Agile training notes from a Scrum workshop by Ron Lichty.
Aug 27, 20195 min read
I recently attended an Agile training by Ron Lichty.
These notes are my attempt to digest and process this outstanding Scrum workshop,
focused on delighting customers and team happiness for our Engineering and
Product teams.
Defining Scrum
Scrum is an
Agile
process framework for teams of less than 10 members. Teams break their work
into goals that can be completed within timeboxed iterations, called sprints
(usually two weeks). They track progress and re-plan in 15-minute timeboxed
stand-up meetings, called daily scrums.
“The point is not to do Agile. The point is to be effective. Agile provides us insights.”
Al Shalloway, agile author
Ideal team
5-9 people (max)
Collocated
Dedicated
Focused
Cross-functional
Self-organizing
Definition of done
Entire team participates, including Product Owner
Prior to coding a single line
Post it where team can see it
Agile: it can change
If the current definition of done is getting in the way or not effective,
the team can change it at the Sprint retrospective
Project planning
Entire team participates
Product manager brings product backlog stories
Only folks who will build it (engineers, designers, etc) do sizing
Others (architects, etc) can attend but only as a resource
1/2 day, covering 50-150 stories, 3-6 months of backlog
Always size stories relative to other stories
Snake sizing / two-pass relative sizing
Ron Lichty’s adaptation of the Steve Bockman method, aka
the Team Estimation Game
Snake sizing / two-pass relative sizing
First pass: order all stories by relative size
Each team member:
takes top story from the deck
reads it aloud
places it to left or right of another story
stories on the left are easier, on the right are harder
sizing is all relative
go with gut
aim to get consent from others’ eyes, but consensus isn’t required
if others don’t consent, it’s an opportunity for discussion and learning from each other’s perspectives
Second pass: start at easiest to find dividing line for points