How to Get Started with Agile Project Management Methods for eLearning Megan Torrance

1. HowtoGetStartedwith AgileProjectManagement MethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance TorranceLearning Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference2013 Session605 MeganTorrancehas20yearsofexperienceinthelearningindustry, coveringeverythingfrominstructionaldesign,elearning development,instructor-ledtraining,technicalwriting,LMS deployment&systemadministration,tochangemanagementand projectmanagement.MeganistheChiefEnergyOfficer(CEO)of TorranceLearning,anelearningdesignanddevelopmentfirmnear AnnArbor,MI.ShegraduatedfromCornellUniversitywithaBSin CommunicationandanMBA. GetintouchwithMegan: mtorrance@torrancelearning.com|m:734-368-5086 www.torrancelearning.com twitter.com/mmtorrance|linkedin.com/in/megantorrance

2. SelectedNotes&References Howdoyoukeepyourprojectfromfallingshortindeliveringclient(internalorexternal)needs ontime,andwithinbudget?Howdoyouadjustwhenclientneedsareoftenchanging?The softwaredevelopmentindustryisembracingAgiledevelopmentmethodstoaddressthese issuesandthereismuchthattheelearningdevelopmentworldcanlearnfromthem.Agile providesaframeworkforauthorizingadaptingtochangeasithappens,andworkingwiththe clienttodeliverthecontentmost-neededbylearners. ParticipantsinthissessionwilllearnabouttheAgilemethodswe’veadaptedandhowour projectteamsactuallyusethemonthejob.We’lltalkaboutthetools&suppliesyouneed,how tochooseaprojecttopilot,andhowwetrainourteam. Agileisoneofthe“nextbigthings”tohittheelearningworld.There’salotoftalkoutthere aboutwhatitis,andhowit’suseful(ornot)…butnotsomuchabouthowtogetstarted.This presentationwillfocusontheactualhow-to.Learnaboutatoolthatcanstreamlineyour process,figureoutifAgileisrightforyou,andgetanswerstoyourquestions. Agileletsyouadjustyour courseasyougo… whichmakesaheckofa lotofsense. page2 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

3. TheAgileManifesto InFebruaryof2001,agroupofseventeensoftwaredevelopmentprofessionalsgatheredinUtah todiscussprojectdevelopmentmethods.Eachbroughtuniqueperspectivesandexperiences, andcollaboratedinanefforttofindamoreefficientwaytodevelopsoftware.Bytheendofthe weekend,thegroup—whobegantorefertothemselvesas“TheAgileAlliance”—managedto agreeonfourmainvalues.ThesevaluesbecametheManifestoforAgileSoftwareDevelopment, whichwaspublishedandusedtodefinetheapproachnowknownasAgileSoftware Development. “TheAgileAlliance”alsorealizedthat,whiletheManifestoprovidedsomespecificideas,there wasadeeperthemethatdrovemanymembersofthegroup.Theywerebroughttogetherbya setofcompatiblevalues:valuesbasedontrustandrespectforeachother;valuesthat promotedorganizationalmodelsbasedonpeopleandcollaboration;valuesthatbuiltthetype oforganizationalcommunitiesinwhichpeoplewouldwanttowork.TheyconcludedthatAgile Methodologistsfocusedondeliveringgoodproductstocustomersbyoperatinginan environmentthatmadepeopleandcultureapriority. -- More: http://agilemanifesto.org/history.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development#Agile_Manifesto http://www.agilealliance.org/the-alliance/the-agile-manifesto/ http://scrummethodology.com/the-agile-manifesto-and-twelve-principles/ page3 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

4. AgilePrinciples “TheAgileAlliance”alsoestablished12additionalprinciplestosupportthefourcorevalues mentionedintheAgileManifesto.EachisusedtofurtherdescribewhatitmeanstobeAgile. page4 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

