Cruising speed
A second sprint completed. Here’s what has been different in this sprint:
First of all, at the sprint planning, the team has broken down the product backlog items more finely. Then, they asked me all the right questions to understand the work to be done and capture the details in the acceptance criteria of each product backlog item. It allowed them to reduce the level of uncertainty during the sprint and to deliver results with a greater business value. Already, I feel like I can breathe and that we are better structured. I have more confidence that we can deliver results that fully satisfy my clients.
During the sprint, thanks to Gilles’ coaching, the team held a meeting to work on the product backlog in order to prepare for our next sprint planning. I felt a level of involvement that I had not felt until then and I feel that the team is beginning to self-organize. My workload regarding the product backlog has decreased because I can count on the team. Therefore, I can focus on product management.
It is amazing how Gilles is helping us improves ourselves simply by asking the right questions.
At the sprint review, I invited real users. This allowed us to validate the concepts; we got meaningful comments. We had a good working session. Users were able to try the software application and provide feedback…new needs emerged, few initial needs changed and some even disappeared. I feel that we are more in tune with the market and our product backlog has improved. It was a good time investment for me and for the users as well.
I’m beginning to see the benefits of inspection and adaptation. With projects I’ve worked on in the past, we used to define all requirements at the very start of the project. As we were not in contact with the client, he did not have the chance to see the progress of the project…acceptance was only done at the end. I’ve lived a situation where changes were made at the very end and the costs for these adjustments were very high. Not to mention the disappointment of the team as they felt they had worked for nothing.
With the current approach, I feel that we are able to adapt and that we are able to seize new opportunities faster and with fewer risks. In other words, this is Agility!
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