Evo eBook
Evolutionary Project Management and Product Development
or
How to create faster, more user-friendly and more productive products,
early and predictably.
The easiest read on these subjects.
A large part of project management is about prioritizing; everything presented in this book is optimized to help you prioritize.
To prioritize effectively, the outcomes expected must be clear. In this book, you learn how to shift from a focus on function, feature and technical solutions to the outcomes expected by the various stakeholders. As our company slogan says, deliver ValueFirst.
The outcomes, the values, expected by stakeholders varies in degrees. They want more or less outcomes like User-friendliness, Security, Performance, Joy, and Efficiency. To grasp their desired level of outcomes, we define them quantified and measurable.
Now that we have moved from a technical focus to a focus on improvements in stakeholder desired outcomes. We have made the outcomes clear through quantification. Now we are set to prioritize effectively.
You then learn how to prioritize considering multiple outcomes and costs, and how to deliver the outcomes to the stakeholders in short iterations to optimize feedback and learning throughout, so you can re-prioritize dynamically throughout the project.
The techniques you learn in this book are natural and logical and used by people working on the simplest to the most complex projects. They enhance small projects and the most challenging and competitive projects. Some teams combine Evo with Agile techniques such as Scrum to vastly enhance their teams' ability to deliver. Some use Evo straight up.
Projects using Evo consistently outperform everyone else by 10X. Multiple case studies are in the book.
Enjoy
Kai Gilb
Introduction to Kai Gilb, Tom and the methods ...6
Intended Readers of this book...6
The management of Projects, a brief history...6
Overview of Evolutionary Project Management...7
STAKEHOLDER VALUES & PRODUCT QUALITIES...9
Stakeholder Value & Product Quality Requirements. Where are you?...9
Interactions are Qualities...10
The Interactions.11 Let's buy a car! ..12
Why people communicate ‘How’ and not ‘How well’ ...13
Why we should first communicate the ‘How well’ Product Qualities and not the ‘How’ Solutions ...14
Let's choose between two cars. ...14
What is a Requirement? ...15
Stakeholders ...16
Examples of Stakeholders and what they want out of a product. ...17
Two types of Scalar End-States; Stakeholder Value & Product Quality ...18
Development Resources...19
Relationships; Stakeholder Values, Product Qualities & Development Resources. ...19
Stakeholder Values and Product Qualities can be quantified and measured. ...20
Stakeholder Values & Product Qualities. The Planguage starts forming...21
Name Tag ...22
Scale ...25
Meter ...28
Past ...30
Goal ...32
Stakeholder Value & Product Quality Examples. ...34
Stakeholder Values & Product Qualities. From your previous plan towards the Evo way ...39
7-1 Whys? that lead you to the real Requirement ...39
A level’s existence is justified by the level before it. ...40
Some examples of asking why? ...41
Stakeholder Values - Product Qualities – Solutions, one follow the other ...44
Summary of chapter; Stakeholder Values & Product Qualities. ...45
FUNCTIONALITY, FUNCTION & SUB-FUNCTION...47
Functions and Sub-Functions...47
Defining Terms; Function, Sub-Function, or, Functionality what?...47
Function & Sub-Function – What are they?...48
Functions exists with Stakeholder Values and Product Qualities, or, I can not know about the existence of a Function without it interacting with me...48
Solutions, a “package” of Function and Quality to deliver to the Requirements level above. ...48
How to Write Functions & Sub-Functions...49
Pure Function & Sub-Function specifications...49
Often, we don’t need to specify the Function & Sub-Functions ...49
No new Functions are delivered to the Stakeholders, or, This is what we have always done! ...50
Example of No new Functions...51
Write Functions & Sub-Functions...51
The Software Industry Scandal, or, Total reliance on Functionality (Functions) ...52
SOLUTIONS OR MEANS, OR, WHAT WE DO, THE NUTS & BOLTS, THE ACTUAL CODE, THE WAY WE WORK, IT’S HOW IT WORKS. ...54
Solutions & Development Processes. Where are you? ...54
Solutions. Basic ideas and principles ...54
Solutions. From the previous plan towards the Evo way ...58
Solutions. The Planguage starts forming ...58
Solution Example...59
Naming Solutions...59
Describing the Solution...59
Categories of Solutions with Examples ...61
Solution Constraint...62
Solution Constraint Specification...64
Solutions Summary ...64
IMPACT ESTIMATION ...65
Impact Estimation. Where are you?...65
Impact Estimation. Basic ideas and principles...66
Impact Estimation. Taking you from your previous plan towards the Evo way ...67
Impact Estimation. The Planguage starts forming ...67
IET Summary ...77
EVOLUTIONARY PROJECT DELIVERY OR EVOLUTION MAKES PROJECTS FUN AGAIN...78
Evolution. Where are you? ...78
Methods in use for developing and delivering projects ...78
Evolution. Basic ideas and principles...80
Evolution. Taking you from your previous plan towards the Evo way ...87
Simple Evo...87
Proper Evolutionary Delivery, or, You got to dance the dance to get the full benefit...88
Evolution. The Planguage starts forming ...89
Slice & Dice ...89
Start from what is already there! ,or, A flying start...fly baby fly!...91
Status ...95
The Evolutionary Project Plan ...96
Evo Summary ...100
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER, OR, BAKING THE CAKE...101
Data Availability; Example from one real paragraph of Requirement specification for a bank...101
Original Specification...101
Data Availability Analysis ...101
Data Availability - complete rewrite ...102
Sunrise Hotel Website Example ...104
The Requirements as handed to us, or, overcooked spaghetti...104
Prioritization - how to make efficient decisions about where to use limited Development Resources, in a live, changing, dynamic system!
or,
Prioritization - I want it all yesterday and for free, so I will first do that which costs less and delivers the most benefit now. ...119
Tolerable...120 Status, Tolerable and Prioritizing, or, The human body model...121
Case Study - Firm...128
From Waterfall to Evolutionary Development (Evo), or, How to create faster, more user-friendly and more productive software ...128
ADVANCED CHAPTERS...134
Advanced Notation – Everywhere ...134
Definitions. Defining Terms, Globally & Locally, or, Everybody knows what it means! Not!...135
<- Source Arrow ...136
“Comment” ...138
± Variance...139
?? and SWAG ..139
<Angle-Brackets> ...139
Administration.140
Advanced Notation: Stakeholder Values & Product Qualities ...140
Wish...143 Stakeholders ...144
[Qualifier] ...146
Record ...152
Trend ...155
IET-Safety ...157
IET-Impact...158
Advanced Stakeholder Value & Product Quality Requirements...162
Critical few Stakeholder Values & Product Qualities ...162
A little case study in hierarchy of Requirements...163
Advanced IET...167
Choosing the optimum Solutions or Evo Cycles, or, Bang for Bucks...167
‘Sum of Impacts’, or, With a set of Solutions, are there weaknesses? Which Product Quality Requirements will not be met? A balancing act. ...169
What is the Source of the estimate? Do we have any Evidence?...171
More Information about the Impact - Experience Level and ± Variation ...171
Where can the use of Impact Estimation Tables be useful?...174
To select one of many potential Solutions, I use a comparative IET. ...174
To estimate and track progress in Evolutionary Projects I use Evo IET...174
Advanced Evo...176
Back-room front-room, or, You want apple pie, sure just wait a while. ...176
Cycles in Cycles, or, boy it is stormy...177
“I agree in principle, but it will not work on my project!”...177
What is missing? ...178
A unexpected Requirement is threatening the project! ...178
Examples ...179