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6. AgileVariations Scrum Scrumisaniterativesubsetoftheagilemethodology.Projectsarebrokenupintosprints,which arethebasicunitsofdevelopmentinScrum.Sprintsaredecideduponinaplanningmeeting betweenstakeholdersanddevelopmentteammembers,andcanlastbetweenoneweekand onemonth.Aftereachsprintiscompleted,themeetingmembersreconvenetoassessthe progressofaprojectandplanitsnextsteps.Thisallowsaproject’sdirectiontobeadjustedor reorientedbasedoncompletedwork,ratherthanonguessesorpredictions. Thescrummethodologyalsoreliesonasetofspecificroles:theProjectOwner,theScrum Master,andtheTeamMembers.TheProductOwnerhasthemostresponsibility.Theyrepresent thecustomer’sinterestsandareinchargeofcommunicatingthevisionoftheproducttothe developmentteam.TheScrumMasteristhego-betweenfortheProductOwnerandtherestof theteam.Theyensurethatthingsaregoingaccordingtoplanandthattherearen’tany obstaclespreventingtheteamfromcompletingitssprint.TheTeamMembersareresponsible forcompletingwork.Theydecidehowtogettheworkdoneandthentheyexecutetheirplans. Atypicalteamconsistsofapproximatelysevencross-functionalmembers.Asoftwareproject team,forexample,wouldbemadeupofsoftwareengineers,architects,programmers,analysts, QAexperts,testers,andUIdesigners. -- More: http://scrummethodology.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(development) Kanban Kanbanisateammanagementmethodthatencouragessmallcontinuous,incrementaland evolutionaryworkflowchangesthatstickovertime.Itscoreconceptsare:makeworkvisible, limitworkinprogress,andhelpworktoflow.Workismadevisiblethroughtheuseofvisual- taskboards,whicharealsocalledKanbanboards.Theseareusedtoshowateamhowaproject isprogressing:itrevealsactivities,limits,andblocks.Italsoallowsthemtoseethecauseand effectofchangestotheprocess,aswellaswhetherornotflowishappening. AkeyelementofKanbanisthatitplacesalimitonhowmuchworkinprogress(WIP)canexist inanystageatanyonetime.Thismeansteammemberscannotpullanewitemfromthework queueuntiltheyfinishanin-progressitemandaspaceontheboardopensup.Thefocus,then, becomesonfinishingandmulti-taskingorreceivingmoreworkthanthedeveloperscanhandle page6 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

7. becomesminimal.Inaddition,limitspreventoverproduction,revealbottlenecksbeforetheygetbecomesminimal.Inaddition,limitspreventoverproduction,revealbottlenecksbeforetheyget outofhand,andmaximizethroughput. TheWIPlimitstieintothethirdcoreconcept,whichishelpworktoflow.Kanbanutilizesthe leanconceptofflowtocontinuouslyandpredictablydelivervalue.Kanbanpracticesallow teamstolookattheentireproductionprocess,ratherthanaspecificdevelopmentphase;they spotworkflowissuesassoonastheyoccur,allowingforbottleneckstobeconfrontedand workedout,andtheyreducewaste,smoothingoutcostlydelaysintheprocess.WIPlimitsalso improveflowinthattheybringfocusandcompletionatasteadyrate,allowingteamstoswarm onlimiteditemsandthusincreasingtheamountofteamwork. -- More: http://www.kanban101.com/ http://richhewlett.com/2012/02/13/an-introduction -to-kanban/ http://niksilver.com/2011/02/16/what-is-a-kanban -limit/ ExtremeProgramming(XP) ExtremeProgramming,otherwiseknownasXP,focusesoncustomersatisfactionandteamwork. Itvaluesofsimplicity,communication,feedback,andcourage,andthegoalistoproduce outstandingproductsatlowercost,withfewerdefects,highproductivity,andahighreturnon investment.XPisalsobasedon12keypractices:ThePlanningProcess,FrequentSmallReleases, SystemMetaphor,SimpleDesign,TestDrivenDevelopment,Refactoring,PairProgramming, CollectiveCodeOwnership,ContinuousIntegration,SustainablePace,On-siteCustomer,and CodingStandard.However,thebasiclifecycleofanXPprojectisbrokendownintofourstages: Planning,Coding,Design,andTesting. ThePlanningProcessaddressestwokeyquestionsinsoftwaredevelopment:predictingwhat willbeaccomplishedbytheduedate,anddeterminingwhattodonext.Thetwokeystepsin thisprocessincludeReleasePlanningandIterationPlanning.Releaseplanningiswherethe Customerpresentsthedesiredfeaturestotheprogrammers,andtheprogrammersmakea high-leveltimeestimate.ThisallowstheCustomeristolayaplanfortheprojectthrough featureandcostprioritization.Iterationplanningisthedirectiontheteamisgivendirection everycoupleofweeks.Iterationsareestablishedaccordingtowhatthecustomerwantsdone byacertainpoint.Then,programmersbreakthoseneedsdownintotasks,andestimatetheir cost(withahigheramountofcertaintythantheestimatecreatedduringReleasePlanning). Bothstepsintheplanningprocesskeepprogressentirelyvisible,allowingXPprojectstodeliver moreofwhatisneeded,withlesspressureandstress. page7 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

