First Things First

By -
In order to deliver working software at the end of each iteration and a complete set of features at the end of a release cycle it's important to prioritize features logically to allow testing to begin as early as possible. For example, in one release cycle we added document upload functionality to our citizen access application. The complete set of features included:
  1. Upload Document
  2. List Documents
  3. View Document
  4. Delete Document
The release cycle included 3 iterations of development and testing. The logical order in which to develop these features would be as they appear above. By developing the upload feature in the first iteration, it could be tested while developers worked on subsequent features. By the same logic, it makes sense to develop the list documents feature before developing the delete document feature (it's hard to test a delete document feature if the software doesn't allow the user to upload a document and see the list of uploaded documents).

A development team that doesn't understand the value of frequent delivery of working software will work on all features simultaneously, or in an order that does not allow for testing of discrete features independently. In that case, testers would have to wait until the end of the final iteration before getting their hands on any of the features to test--an inefficient use of resources and a way to ensure inadequate testing and unacceptable quality.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Severity, Priority, Impact and Likelihood - Managing Defects and Risks

By -
Defects and Risks are often dealt with in a subjective, emotional way.  That's unfortunate, because among all the things a software development team deals with, those are two that can be handled in a more constructive and empirical way. First, a couple definitions. Defect Severity: the degree of impact a defect has on system operation. A defect is something observed, so impact can be empirically quantified. Risk Severity: the degree to which a hypothetical event, should it occur, would impact system operation. A risk event is something that has not occurred, so impact must be estimated or extrapolated. The common element in both Risk Severity Assessment and Defect Severity is Impact on Revenue.  The FMEA framework that AKF recommends uses 1 = Low, 3 = Med, and 9 = High, to represent the exponential effect of a high impact risk or defect Impact on Revenue No payments being collected and/or payment data security compromised (Critical) Payment collection being de
Read more

Enterprise Agile Framework: The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)

By -
Image
Brian Rabon introduced me to the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) as the framework he uses to manage his company, The Braintrust Consulting Group (TBCG). EOS is the missing element in organizations that are having some success with Agile at the team level, but not succeeding with change at higher levels or outside software development. As Charlie Rudd points out in his post The Third Wave of Agile , there is broad consensus on the value of Agile practices at the team level, but all types and sizes of businesses are struggling to scale Agile and to increase agility across their organization.  I think EOS addresses those challenges. EOS is comprised of the EOS Model : Having a model like this in place allows teams to function optimally as self-organized units that share the vision and goals of the organization.  Teams are able to align themselves with the organization's objectives, and can see how their outcomes affect the organization's performance. The EO
Read more

Chatbot Code of Ethics

By -
A  NYTimes article  describes efforts by a consortium of the largest technology companies to create ethical standards for AI. A related article in MIT Technology Review is titled  AI Wants to Be Your Bro, Not Your Foe . Artificial Intelligence has reached a level of sophistication, and is on the brink of being so pervasive, that we can have these serious conversations. In my work developing AI-powered chatbots to assist with learning, I work within the bounds of these 7 precepts: Right View - our chatbots honor humanity, human dignity, and the human quest for knowledge, understanding and technological innovation Right Intention - our chatbots promote human progress in the areas of intellectual pursuits and personal ethical development Right Speech - our chatbots use encouraging, prudent, and situationally appropriate language Right Action - our chatbots perform with integrity toward the aforementioned right view and intention Right Live
Read more