Comments on: No Waterfall Trap http://www.agilar.org/blog/2008/04/no-waterfall-trap/ The Agilar Blog Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:32:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Geert Bossuyt http://www.agilar.org/blog/2008/04/no-waterfall-trap/#comment-90 Geert Bossuyt Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:54:20 +0000 http://www.agilar.org/blog/?p=4#comment-90 I agree with the strategy of your choice. The art of not falling into a waterfall approach while adding an 'Analysis&Design' phase at the start of an agile traject is, I beleive, the most difficult part. We have been experimenting with an analysis & design phase of 1 day and it works very well. All stakeholders around the table ( including the Team off course ). Product owners starts with a 30 minute motivation of the Vision. In the next 6 hours all stakeholders come in a brainstroming kind of way to a clear image of how this Vision can be realised, both technical and organisational. How this is written down or drawn on a white board does not really matter as long as each and every one around the table leaves the room with the same understanding of the Project Goal. The next day, with the Project Goal and its motivation still clear in mind, a Sprint Planning can be done for the first Sprint. For this Sprint Planning I find it difficult to follow the 'Van Gogh' example. What was Van Gogh's Vision ? Did he want to paint a man with beard ? Did he want to create a piece of art to fill up an empty space at some wall ? Did he want to help someone advertising new suites ? Anyway, this Vision / Project Goal is very important to understand what can be called Shippeable code. In the Van Gogh example above, potentially, only the last Sprint dellivered Shippeable code. Imagine Van Goghs Product Owners Vision was to have a man with a beard painted. During the Brainstorm day all stakeholders could have agreed on a Project Goal that would result in a painting of a man in suit with a red beard and a nice background. But they would all leave the room with the understanding of the Vision being the peinture of a man with a beard. The first Sprint Goal could then be to paint the head of a man with a beard. This would already satisfy the Product Owners needs. A second Sprint could have the Goal of adding the mans suite and in the thrid Sprint a background could be added and the painting would be finished. All 3 Sprints deliver Shippeable code with real business value. Like this, the Product Owner might like the product after Sprint 2 and decide not to have Sprint 3. I agree with the strategy of your choice.
The art of not falling into a waterfall approach while adding an ‘Analysis&Design’ phase at the start of an agile traject is, I beleive, the most difficult part. We have been experimenting with an analysis & design phase of 1 day and it works very well. All stakeholders around the table ( including the Team off course ). Product owners starts with a 30 minute motivation of the Vision. In the next 6 hours all stakeholders come in a brainstroming kind of way to a clear image of how this Vision can be realised, both technical and organisational. How this is written down or drawn on a white board does not really matter as long as each and every one around the table leaves the room with the same understanding of the Project Goal.
The next day, with the Project Goal and its motivation still clear in mind, a Sprint Planning can be done for the first Sprint.

For this Sprint Planning I find it difficult to follow the ‘Van Gogh’ example.
What was Van Gogh’s Vision ? Did he want to paint a man with beard ? Did he want to create a piece of art to fill up an empty space at some wall ? Did he want to help someone advertising new suites ?
Anyway, this Vision / Project Goal is very important to understand what can be called Shippeable code. In the Van Gogh example above, potentially, only the last Sprint dellivered Shippeable code.

Imagine Van Goghs Product Owners Vision was to have a man with a beard painted.
During the Brainstorm day all stakeholders could have agreed on a Project Goal that would result in a painting of a man in suit with a red beard and a nice background. But they would all leave the room with the understanding of the Vision being the peinture of a man with a beard.
The first Sprint Goal could then be to paint the head of a man with a beard. This would already satisfy the Product Owners needs.
A second Sprint could have the Goal of adding the mans suite and in the thrid Sprint a background could be added and the painting would be finished. All 3 Sprints deliver Shippeable code with real business value. Like this, the Product Owner might like the product after Sprint 2 and decide not to have Sprint 3.

]]>