saas project management

SAAS PROJECT MANAGEMENTTEAM-BASED BACKLOGS

Glen Lipkahttp://www.commadot.com

Problem Statement

Existing systems assume incorrectly: That all team members are interchangeable. That velocity remains the same week-to-week That projects have an END That emergencies bug/patches can not be inserted into a sprint That product management has time to rank EVERY work item completely That requirements are known in advance and are finite That CEOs don’t throw everyone for a loop with a new initiative

Key questions cant be answered. What is everyone doing this week? Next week? When is that feature going to live? What is launching this weekend? What happens if I insert a big emergency into people’s schedule this

week?

Releases

This is a container for looking at bigger themed periods. Helpful to bucket larger projects

Release number: (Decimal System)Time: Number of iterations or DeadlineTheme: Textarea

Release number: (Decimal System)Time: Number of iterations or DeadlineTheme: Textarea

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Iterations

Short periods of time (1-4 weeks)

Similar to an agile sprint You can insert a new period

into the middle when a big distracting project comes on board.

Default is one iteration per release, but expected to enter more.

NEW ITERATION

Iteration number: (Decimal System)Time: Number of available days or Deadline

NEW ITERATION

Iteration number: (Decimal System)Time: Number of available days or Deadline

SubmitSubmit

Calendar

Group calendar Releases Iterations Patches Regular Pushes Other events

Individual Calendar Availability

Team Members

Members NEW Team Member

Name: TextEmail: emailCapacity per period: Based on pointsPermissions: TBDTeam: multi-picker

NEW Team Member

Name: TextEmail: emailCapacity per period: Based on pointsPermissions: TBDTeam: multi-picker

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Teams

Teams can have one member or several

A member can be on more than one team if needed

Each team has its own sprint and backlog

NEW Team

Name: TextDescription: textareaDistribution Email: if availableMembers: multi-pickerPermissions: TBD

NEW Team

Name: TextDescription: textareaDistribution Email: if availableMembers: multi-pickerPermissions: TBD

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Work Item

Work is assigned to one team only

Work can be: Defining requirements Fixing a bug Enhancing a feature Building something new Configuration change Producing a plan for

something Generally not assigned

here. Backlog screens (see slides later on)

Dependencies can be used to make “sub-work items”.

NEW Work Item

Name: TextID #: dynamicDescription: textareaCase #: if applicableAssigned to: single-pickerComments:Tags:Type: See list on left (configurable) Estimated finish: single picker (iterations)Status:Estimated size: (ideal hours or points)Business Priority: (Strategic A-F)Support Priority: P1-P5Rank: 1-100, for drilling into A-FSVN Source: Dynamic from SVN checkinsDependancies: multi-picker

NEW Work Item

Name: TextID #: dynamicDescription: textareaCase #: if applicableAssigned to: single-pickerComments:Tags:Type: See list on left (configurable) Estimated finish: single picker (iterations)Status:Estimated size: (ideal hours or points)Business Priority: (Strategic A-F)Support Priority: P1-P5Rank: 1-100, for drilling into A-FSVN Source: Dynamic from SVN checkinsDependancies: multi-picker

SubmitSubmit

Work Viewer

Team 1: Front EndTeam 1: Front End Team 2: BackendTeam 2: Backend Team 4: Prod. ManagementTeam 4: Prod. Management

UnassignedUnassigned

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

Iteration NameIteration Name

Iteration NameIteration Name

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

Iteration NameIteration Name

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#13: Name#13: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#35: Name#35: Name

#34: Name#34: Name

Iteration NameIteration Name

Iteration NameIteration NameIteration NameIteration Name

Filter ToolsFilter ToolsView OptionsView Options“New” Menu“New” Menu

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TODO

Show interaction of “drag/drop” on work viewer

Show view options Show Filter options Show how patches look Show how long running work items look Iterate lots of times

Summary

Product, Program, Project and Engineering management don’t have a solid way of managing a never-ending product. (SaaS)

People specialize on certain kinds of tasks. The key is to view each persons (or team of similar

persons) backlog and prioritize them independantly