Slack in Scheduling & Agile

 

⏲ No, this one is not referring to the slack collaboration tool 😊

⌛ Slack in Critical Path Method (CPM) — Schedule Management

1️⃣ Slack refers to the amount of time a task in a project can be delayed without delaying the project’s overall schedule.
2️⃣ It is a measure of scheduling flexibility.
3️⃣ This is also referred as Float.
4️⃣ Activities on the critical path have zero float because any delay in these activities will directly impact the project’s finish date.

⏳ Slack in Agile (Interesting 💪)

1️⃣ The practice of Slack Time in Extreme Programming (XP) is often overlooked and not deliberately incorporated into sprint planning as a safety measure.
2️⃣ It is intentionally allocated within an iteration to address uncertainties or engage in activities beneficial to the project or team.
3️⃣ During this time, teams have the flexibility to plan specific activities, which can be adjusted based on the prevailing circumstances.
4️⃣ The inclusion of Slack Time in a sprint allows individuals to dedicate time to valuable activities that contribute to the project or enhance team dynamics.

✍ Some activities that can be practiced during Slack time:

✳ Finish any unplanned simple bugs/enhancements quickly
✳ Refactoring of the code (To follow Architecture and Standards) — Love this 🍀
✳ Develop reusable components
✳ Reducing compiler warnings
✳ Automate any manual processes to save time etc.

Please share your thoughts !

Interesting information on Delphi Technique

 

The Delphi Technique is a structured and systematic method for gathering and information from a group of experts or stakeholders to reach a consensus or make predictions about complex or uncertain issues. This can be used during requirements gathering, risk management etc. It is interesting to know about the two variations of Delphi technique.

➡ Delphi Technique

1️⃣ A way to reach a consensus of experts on a subject, experts on the subject participate in this technique anonymously
2️⃣ A facilitator uses a questionnaire to solicit ideas about the important points related to the subject
3️⃣ The responses are summarized and are then recirculated to the experts for further comments
4️⃣ Consensus may be reached in a few rounds of this process. This helps reduce bias in the data and keep any one person away from having undue influence on the outcome

➡ Wideband Delphi

1️⃣ Wideband Delphi is a variation of the Delphi estimating method where subject matter experts complete multiple rounds of producing estimates individually, with a project team discussion after each round, until a consensus is achieved
2️⃣ For Wideband Delphi, those who created the highest and lowest estimates explain their rationale, following which everyone estimates
3️⃣ The process repeats until convergence is achieved
4️⃣ Planning Poker is a variation of Wideband Delphi

Please let know your thoughts.

Definition of Ready in Agile

 Definition of Ready in Agile

It is good to have a A ‘Definition of Ready’ (DoR). The ‘Definition of Done’ (DoD) is an agreed-upon set of items that must be completed before a project or user story can be considered complete.

The Definition of Ready is most often missed by the teams. It helps to set the criteria that a product backlog item must meet before taken into a sprint. The development team must evaluate and ensure its consideration such as dependencies, estimations, flow, design etc. are ready and can be consulted with the product owner. The below checklist will help in defining a DoR for a story.

Defintion of Ready (DoR)

✅ User story has a business value 📖
✅ Estimated by the development team ✏
✅ Clear and well-defined 🏹
✅ Achievable within a sprint 🏃‍♂️
✅ Measurable & Testable 📈
✅ User story dependencies have been verified 🤝