Amber Hunt - Sprint 2 Paper 1 - Planning an Agile

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1  INTRODUCTION

1.2  CREATING YOUR PROJECT CHARTER

1.3  USING RELATIVE ESTIMATION

1.4  PLAYING PLANNING POKER

1.5  PLANNING YOUR SPRINTS & WRITING YOUR RELEASE PLAN

1.6  CONCLUSION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Planning an agile project does not have to be difficult. All one must do is the necessary steps to make it simple and effective. Which is to create project charter, estimate, plan, plan sprints, and write a release plan. These steps are guaranteed to help the planning phase of an agile project be smooth sailing.

1.2 CREATING YOUR PROJECT CHARTER

Creating a project charter lets you see the direction the project is heading. It is a great way to see the complete route the project is headed. It should have a mission statement and everyone on the team should have a say in this charter. (Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2017) It is not a plan, but an agreement that is used to make sure everyone lists what they want to see out of the project. This makes sure everyone’s thoughts are recorded at the start of the project. This is an excellent way to see how the vision of the project changed as time go on, or if it changed at all.

1.3 USING RELATIVE ESTIMATION

Estimates are time frames. In an Agile setting, estimation is less strenuous than in a traditional project. Teams spend less time on doing a task and more on not doing it. I know, confusing right? Agile does not focus on months, weeks, days, or hours. (Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2017) Instead, it looks at a project and estimates the time from seeing how big or small it is, which is called relative estimating. This compares the things that are known from those that aren’t. Relative estimation is used because it rejects incorrect accuracy of a project and no unclear commitments.

1.4 PLAYING PLANNING POKER

Planning Poker is a game that allows the group to work together to get optimum story estimates with moderate information. (Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2017) This game allows everyone to be heard, to have a voice. In Agile, the entire team is estimated. It is not like in a traditional project whereas one individual can cause a setback within the project. This is where group-thinking comes in. This allows the strongest/well admired thoughts to be picked and disagreements can cease.

1.5 PLANNING YOUR SPRINTS & WRITING YOUR RELEASE PLAN

Planning sprints and writing a release plan in Agile is relatively simple when the steps are followed. With planning sprints, some stories get pulled from the backlog and put into the sprint (Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2017). The entire team must be involved with sprints and they should not be longer than four hours. Many teams work on release plans after each sprint. (Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, 2017) Release planning includes the stakeholders, the team, product owner and scrum master. It, like many things in Agile is a team effort.

1.6 CONCLUSION

The planning phase of an Agile project is a lot of work, but not difficult as discussed above. Anything can be done once the entire team agrees and is happy. Those steps are there to be a guide within this stage of the project. Once followed, the overall aspect will be much easier to grasp. From creating project charters to calculating speed and writing a release plan, the project will go smoothly.

Citation

Lynda.com - from LinkedIn. (2017). Creating your project charter. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Creating-your-project-charter/175074/387217-4.html [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Lynda.com - from LinkedIn. (2017). Planning your sprints. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Planning-your-sprints/175074/387221-4.html [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Lynda.com - from LinkedIn. (2017). Playing planning poker. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Playing-planning-poker/175074/387219-4.html [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Lynda.com - from LinkedIn. (2017). Using relative estimation. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Using-relative-estimation/175074/387218-4.html [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Lynda.com - from LinkedIn. (2017). Writing your release plan. [online] Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Writing-your-release-plan/175074/387222-4.html [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].