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All software work is time sensitive and there is a real cost of delay.  The speed at which new or improved software is implemented matters. Always. Being the first to implement an innovative capability can be be the competitive edge that makes one company thrive leaving its competitors to struggle. "speed and security are the keys to remaining competitive in the banking space" Saul Van Beurden, Head of Technology of Wells Fargo The business impact of getting some functionality delivered quickly (and safely) is significant - and usually dwarfs the cost of doing the software work. Most businesses have plenty of ideas but insufficient [...]

What is a work breakdown structure (WBS)? A work breakdown structure or WBS is a charting technique used in project management for describing the work packages needed to deliver the project.  It includes the sum of the all of the activity required to deliver the project. .   (For a more detailed explanation follow this link to the PMI website). What is a product breakdown structure (PBS) A product breakdown structure, or PBS, is a hierarchical diagram of the what has to be delivered by the project.  A PBS describes the resulting product, whereas the WBS describes the work to create the product(s). What is [...]

Can you trace the value of your user stories back to business outcomes?  If not, you may be wasting valuable team time on your software projects.  Follow this simple technique to ensure that all your user stories are delivering a valuable contribution to business benefit.    This is an excellent way to prioritise your backlog. Identify the quantifiable business outcome of your software endeavour in business terms. Determine the high level capabilities needed to deliver that business outcome. Finally break down your user stories into bite size pieces of functionality that are needed to deliver each capability. Once you have finished this exercise, you [...]

How do I test user stories? On most software activity the user stories are a terse reminder of the conversations between product owner, developer and tester. Although user stories are very short, the form is commonly misused and this leads to ambiguity, unnecessary discussion and rework.  In this article we set how to test user stories so that you can ensure that your user stories are high quality and will reduce rework and shorten timelines. I have enjoyed considerable debate online about the validity of even thinking about user story quality.  If you accept that clear user stories are helpful to a project, then [...]