AGILE FUNDAMENTALS

AGILE ARTEFACTS
 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts
 WHAT ARE AGILE ARTEFACTS?

Agile Artefacts represent work or value in various ways that are useful in providing
opportunities for inspection and adaptation.

Artefacts defined by scrum are specifically designed to maximize transparency of key

information needed to ensure agile teams are successful in delivering a “done” increment.

Artefact: from Latin arte factum, where arte = by skill, factum = thing made

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 TEAM & PRODUCT INTERACTION MODEL

Sprint
Burndown

Release Plan Velocity

Chart

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 PRODUCT VISION

WHY

For a team(s) to be truly effective, all members

need to be pulling in the same direction.
It aligns the future Product development
with the company’s strategy.

WHAT
A picture of the future that draws people into a
shared goal and guides them.
Intersection of the passion behind the idea,
the demand for the idea, and the feasibility of
building something great

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 PRODUCT VISION
HOW SpaceX’s vision
Product Owner lead the vision-creation activities SpaceX was founded under the belief that a
through close collaboration with the team future where humanity is out exploring the stars
is fundamentally more exciting than one where
Consider: customers and users, needs, key we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing
success features, competitors, revenue sources, the technologies to make this possible, with
time frame target, budget available, feasibility the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

Payment application
TRANSPARENCY
v 1.0
Clear and easy to understand to create
License based revenue
alignment and a common purpose
High product customization per deployment
Highly Visible
v 2.0…. a new business vision
Subscription-based – pay as you go, service
model
Extension of client base – not just FI’s
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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 PRODUCT BACKLOG

WHY
The only source of information for product scope and shape
Identifies the business-critical features (80/20 rule)
Provides transparency between two worlds, client and
contractor/partner
Helps the Engineers to understand the business (product)
goals and reasoning to achieve a valuable outcome

WHAT
A high level ordered list of customer requirements for the
product that is owned by the Product Owner
Product Backlog sample from Jira

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 PRODUCT BACKLOG
HOW

Detailed appropriately. User stories on the product backlog

that will be done soon need to be sufficiently well
understood to complete them in the coming sprint.

Estimated. The product backlog is more than a list of all

work to be done; it is also a useful planning tool.

Emergent. A product backlog will change over time. It

will change shape and volume depending on various factors
(new knowledge, market need, budget, timeframe, scope,
etc.)

Prioritized and ordered. The product backlog should be

sorted with the most valuable items at the top and the
least valuable at the bottom. Also ordering should consider
technical dependencies.
the term DEEP was coined by Mike Cohn
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 USER STORIES
Product Backlog contains all activities the team
should perform - usually user stories, bugs,
technical tasks

A User Story is a way to capture a description of

a software feature from a user's perspective

Structure: As a < user/role>, I want/need to

< goal > so that < benefit>

Sample: As a Merchant, I want to select RON

when I self-onboard so that I accept payments
in Romania.

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Chat
How to: Open Chat in Zoom and write your answer

What are the 4 attributes of a good product

backlog?
 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts
 DEFINITION OF READY
WHY
To ensure that everyone (PO, Engineers) has the
same understanding of what’s to be done for a User
✓ Manageable size (<=13 SP) Story
✓ US format (As a … I want to … so
that …) WHAT
✓ US meets INVEST
A set of criteria used to assess what a User Story
✓ Acceptance criteria containing at needs to be picked up and built in a sprint
least the main scenarios
✓ UI sketch mock-up if applicable
✓ Prioritized with MoSCoW and ranked HOW
✓ Constraints identified It might be changed during retrospectives
✓ Dependencies identified If the defined criteria no longer ensure the clarity for a
User Story to be done in a sprint (i.e., Stories unclear,
Stories causing investigation waste ...)

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 RELEASE PLAN

WHY
Conveys expectations of internal and external parties
about what is likely to be developed and in what timeframe

Give agile teams a chance to understand the complete

set of functionality in the product

Extend visibility past a single sprint, so executives can

make informed budget and schedule decisions

Matches demand versus capacity

Identifies dependencies and fosters cross-team

coordination

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 RELEASE PLAN – SAMPLE
MINIMAL CONSIDERATIONS TO BE TAKEN

Legend: LINKED FEATURES ACTIVITIES

Feature PEOPLE/SKILLS
Internal
Technical F TECHNOLOGY
External
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 RELEASE PLAN – SAMPLE FROM JIRA

Sample of a Release Plan done in Jira Claud

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 RELEASE PLAN
HOW

Agreeing on the list of ordered and prioritized epics/user stories for the release

Defining a set of sprints to which a set of high-level user stories are allocated

Creating a list of assumptions, dependencies and concerns

Focus on a common understanding of the plan by the agile team and stakeholders

Planning process up to two days depending on complexity of the product to be build.

