. Size it up.
Clarify whos calling the shots

Our customer
The decider
Sets direction
Calls the shots
Where the team gets

their marching orders
Stakeholders
Get to give input
The core team

Scenario #3
The companys mainframe is due for retirement and a mission
critical application needs to be written.
Wanting to do the development in house, the project team
decides to write it using a new technology they have no
experience in, while introducing a new agile software
development methodology.
The application development team is keen, but also very junior.
What card should we play here before starting the project?
Which card should we play?


8. Size it up.

7. What keeps us up at
night.
8. Size it up.
Scenario #4
The team is doing fantastic! Customer is thrilled
Only when going live do they realize how much work is
involved and how many parties need to be engaged.
Fortunately, the team is able to scramble, and in record
time they push through the sign-off process (though they
dont make many friends along the way)
Unfortunately, a few noses got bent along the way, and
internal groups are not fans of this new agile process
What happened?
What could we have done to prevent this?
Which card should we have played?


8. Size it up.

5. Meet your
neighbours.
8. Size it up.
Scenario #5
Youve assembled the A-Team.

The team is pumped.
Excited to come into work.
But then something strange starts to happen.
The customer starts telling the team to stop innovating.
Stop making the product better.
Proves incredibly frustrating to the team.
Dont understand - why not make the product better?
After several months best and brightest start to leave.
How could this project have prevented this scenario?
Which card should we have played?


8. Size it up.

1. Ask why we are
here.
8. Size it up.
9.Whats going to give.
= Intentionally blank =
Inception Deck Workshop

(1.5 hours)
Gather into teams
Build inception deck for

Online dating website
Your favourite mobile game
Design the new Apple TV
<your own>
Design an inception deck
(5-10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
This is going to go fast

Appoint a customer (a decider).
If you dont know the answer - make it up!.
Will present examples as we go.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)
1. Ask why we are

here.
8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

2. Create an elevator
pitch.
8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

3. Design a product
box.
8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

5. Meet your
neighbours.
8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

7. What keeps us up at
night.
8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
9. Whats going to
give.
Lets go!
(10 minutes each)

8. Size it up.
10. Whats it going to
take.
Resources
The Agile Samurai
Agile inception deck template
25% off this week only
Code: PragmaticAgile2012
http://pragprog.com/book/jtrap/the-agile-samurai
== Bonus Material ==
Some parting advice

Be flexible. You dont always need every slide.
Make it visible.
Its OK to start the deck yourself.
Keep it up to date.
There is no one way! Make it your own.
Questions!

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The Agile Inception

Beautiful user experience

How can we be doing

We are all in agreement then.

Need something that ...

What if we did this ...

Enter the inception deck

~ couple days, a week

Enter the inception deck

Ask the tough questions here

Part I: Seeing the big picture

1. Ask why we are here

Want them to make the right ones.

Why are we here?

How to get the why?

2. Create an elevator pitch.

Pitch me the Wii.

Whats beautiful about

Why elevator pitch?

The Wii elevator pitch

For [parents with young families]

The elevator pitch

For [target customer]

The elevator pitch

Process permits faster!

What if your product

Would you buy?

555 horsepower engine

Pass easy on highway

Design a product box

Step 1: List the benefits

Step 2: Create a slogan

Step 3: Draw your creation

Your own image here

Why would we buy?

Let grandma play

Lets talk about scope

4. Create a NOT list

Sample NOT list

Your project community

5. Meet your neighbours

People to start building

and everyone else

Part II: Making it real

You pick your

6. Show the solution

How should we deal

7. What keeps us up at night?

This is your opportunity to raise any issues

As well as hear from the other side and

Better now than leaving it till later.

Risks worth tackling

Those that arent

The Lords Prayer...

Grant me the serenity

Make sure your sponsors see this!

This is a guess. Not a commitment.

How are you going to deal with ...

The Furious Four!

Feature completeness (scope)

Stay within budget (budget)

Deliver project on Bme (Bme)

High quality, low defects (quality)

Other important stuff