PresidentWest Arete

Scott Woods

Shipping on time and on budget, without compromising

on flexibility

Internal team with dedicated product

owner?

External team with different stakeholders /

clients?

Use Scrum or Kanban?

Awareness

Direct control is an illusion

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

2. Nobody knows precisely what you should build

Outcomes, not features

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

2. Nobody knows precisely what you should build

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

2. Nobody knows precisely what you should build

3. Negotiating is futile without quantitative facts about the future

Cone of Uncertainty

Cone of Uncertainty

Velocity only works if…

• Time boxes are consistent• Team size stays consistent• Points are unbiased• Stories are written by both parties• Stories are actually accepted by

stakeholder

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

2. Nobody knows precisely what you should build

3. Negotiating is futile without quantitative facts about the future

4. Your job will be in trouble if “it” is not delivered on time and on budget

Planning with Scrum• Break everything into tiny deliverables

(3/week)• Stakeholders accept/reject each delivery• Measure how much gets accepted each

week• See what fits in the time remaining at this

pace• Stakeholders prioritize remaining

deliverables

Uncomfortable Truths1. You can’t estimate worth a damn

2. Nobody knows precisely what you should build

3. Negotiating is futile without quantitative facts about the future

4. Your job will be in trouble if “it” is not delivered on time and on budget

5. Working overtime will ultimately kill you

PresidentWest Arete

Scott Woods

scott@westarete.com