Contains average velocity that helps in understanding what is happening in a certain

context

Adjusting release plan when needed

Create a list of assumptions and risks framing the Release Plan

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 UPDATING RELEASE PLAN
WHEN

The release plan will be subject to change as new information comes to light

What we thought was going to be released may need to be changed due to real time
feedback of information that wasn't known prior to defining the release

Release plan is a living document that is updated when sprint ended, based on new
context

Updated after new stories added into the product backlog are estimated

Updated when splitting or enriching the items from the product backlog

In addition, release plan is updated after product backlog planning/refinement meeting

Updated when average velocity changes, as part of the sprint review

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 VELOCITY CHART

WHY
Visual planning tool to estimate how much work the
team can complete in each time period based on how
quickly similar work was previously completed

WHAT
Graphical representation of the total number of Units of
Work (SP, ideal days, etc.) Completed in sprint(s), as per
the DoD Velocity Chart sample from Jira

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 SPRINT GOAL
WHY HOW
To be the main goal and focus on what is the Written collaboratively by the engineers and
target business value to be delivered at the the PO
end of the sprint The sprint goal is an objective that will be met
To ensure that everyone works in the same within the sprint through the implementation of
direction during the sprint the sprint backlog, and it provides guidance to
Serves as a Commitment for the Sprint the team on why it is building the Product
Backlog that improves transparency, empiricism Increment
and the Scrum values.
TRANSPARENCY
WHAT It allows flexibility during the sprint; not all
Short, one- or two-sentence, description of user stories must be completed to achieve the
what the team plans to achieve during the sprint, sprint goal
summarizing the desired outcome of a sprint

Angry Birds screenshot

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 SPRINT BACKLOG
WHY WHAT
Common Plan for achieving the Sprint goal in Artefact of Scrum (one of the three)
the Sprint boundaries
Represents the Agile teams plan during the
Provides visibility and transparency sprint
The main tool for Self-organization and work Commits to deliver and meet a common
for the Agile Team Sprint Goal
COMMON PITFALLS Contains the Product Backlog items and all the
in-sprint work items (tasks) that will be
To be taken as a fixed plan
performed by the Agile Team to fulfill the Sprint
Not containing all the in-sprint work Goal

Too high-level with intangible tasks (e.g., dev, HOW

test, release)
Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Engineers
Managed in transparently create it during the sprint planning and adjust it
during the entire sprint

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 SPRINT BURNDOWN CHART

WHY
To provide transparency of the sprint progress
To focus on “finishing stuff not starting stuff”

WHAT
Indicator for the team
A simple way for the Engineers to track daily (at
least) the total remaining work in the sprint
backlog and adjust its progress
Projects the probability of delivering the
forecasted sprint items

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 SPRINT BURNDOWN CHART
PITFALL HOW
Sprint Burndown chart can be used as a Each team member will adjust the estimates of
metric, triggering a sudden desire (in managers remaining effort for assigned tasks and Scrum
usually) to adjust the sprint forecast to correct Master will ensure the visibility of the chart
the delays

TRANSPARENCY
Hero to the rescue: Scrum Master will have to
fend off any managerial attacks on the Sprint A lower burn rate usually means that team hit
Forecast some impediments or planning assumptions
got invalidated
A higher burn rate means that the team could
Exceptions: If the team encounters unforeseen also deliver the “candidate” User Stories
delays and the Sprint Forecast is too far off, at
the request of the team, Product Owner can de-
scope a number of User Stories

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 HOW A SUCCESSFUL SPRINT LOOKS LIKE

LEVELHEADED
constant yellow estimation line
bit wiggly but keeping the same course

LAND YOUR PLANE

the green progress line comes closely & above
the red ground line
bit wiggly but steadily coming towards the
ground in the end

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 HOW A CHALLENGED SPRINT LOOKS LIKE

significantly uncertain yellow estimation line

MOVING TARGET
the Sprint Goal is not fixed, stories or acceptance
criteria are being added after the sprint started

CONFUSION
the team does not understand the work in Sprint
and constantly finds out more

TAKING OFF
the green progress line keeps rising above the red ground line
the team will miss the Sprint Goal or is adding more, more work

SINKING
the green progress line keeps plummeting below the red
ground line the team overestimated and is finishing faster; they
need more work added to the Sprint Goal

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts
 PRODUCT INCREMENT

WHY
“Working software is the primary measure of progress.”
– Agile manifesto principles
The increment commitment is the Definition of Done.

WHAT
The sum of all the product backlog items completed
during a sprint and the value of the increments of all
previous sprints
Each increment is additive to all prior increments
and thoroughly tested, ensuring that all increments work The result is a package, where we can no
together longer distinguish the separation or
sequencing between different stories and
epics

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 ▪ PRODUCT ▪ SPRINT
Product Vision Sprint Goal

AGENDA Product Backlog

Definition of Ready
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Burndown
Release Plan ▪ INCREMENT
Agile Ethos Velocity Chart Definition of Done
Scrum Framework
Fundamentals

Agile Roles
Agile Ceremonies
Agile Artefacts

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 DEFINITION OF DONE
WHY
Provides transparency and common understanding of
✓ Acceptance Criteria are met.
what it means for work to be complete for the whole Agile
✓ The code is reviewed within the team Team
and observing the agreed Code
Serves as a Commitment for the Increment that
Quality, Guidelines and High-Level
improves transparency, empiricism, and the Agile values
Architecture.
✓ Unit tested. WHAT
✓ Integration tests are executed and x% A set of criteria is used to assess what it means for an
are passed. item to be complete. It is from the perspective of the
entire team, not just from a development perspective
✓ The new features are documented
(just enough). A PBI becomes an Increment only when it covers all
✓ NFR are considered. points form DoD
✓ Deployment considerations are HOW
understood. DoD are updated based on the outcomes of Sprint
✓ Database code is backward Retrospectives or before the starting of the Sprint when
compatible one version. the Product Owner and the Engineers’ Team are
providing arguments to strengthen them

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 AGILE ARTEFACTS
Each artefact contains a commitment to ensure it
provides information that enhances transparency and
focus against which progress can be measured

PRODUCT BACKLOG SPRINT BACKLOG INCREMENT

PRODUCT GOAL SPRINT GOAL DEFINITION OF DONE

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