Agile Release Planning Musings
Posted on November 5, 2009
Filed Under Articles | 5 Comments
Software team noodling it out
I always stress out before release planning. Then, I always wonder why I stress so much during, and finally after release planning.
As the organizer and scrum master of this event, I thought I’d reflect and share some of my personal musings:
Before Release Planning
- Product Owners will always ask for more than can fit into a release cycle. This is normal and predictable behavior. Get over it.
- Even though the stories are prioritized, they are all “must haves”. Breathe deeply when your Product Owner tells you that.
- Development will take as much time as you allow for systems engineering. Try to keep them out of the weeds.
- Priorities will change up until the moment before you print cards. Keep a Sharpie handy.
- You will be printing cards up until the moment the release planning event starts. Ask the team to help sort them out in priority order, or else they’ll all be watching you do it.
- When you tell your husband you’re stressed out because there are 220 User Stories in the release planning event that day, he will say “What’s a User Story?” Just smile and tell him you love him.
Take my photo and I'll take yours!
During Release Planning
- Developers take priorities seriously and estimate according to priority (even though PO’s insist they are all “must haves”.) Just for fun, count how many times you hear: “What’s the rank of this story?”
- If you put a bowl of candy in the middle of the room, it will get eaten. Try to keep your own hands out of it, for your own sanity.
- The moment a Product Owner leaves the room, a developer will have a question for them. Just follow them into the bathroom.
- All attendees should get into it. If there are any stragglers, Nerf guns are good tools for the event.
Hey, stop it!
After Release Planning
- Commitments of 1’s (fingers) are really bad, especially if it’s the middle finger.
- Commitments of 4’s and 5’s (fingers) happen once in about every five releases. Those pump you up.
- Commitments of 3’s are discussed, but always accepted by Product Owners, as they’d rather have the team stretched, and potentially get more, then leaving with a feeling of over confidence.
- Commitments of 2’s usually beg a restart. You sucked at proper preparation with your team if this happens.
- All the stories that landed in “overflow”, or “not committed”, are suddenly no longer “must haves.”
- There’s a huge feeling of relief in the room when it’s all done!
Congratulations at getting through it!
Developers always wear shorts, especially in the winter!
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5 Responses to “Agile Release Planning Musings”
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Nice post! One thing I found unclear though is: Are you doing release planning or iteration (sprint) planning? By release I mean something that will actually be put into production.
[...] session, Jennifer Fawcett (agileproductowner.com) muses on her recent experiences on her blog at Agile Release Planning Musings. I don’t know for sure how it went, but I’m told that her boss took her out for many [...]
Hi Nikias,
Yes, it was a release plan. IT was actually the final plan for a series of internal releases, targeted for an external release in January.
Cheers,
–Jennifer
How do you make it more fun. It was a litle dry with one team I coached.
Hi Joe,
Making it fun is key. I start with some “made up” rules. The dollar cup for curse words works well. Get the team to agree on what that fund goes towards at the beginning of the day. That get’s folks attention and is a great conversation tool. Also, I have toys. Nerf guns get people engaged as well. And, always have food, and candy. A full fridge of beer as a reward at the end is always a good way to wrap up the day.