8. InanXPproject,codingisdoneinpairs.Theprogrammerssitside-by-sideatthesamemachine,InanXPproject,codingisdoneinpairs.Theprogrammerssitside-by-sideatthesamemachine, whichensuresthatallproductioncodeisreviewedbyatleastoneotherprogrammer.This resultsinbetterdesign,bettertesting,andbettercode.Additionally,pairingservesto communicateknowledgethroughouttheteam.Aspairsswitch,teammembersbenefitfrom exposuretoeveryone’sspecializedknowledge.Programmerslearn,theirskillsimprove,and theybecomemorevaluabletotheteamandtothecompany. XPpractitionersalsoplaceemphasisonsimpledesign.Programmersonlydesignwhat’sneeded forthecurrentfunctionalityofthesystem.However,thisalsomeansthatdesignoccurs throughouttheproject,asitgetsupdatedwitheachiteration. XPrequiresfeedback,andgoodfeedbackrequiresgoodtesting.Assuch,manyXPteams practice“test-drivendevelopment,”orworkinginveryshortcyclesofaddingatest,then makingitwork.Testingallowsprogrammerstoreceiveimmediatefeedback,andprovide invaluablesupportastheproductdesignisimproved. -- More: http://www.extremeprogramming.org/ http://csis.pace.edu/~marchese/CS616/Agile/XP/XP_Overview.pdf http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/xp/summary/intro.html http://xprogramming.com/book/whatisxp/ Lean ThecoreideaofLeanistomaximizecustomervaluewhileminimizingwaste.Theultimategoal istoprovideperfectvaluetothecustomerthroughaperfectvaluecreationprocessthathas zerowaste.Toaccomplishthis,leanthinkingchangesthefocusofmanagementfromoptimizing separatetechnologies,assets,andverticaldepartmentstooptimizingtheflowofproductsand servicesthroughentirevaluestreamsthatflowhorizontallyacrosstechnologies,assets,and departmentstocustomers.Eliminatingwastealongentirevaluestreams,insteadofatisolated points,createsprocessesthatneedlesshumaneffort,lessspace,lesscapital,andlesstimeto makeproductsandservicesatfarlesscostsandwithmuchfewerdefects,comparedwith traditionalbusinesssystems.Companiesareabletorespondtochangingcustomerdesireswith highvariety,highquality,lowcost,andwithveryfastthroughputtimes.Information managementalsobecomesmuchsimplerandmoreaccurate. LeanismorestrategicallyfocusedthanotherAgilemethodology.Thegoalsaretodevelop softwareinone-thirdthetime,withone-thirdthebudget,andwithone-thirdthedefectrate. Leanisnotamanagementordevelopmentmethodologyperse,butitoffersprinciplesthatare applicableinanyenvironmenttoimprovedevelopment.It’sbasedonseveralprinciples: page8 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

