sprinkle on just enough process
DESCRIPTION
How do you know if you have too much process, too little, or just the right amount? If you ignore process completely, unpredictability and chaos can follow. If you define the process to the nth degree and follow it religiously, the work grinds to a halt. Janet Gregory shares her experiences about how to find the tastiest balance of process and creativity for your projects and organization. She proposes that a formally defined process is sometimes necessary, but that it should be the exception. Explore with Janet the many variables—team size, complexity, criticality, organization structure, and culture—you must assess to find just the right balance. Learn how to make existing processes better by adding visibility to the process, getting team members’ input, and adapting documentation you need. Learn how to transform complicated processes into simpler ones—such as reporting a simple “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”—and go home with new tools to sprinkle on just enough process.TRANSCRIPT
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BT5 Concurrent�Session�11/14/2013�2:15�PM�
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"Sprinkle on Just Enough Process"
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Presented by:
Janet Gregory DragonFire, Inc.
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Brought�to�you�by:��
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Janet Gregory DragonFire, Inc.
Agile testing coach and practitioner Janet Gregory (@janetgregoryca) is the coauthor of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams and a contributor to 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know. Janet specializes in showing agile teams how testers can add value in areas beyond critiquing the product. For the past ten years, she has been working with teams to transition to agile development. Janet teaches agile testing courses and tutorials worldwide, contributes articles to leading publications, and enjoys sharing her experiences at conferences and user group meetings worldwide. Find more information at janetgregory.ca or visit her blog. �
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Janet Gregory
DragonFire Inc.@janetgregoryca
Sprinkle on Just Enough
ProcessBetter Software East, 2013
Last 4 yrs …
coaching, training,consulting
- Programmer 1991 – 1997: traditional projects
- QA Manager – traditional projects prior to 2000
- Tested in, and coached in agile teams 2000 – 2009
Agile Testing book
published
January 2009
A bit about me ….
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How much process is enough?
What Processes do You Have?• Requirements Management• Defect Tracking• Project Tracking• Release Management• Metrics• Team Management• Risk Management• Software Life Cycle• Documentation Management• Communication Channels• Back-up and Recovery• ………………………….
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Size Matters
Criticality / Complexity of Application
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PROCESS CONTROL
Visualization
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Story, Kanban, or Task Boards
Planning,Designing,etc.,Sessions
Shows process and progress
Pictures capture notes
Documentation Deliverables
• Test strategy• Test plan• Test cases• Estimates• Test charters• Bug reports• Metrics• Test results• Build notes• Release notes
• Deployment plan• Knowledge transfer• Retrospective notes• etc ………
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Ask ..
• Who wants it?
• Why do they want it?
• i.e. What problem are they trying to solve
• then …. Ask yourself, what is the simplest then you can possibly do?
Simple Test Results
Be prepared to discuss why … and risks if it is a thumbs down
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Something like this …
…. of a full product lifecycle description
Could you do something simpler
Rather than a 50 page document
Product Life Cycle Level 1
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EXPLORE REALIZESUPPORT & SUSTAIN
RETIRE
EXPLORE: What should we build?
REALIZE: Build it, test it & ship it!
SUPPORT & SUSTAIN:Keep it going!
RETIRE: Put it to sleep!
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EXPLORE – Expanded into Level 2 stages
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EXPLORE REALIZESUPPORT & SUSTAIN
RETIRE
Entry Criteria:Executive Decision
Exit Criteria:Approved Business Plan
ACTIVITIESMarket & customer analysis
Technology analysisROI analysis
Gather market requirements
EXPLORE•Purpose
– To identify product ideas and evaluate the business opportunity associated with each
•Entry Criteria– Executive directive based on a concept
•Exit Criteria (into REALIZE)– Approved Business Plan
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Approved business plan: Analysis of the business opportunity associated with a product, with “Approved” as the key to ensure that resources are committed before moving to the next step. It is a contract between management and the project team that the product is part of the roadmap.
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EXPLORE Stage – Level 2• Entry and exit criteria are the same as level 1
• Deliverables– Business Plan– MRD (Market Requirements document)
• Interim milestones– Completion of MRD– As defined in the Business Plan
• Example Activities– Market analysis– ROI analysis– Technology analysis– Gather market requirements
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Market Requirements doc.- Contract between marketing and engineering, with marketing leading the effort. It should include high-level product description, features, etc.; no detail, but high level to give a starting point for the engineering group to start filling in the details. The acceptance plan will be based on this document – i.e.) addresses the customer’s needs.
Technology analysis – Is the proposed technology feasible?
Another example: Testing Process
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Process
Lots of documentation
What is right for you?
Ask why, what, for whom?
Keep it simple, if you can.But, make sure it adds value.
It depends …
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Did you notice ???
Not a single mention of …
“agile”agility is a mindset
simplicity is one of the principles
Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams
By Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory
www.agiletester.ca
Contact info
www.janetgregory.cawww.janetgregory.ca/blog
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: janetgregoryca
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Instead of saying NO,
or being the gatekeeper
Be the information provider so business can make the decisions
Any questions / concerns?23