Agile Planning and Estimation as presented by Valtech's Gary Jones. An effective agile team will employ multiple levels of planning and estimation in order to monitor progress and commit to business deliverables. Here we introduce the different levels and show how different techniques are used to balance the time spent planning against the required fidelity of the plan.

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Agile Estimation and Planning
1
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Agile Planning and Estimation
• Dispel agile planning myths
• How does agile planning and estimation work?
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Agile Planning and Estimation Myths
• Agile teams do not plan
• Agile development is not predictable
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Agile Planning – How does it work?
Global Software
Hi Hi
I’m Peter I’m Dirk
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The Vision
I’ll do it!!!
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The Feature List
Feature List Hi
Pricing executives should be
1 I’m David
able to set up price points
2 Merchandisers should be
able to setup promotions
3 Distribution operators should
1 Year
be able to plan deliveries
4 Supply Chain Planner
Identifies preferred suppliers
.
.
.
100
More customer feedback
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The Team
100 Hi, I’m
Features in Akzam
1 year
Excellent!
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Release Planning - Grade 1
100
This can’t
be Agile
Planning
Features
50
Here
you go.
Done
0
October 2009
October 2008
Date
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Release Planning – Grade 2
Tiny bit
Better
100 Release 1
75 Release 2
Features
50 More
Release 3
detail...as
requested
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Release 4
0
Jan 09 Apr 09 Jul 09 October 2009
October 2008
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Release Planning – Prioritising
Feature List Get the
business
involved
with this
Money Saver
Money Maker
Sortedthese
Move by
Re-prioritise
Business
up
Priority
like this
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Release Planning Business Involvement
You can
update us
once a
week
We need help
understanding
the business and
prioritising the
I will be your features
business
representative
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Release Planning Sizing Features
How do we
size features?
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Release Planning Sizing Features
Release Roadmap Prioritised Feature List
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Feature 4
We will size the Feature 5
features in an
Feature 6
estimation
workshop
Feature 7
Feature 8
Can we Feature 9
do all this
...
Feature 100 13

14. Slide 13
D1 DD, 24/10/2008

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Estimation Workshop & Planning Poker
1 Feature
Prioritised Feature List Sizes
5
Everything
is relative
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Estimation Workshop & Planning Poker
Size these animals
1
Coyote 2
Blue Whale ?
Antelope 5
Rhino 13
Deer 5
Hippo 13
Bear ?
What are the
sizes of these
animals?
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Estimation Workshop & Planning Poker
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1. Business representative
describes a feature and
it’s discussed briefly
2. Each estimator selects a
card for their estimate
3. Cards are shown
4. Discuss differences
(widest ranges)
5. Re-estimate until
estimates converge
This is how
planning
poker
works
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Estimation Workshop & Planning Poker
Round 1
1
Estimator Bucket Points
Akzam 13
Sarah 8
Darren 8
Benny 5
Ralph 5
Round 2
Ok, now we
Given this
have Estimator Bucket Points
feature,
discussed it
what do you
what do you Akzam 8
think?
think
Sarah 8
Darren 8
Benny 5
Ralph 8 17

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The Prioritised & Estimated Feature List
Prioritised Feature List
Feature 1
2
That was
quick and
Feature 2
5
easy.
I like it.
Feature 3
2
Feature 4
2
Feature 5
8
Feature 6 Estimates in Bucket Points
13
The team
Feature 7
enjoyed
2
it too!
...
Feature 30
40
...
Feature 100
? 18

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Release Planning – Grade 3
125
No work being done
Bucket Points
Business have added or
Business adding work
features into this
Working with releaseat the same rate as
bucket work done
How many
50 points now points can
only for 1Maybe drop something we fit into
release from the release a release?
Maybe add additional Release 1
Doing Well
resource
Release early or
0 add features
from next release
Jan 09
October 2008
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Release Planning – Grade 4
125
Bucket Points Left to Do
Lets just We need
deliver some some
features delivery
every 2 evidence
weeks
60
Release 1
0
Jan 09
October 2008
2 Week Iterations 20

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Iteration Planning Commitment Driven
Prioritised Feature List
Tasks Committed to for the Iteration
Feature 1
2
Feature 2
5 Feature 1 Task List Feature 2 Task List
Feature 3
2
Feature 4
2 50h 120h
Feature 5
8
Feature 6
13
Feature 7
2 Feature 3 Task List Feature 4 Task List
Feature 8 Break the
5
features down
Feature 9 into tasks and
8
hours 64h 60h
...
Feature 100
20
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Iteration Planning Burndown
300
Hours of Work in the Iteration
No work being done.
New Tasks have been Why?
200
added I’m starting
Now we can Make sure we areto get a
Do not do this not
see how well adding workgood feeling
in.
we are doing
about this
Maybe drop something
every day.
100 from the iteration
Doing Well
Increase the
0 bucket points
total for the next
release
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Iteration Days 22

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Iteration Tracking Taskboard
In
This is
Feature To Do Done
really
Progress
going to
work
Task 1 Task 2
1h Task 3 Task 4
Feature 1 2h 1h 3h
stniop 2 4h
Task 1 Task 3 Task 4
Feature 2 3h 2h 1h Task 6
Task 5 Task 2 2h
stniop 2 3h 4h
That’s easy
Task 2 Task 1
Feature 3 1h 4h
We will have a
daily meeting to
stniop 5
discuss our
progress
Task 4 Task 3 Task 2 Task 1
Feature 4 4h 3h 4h 3h
Task 5
stniop 2
1h
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Iteration Planning Actual Velocity
Prioritised Feature List
Feature 1
2
2 2 2
Feature 2
5
Feature 3
2
Feature 4
2
Feature 5
8
Feature 6
Feature 7
13 5
2
Feature 8
5
Feature 9
8
... Velocity for the iteration 11 points
Feature 100
20
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Longer Term Planning
Bucket
Points
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Average (best 3 iterations)
Current Form
The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough
memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted.
Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still
appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.
Average (last 8 iterations)
Average (slowest 3 iterations)
The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough
memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted.
Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still
appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.
The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough
memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted.
Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still
appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.
10
00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Iteration
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Longer Term Planning Extrapolation
Feature 55 Assume only 5 iterations left until release
Feature List
Feature 59
At our slowest average we will finish here (5xSLOWEST)
Feature 62
At our last 8 average we will finish here (5xlast 8)
At our best average we will finish here (5xBEST)
Feature 67
Feature 69
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Summary of Terminology
• Business Representative
• Person empowered by the business to make decisions about the
product
• Feature List
• A list of all functionality that the business would like in the product
• Iteration Burndown Chart
• A chart that tracks your progress when implementing the tasks
during an iteration
• Release Burndown Chart
• A chart that tracks your progress when implementing features over
a release
• Iteration Taskboard
• Shows your day to day activities and is a snapshot of your current
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position in an iteration

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Summary of Terminology
• Bucket Points
• A number of bucket points are assigned to each feature in the
feature list to represent their relative size within the feature list
compared to the other features
• Velocity
• A measure of how many bucket points that a team can achieve in
a given iteration
• Planning Poker
• A planning game that draws out more accurate estimates than
individual estimates
• Commitment Driven Planning
• A iterative means of planning that allows the team to make a
commitment that they are able to deliver a piece of functionality
before committing to the next piece of functionality 28