K ANBAN
Master Sensei and the aspiring warrior STUDENT: Master, I am working on a data warehousing project, and we are charged with producing financial reports for senior executives. There is no way we can possibly produce something of value every week. The data warehouse alone will take at least a month to set up. How should I manage my iterations? MASTER: The trick to delivering something of value is to focus on thin slices of functionality that go end-to-end through the application. Instead of building the data warehouse in its entirety, take a small subsection of one of your reports, and build only those pieces of the infrastructure that you need. STUDENT: But what if even after doing that, we run into something that is so big we just can’t fit it into an iteration? MASTER: If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit. Take as many iterations as you require to build the infrastructure and move on. Just remember that you want customer engagement. And telling them you are going to disappear for three months while you set things up makes them lose interest. It’s much better for you and them if you can find a way to deliver something small and build on it each iteration thereafter. STUDENT:
Thank you, Master. I will think about this more.
What’s Next? There you have it. Analysis, development, and testing, all rolled up into one to deliver something of value every week. Remember, there is no one way to do this stuff, and the artifacts and the way you work will need to change from project to project. So, don’t be afraid to experiment and try different things.
Report erratum this copy is (P1.0 printing, September 2010)
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