9. Eliminatewaste,Amplifylearning,Decideaslateaspossible,Deliverasfastaspossible,Eliminatewaste,Amplifylearning,Decideaslateaspossible,Deliverasfastaspossible, Empowertheteam,Buildintegrityin,andSeethewhole. • • • • • • • Eliminatewaste:Wasteisdefinedasanythingthatdoesnotcreatevalue—forexample, anactivitythatcouldbebypassedortheresultcouldbeachievedwithoutitiswaste. Thiscanincludeunnecessaryfunctionality,delayinthedevelopmentprocess,slow internalcommunication,bureaucracy,insufficienttesting,andunclearrequirements. Leanusesavaluesteammappingtechniquetodistinguishandrecognizewaste. Amplifylearning:Enablesprogrammersand/ordeveloperstoattaintheknowledgethey needtodevelopasystemthatdeliversbusinessvalue. Decideaslateaspossible:Delayingdecisionsaslongaspossibleuntiltheycanbemade basedonfactsandnotonuncertainassumptionsandpredictions. Deliverasfastaspossible:Thesoonertheendproductisdeliveredwithout considerabledefect,thesoonerfeedbackcanbereceived,andincorporatedintothe nextiteration. Empowertheteam:Theteamisthemostimportantelementinsuccessfullydeliveringa product.Inordertogivepeoplemotivationandresponsibility,theyneedtobe authorizedtomakeithappen. Buildintegrityin:Therearetwokindsofintegrity—perceivedandconceptual.Perceived integrityisthecustomer’sexperiencewiththeproduct.Conceptualintegrityishowwell thearchitectureandsystemcomponentsflowtogethertobringabouttheperceived integrity. Seethewhole:Leanthinkinghastobeunderstoodwellbyallmembersofaproject, beforeitcanbeimplemented.It’sonlywhenalloftheprinciplesarecombinedthat there’sabasisforsuccessinproductdevelopment. -- More: http://www.lean.org/whatslean/ http://codebetter.com/darrellnorton/2005/02/02/lean-software-development-overview/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_software_development page9 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

10. AgileTechniques StoryCards Storycards,oruserstories,helptheteam defineandauthorizescopewithineach iteration.They’rehigh-levelandwritten fromtheperspectiveofthecustomerin ordertocapturewhatthecustomerneeds andwhy,ratherthanthetechnicaldetailsof how.Gooduserstoriesshouldbesixthings: Independent,Negotiable,Valuable, Estimable,Small,andTestable(INVEST). Auserstoryshouldbeindependentinthatitshouldhavenodependencyonoroverlapwith anyotherstorycard.Theoretically,thismeansthatstorycardsshouldbeabletobecompleted inanyorderaswell. Auserstoryshouldbenegotiableinthatitcanberewrittenorchangedupuntilitsproduction. Astorycardshouldcapturetheessenceofthecustomer'sneedwithoutactuallygoingintoany technicaldetails.Thoseshouldbediscussedafterthestorycardhasbeenwritten. Everyuserstoryshouldbeofvaluetothecustomerand/orenduser. Auserstoryneedstobeestimablesothatdeveloperscanprovideatimeestimate.Theestimate allowsforprioritizationandcontinuedprojectplanning. Auserstoryneedstobesmallorsizedappropriatelysothatit'seasytoplan,prioritize,andtask. Italsoleadstomoreaccurateestimatesandbetterpredictability. Auserstoryshouldbetestableinthatthere'sawaytodeterminethatthecustomer's requirementscanbeorhavebeenmet.Ifacardisn'ttestable,itshouldnotbedevelopedas thereisnowaytotellwhenthetaskisdone. -- Sources: http://www.agileforall.com/2009/05/14/new-to-agile-invest-in-good -user-stories/ http://paulecoyote.com/2009/02/22/agile-development-vocabulary/ http://xp123.com/articles/invest-in-good- stories-and-smart-tasks/ page10 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

11. PlanningLevels/TheBigPlanningBoard AnAgileprojectplancanhaveseverallevelsofdetail,dependingonthescopeoftheproject.At thehighlevelisaholisticviewofproductrequirementsaswellasatimeframeforwhenthe requirementswillbecompleted.IntraditionalAgile,therearetypicallytwolevelsofhigh-level planning:ProductRoadmapsandReleasePlans. Theproductroadmapisahigh-levelviewoftheproductrequirementsintheformofabig visiblechart.Itliststhekeyfeaturesandcharacteristicsaproductwillneedtodeliverinorderto achievethecustomer’svision.Assuch,ittypicallyspansanumberofreleasesoftheproduct.It isalsoatime-basedviewoftheanticipateddeliverylifecycleoftheproduct.Theproductowner andprojectmanagerareoftentaskedwithcheckingandupdatingtheboardaschangesare madeanditemsareadded,moved,andremovedfromtheroadmap. Thereleaseplanshowsthefeaturesthataretobedeliveredinthecurrentreleaseofthe product.Releaseplanningstartswiththeproductownerexplainingthegoalsfortherelease. Theteamdiscusseswhatisneededtodeliveragainstthesegoalsandexpressesanyother factorsthatneedtobetakenintoaccountwhendeliveringtherelease.Theplancontainsthe currentlyagreedprioritizedlistoffeaturesatstorylevel.It’sbasedaroundtheteam’s anticipatedrateofprogress(velocity)andconveysasharedunderstandingaboutwhatneedsto beincludedinthecurrentrelease. Weusecodenamesforeachofourprojectstoprotectthe anonymityofourclientsand,well,let’sfaceit,it’sfun! Thisway,anyonecanwalkthroughourfrontdoorandsee ourprojectboardsandtheywon’thaveacluewhether projectCherisforoneoftheFortune100companyclients orthecoffeeshopfranchisethatstartedjustdownthe street.Sometimesourclientsjointhefunandparticipate withchoosingtheirproject’scodename,othertimeswe getthecreativejuicesflowingourselves. -- More: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-agile- roadmap-to-value.html http://www.infoq.com/articles/many-levels -planning- agile-project page11 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

