User Stories Applied:

For Agile Software Development

–

Ch 10. Planning an iteration

Chen Jing Fung @iii

2011/6/23

Ref: other Agile solutions How to write,

gather ideas, estimate the approach

Planning an iteration • Best time:

– the start of each iteration

– Take a release(/planning process) one step further

• Participant: – customers as well as all of developers

• Key: – not much detail but enough planning for action-based

– Ideal for planning a release

• Activities for an iteration planning meeting

Discuss a story Disaggregate into

tasks

Accept responsibility

(tasks)

done Estimate points

(worth?)

start

Y N

Discussing the stories

• Discussing the stories

– Opportunity to change the stories priority from customers(C) &/or developers(D) • C: adjust priorities to deliver maximum business

• D: ask questions until the story -> tasks

– Not need every detail

customer

developers

Discuss a

story

Disaggregate into

tasks Accept responsibility (tasks)

done Estimate points

(worth?)

start

Y N

An iteration

planning

change

Disaggregating into tasks

• Reason: – Not just one developer

– Stories descript the user/customer-valued functionality (not to-do list)

• Tasks: – Steps

– Write on white board

• Notice: – the tasks for updating the user guide & help system

• Guideline for separating story into tasks – Difficult to estimate

– Done by more than one developers (Ex. UI & lib)

– Know a part of story is done => break it as a task

Discuss

a story

Disaggregate

into tasks Accept responsibility (tasks)

Estimate points

(worth?)

Y N

Short bursts,

Just-in-time

deign

Upfront design

phase

Responsibility & Estimate+Confirm

– Task points are from story points (each task <-> its member)

• Key - accepting responsibility – One member accept his/her

tasks

– (team) progress through the iteration • Learning more about tasks

• Find some work easier than planned

– But some harder? (move to later iteration / ask for help)

Discuss

a story

Disaggregate

into tasks

Accept responsibility

(tasks)

Estimate points

(worth?)

Y N

story

Task

+

name developers

Task ...

John

responsibility

• Commitments need to change – We are in the same boat =>

team win!!

• Estimate & Confirm – Estimate points/tasks

reliability!!

– Basic unit: individual

– Make sure no one over-committed

– Procedure if over-committed • Keep all the tasks & hope

• Request someone to take

• Talk with customer dropping/splitting a story

reliability

53 p-task/

2weeks

over!!

Summary

• Iteration plan take for release planning => one step further

– For the iteration being started

– Discuss each story & split it into its constituent task • Keep the relationship: stories → tasks (story points:

week -> date -> hour)

– Facilitate estimation • No mandatory size range for tasks (Ex. 5 hr/3 tasks)

• Encourage developers to work other parts of story

• One developer accepts responsibility for each task

• Assess over-committed?

– Cyclically estimating each task until reliability (story points)

Ref: other Agile solutions How to write, gather ideas, estimate the approach