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Agile Project Planning In Twelve Easy Steps
- Create a list of all your requirements in Epic format (think Product Breakdown).
- Break down each Epic into work items in User Story format (think Work Breakdown).
- Determine which Epics and/or User Stories have dependencies.
- Visualize dependencies in a network diagram.
- Create an estimate for each User Story using Planning Poker Points, NESMA Function Points, Gummy Bears, anything but time and/or money.
- Assign business value to all Epics and divide this value between the User Stories based on their point-estimate.
- Sort the list of User Stories based on priority, dependencies and business value per point-estimate (triage). Having trouble sorting the list using triage? Pick another prioritization technique.
- Take an educated guess (assumption) about the number of hours per point you're likely to spend, based on a representative sample of User Stories taken at random.
- Calculate duration based on your assumption.
- Use the calculated duration as input for a Monte Carlo analysis to create your first rolling wave planning.
- Correct the assumption every sprint based on the progressive average of the actual hours per point ánd a new Monte Carlo simulation for the remaining duration.
- Report regularly, preferably in a reporting format currently in use by the organization.
Laurens Bonnema
Agile Trainer, Management Consultant, and Graphic Facilitator. Mentor to leaders creating resilient organizations at any scale. I make boring business notes fun!
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