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13. WeeklyPlanningBoards Weeklyplanningboardsareusedwithineachiteration.Afteracustomeranddevelopment teamidentifythestoriestobeworkedon,theteambreakstheworkdownintospecifictasksfor eachteammember.Taskallocationisideallydoneona“pull”basiswherebyteammembers identifytheworktheyareabletodoandselecttheirowntasks.Tasksshouldbeverysmall– fromafewhourstoadayorso,andarediscretemeasurableactivities.Theprojectmanager confirmsthatallthetasksareallocatedandmakessuretheworkcommittedisrealistically deliverable,andthentheteammemberssequenceandestimatethem.Estimationisnowatthe levelofhoursofworkneededtoundertakeasingletask.Thesetasksarethenwrittenupon taskcardsandthetaskcardstrackedontheweeklyplanningboard. Ourweeklyboardshave“swim-lanes”for eachpersonwhoisassignedtoaproject. Aheadshotatthetopindicateswhois responsibleforthecardsthatarelaidout intheverticalcolumnbelow.Each project’sweeklyboardhashorizontal rowsforeachdayoftheweek(Monday, Tuesday…etc.)aswellasarowatthevery bottom,labeledpull-ahead.Anycards placedinthepull-aheadrowarecards thatcanbebroughtintoplayifsomeone completesalloftheirassignedtaskcards forthatweek. -- More: http://www.infoq.com/articles/many- levels- planning-agile-project page13 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605

14. Estimating InAgile,estimatesaremadetodetermineaproject’sdevelopmentscheduleaswellascosts. Therearetwolevelsofestimation:estimationdoneattheuserstorylevel,andestimationdone atthetasklevel.Estimationsdoneatstorylevelareusuallyinincrementsofdays,and estimationsattasklevelarebrokenupintohours.Inclassicagile,everyoneontheteammakes anestimate,thentheteamcalculatestheaverageandreportsitbacktotheclient.However, whenitcomestimetofinallyworkonthetask,theestimatethatwinsoutistheonethatwas madebythepersonwho’scompletingthetask. Weestimatecardsintwodifferentways.Wheneverpossiblethepersonwhowillbedoingthe workestimatestheamountoftimeneededtocompletethework—bottom-upestimating. However,therearetimeswhenthepersonwhowillbedoingthetaskneedssomeoneelseto provideanestimateforthem—top-downestimating.Thishappensmostofteninoneoftwo scenarios.First,whenthepersonisn’texperiencedinthetask;it’ssomethingtheyhaven’tdone beforesothey’reunsureofhowlongitwouldtake.Second,whenataskisnebulous;weneed toplaceboundariesonitforthesakeofprojectmanagementandbudgeting(e.g.researchbest practicesforimplementingcorporatementoringprogram—thiscouldtaketwoweeksortwo hoursdependingonthedepthofresearchneeded). Afewofourestimatingtips:     Breakestimatesdowntothesmallesttimeincrements Themoreestimatesyoudo,thebetteryou’llgetatthem Nooneisyelledatforabadestimate Wecandiscussitanddisagreebutifittakesyou4hours,ittakes4hours.Thisisoneof thehardestthingstocommunicatewithclientsbecausetheyassumethatanestimateis eitheroursetpriceorourmaximumprice.Anestimateisanestimate. -- More: http://www.dotnetfunda.com/interview/exclusive/x1167-how-do-we-estimate-in-agile.aspx page14 HowtoGetStartedwithAgileProjectManagementMethodsforeLearning MeganTorrance|Trainingmagazine’sOnlineLearningConference|Session605