lighttangent

Loading

Archives 2020

PMO

Is PMO really required?

The term “PMO” has a wider usage, I ‘ll be more specific here, the context of PMO is related to (Project/Program Management) Office. It’s a difficult question to read when I was working as a PMO. I was asked by business analysts/project managers, why do we need a PMO? What job you actually do? It was definitely frustrating and the answer I used to tell them was the word “value”. A PMO adds value to the project/program driven organization. It’s not easy to explain individuals the value a PMO brings, hence in this article will attempt to add the list of values, a PMO offers. The list may vary from organization to organization based on how the PMO function was set-up.

Before we move to the value/benefits, let’s understand about the PMO definition and objectives

Definition of a PMO –

A PMO is a function is an organization to drive the standardization of tools & processes for project/program delivery.

Objective of a PMO –

To provide transparency and visibility of projects/program by implementing Tools & Standards. PMO shares the single source of truth by sharing this information with senior management for them to take required action.

List of values/benefits of PMO

Divided the values/benefits into two categories – Strategic & Tactical

Strategic benefits of a PMO

  1. Standardization of tools and processes
  2. Transparency and Visibility
  3. Improved probability of successful outcomes
  4. Build confidence of Senior Management

Tactical benefits of a PMO

  1. Ad-hoc support to Senior Management
  2. Data collection and consolidation exercise
  3. Ensuring internal deadlines are met (part of the organization requirement)

Summarize –

At times, many fails to understand the strategic benefits offered by a PMO function. The reason is the role description is not clear and focus on tactical scope of work. If you are working as a PMO or aspiring to move towards a PMO journey, do understand the strategic benefits and analyze the strategic benefits which you/team has been offering. In case, you are more focused on tactical work, start thinking of being strategic and identify opportunities/initiatives in your organization for this purpose. If a PMO function exists in an organization, the foundation behind the set-up is to add value to the overall organization. You as an PMO are adding value on this journey. Next time, if anyone ask you this question “ Is PMO really required” – you know what to answer.

scrum

Role of a Scrum Master

An extremely common question what role does a Scrum Master play. Answer is not as simple, a Scrum Master being a servant leader do have to serve scrum team, product owner and the organization. Instead of generalizing the role of a Scrum Master, read the specific role which a Scrum Master has to play –

For the Scrum Team:

  • Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality;
  • Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done;
  • Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress
  • Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.

For the Product Team:

  • Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management;
  • Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items;
  • Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment;
  • Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.

For the Organization:

  • Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption;
  • Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization;
  • Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work;
  • Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams
scrum

What is Definition of Done (DoD) in Scrum

What is Definition of Done (DoD)

Definition of Done( DoD) is one of the key concepts in Scrum Framework. It is a common definition defined by the scrum team to ascertain when the work is complete. DoD differs from team to team.

One analogy from an agile coach about DoD – When can I say that my car is delivered in good condition? The Definition of Done (DoD) would be –

a) Tyres air pressure

b) Car Cleaned ( outside and inside)

c) Brakes working smoothly

Increment – Product Backlog item meets the DoD

When a Product Backlog item meets the Definition of Done, an Increment is born. The Definition of Done creates transparency by providing everyone a shared understanding of what work was completed as part of the Increment.

Product Backlog item does not meet the Definition of Done

If a Product Backlog item does not meet the Definition of Done, it cannot be released or even presented at the Sprint Review. Instead, it returns to the Product Backlog for future consideration.

If the Definition of Done for an increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.

The Developers are required to conform to the Definition of Done. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product, they must mutually define and comply with the same Definition of Done.

Source – Scrum Guide 2020

Agile , scrum

Definition of Ready (DoR) – What does it mean?

As part of Product Backlog refinement (PBR), the User story which is well understood and well described gets a green flag to move to the Sprint backlog. This mechanism is called as “Definition of Ready”. In simple terms, the user story is clear for the development team which can be part of the iteration.

Beautifully explained by Mike Cohn, citing the example of a big burly bouncer standing at the door allowing certain individuals, the definition of ready bouncer only allows certain user stories to attend the iteration.

The next question is how does our bouncer decide whom to allow and whom to not – What are the criteria?

Checklist of Definition of Ready

  1. The story has been estimated and falls under the adequate size for iteration
  2. The story is clear and understandable
  3. All external dependencies have been resolved
  4. Is the acceptance criteria of a story is clearly understood by the team?
  5. A user who will accept the story is identified
  6. The team understand how to demo the story

The above points are the important criteria to be visited before moving the story to Sprint backlog. Do note, the DoR will change from Story to Story. The team should develop a mechanism best suited for them in implementing DoR.

Summary –

“Definition of Ready” though not popular as “Definition of Done”, is important. The goal is to prevent problems and not allowing them to the iteration. Though debate continues around “Definition of Ready” makes the process more waterfall and less agile, it is at the discretion of the teams to decide how to use this. Our recommendation is the team should have clarity of the requirements before they start work and “ Definition of Ready” is extremely powerful. DoR is not mentioned on the Scrum Guide however this is related to the Definition of Done or DoD. If the team has a robust process around DoR, it will make the path comfortable for achieving DoD