Agile is great at establishing transparency and continuous feedback loops within the product development organization – all in an attempt to deliver more frequent customer value. But how do you ensure you’re working on the right priorities for you and your team and ultimately meeting the objectives of the company? And how do you communicate those priorities in a way that is clearly understood by those outside the sprint process? Really it’s about focusing on a few things each week (ala Stephen Covey) and then properly communicating completed and upcoming roadmap items. And let’s not forget accountability – did your backlog items amount to positive or negative change? Let’s explore best practices to achieve all this using simple Microsoft office tools (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook).

1. CONFIDENTIAL
Agile meets Stephen Covey

2. CONFIDENTIAL
What’s the objective?
2
Climb the tallest peak?
Build a tunnel through the mountains?

3. CONFIDENTIAL
What’s agile?
3

4. CONFIDENTIAL
Agile objectives
• Highest priority:
– To satisfy the customer through early and
continuous delivery of valuable software
• Lean towards:
– Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
– Working software over comprehensive documentation
– Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
– Responding to change over following a plan
4

5. CONFIDENTIAL
What are these?
5
climbing toolsagile =

6. CONFIDENTIAL
Agile crevices
• Upfront business objectives?
• Integrated scorecard? How do we prioritize
projects that align to our business objectives?
• Communicate sprint releases, success and
areas for improvement beyond the sprint
team?
• Review project results (not just sprint
dynamics)?
6

7. CONFIDENTIAL
7 habits
7
1 Be proactive
Change starts from within, and highly
effective people make the decision to
improve their lives through the things that
they can influence rather than by simply
reacting to external forces.
Begin with the end in mind
Develop a principle-centered personal
mission statement. Extend the mission
statement into long-term goals based on
personal principles.
2
Put first things first
Spend time doing what fits into your personal
mission. Identify the key roles that you take
on in life, and make time for each of them.
3
4 Think win/win
Seek agreements and relationships that are
mutually beneficial. Be sure to reward
win/win behavior and avoid inadvertently
rewarding win/lose behavior.
5 Seek first to understand, then to
be understood
Effective listening is not simply echoing what
the other person has said through the lens of
one's own experience. Rather, it is putting
oneself in the perspective of the other
person, listening emphatically for both feeling
and meaning.
Synergize
Through trustful communication, find ways to
leverage individual differences to create a
whole that is greater than the sum of the
parts.
6
Sharpen the saw
Take time out through personal renewal of
the physical, mental, social/environmental,
and spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance
among these dimensions.
7
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen Covey

8. CONFIDENTIAL
In other words
• Alignment – the “right" priorities should drive
day-to-day decisions
• Communication – be transparent outside of
the sprint team and solicit constant feedback
• Accountability – remember to revisit and
rework
8
Sherpa or guide7 habits =

9. CONFIDENTIAL
Define business objective
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Climb the third peak by end of year

10. CONFIDENTIAL
Objectives
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Pri Objective Weighting Target Date Worst Target Best
1 Increase subscription
revenue
1.50 11/22 250K 300K 350K
2 Increase membership
length
1.25 12/31 1 mo 2 mo 3 mo
3 Increase advertising
revenue
1.00 12/1 75K 100K 125K
4 SEO natural vs. paid
search
0.75 12/31 30% 40% 50%
Q4

11. CONFIDENTIAL
Backlog
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Pri Project Lead Score Size Sprint
1 Add PayPal to checkout Bob 45% XL Nov
2 Add scorecard Dan 60% L Nov
3 Product reviews Jane 78% M Nov
4 Homepage redesign Jane 62% L Nov
5 Price changes Suzie 25% S Nov
6 Omniture update Bob 8% S Dec
7 Google search integration Suzie 52% S Dec
8 Ad banner changeout Jane 58% M Dec
9 Database dump Dan L Dec
10 Multiple billing addresses Dan XL Dec

12. CONFIDENTIAL
Scorecard
12
Pri Objective Worst Target Best Weighting Points Total
1 Increase subscription
revenue
250K 300K 350K 1.50 4 6.00
2 Increase membership
length
1 mo 2 mo 3 mo 1.25 5 6.25
3 Increase advertising
revenue
75K 100K 125K 1.00 1 1.00
4 SEO natural vs. paid
search
30% 40% 50% 0.75 1 0.75
Homepage redesign 62%Project score (14/22.50) =

13. CONFIDENTIAL
Weekly Update
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Completed
• Twitter integration released 11/4
• Thanksgiving promo released 11/5
Previously completed
Planned Roadmap | Sprints | Backlog
Pri Project Lead Sprint Est Comp Issues / Next Steps
1 Add PayPal to checkout Bob Nov 11/20
2 Add scorecard Dan Nov 11/20
3 Product reviews Jane Nov 12/1 Deployment freeze
4 Homepage redesign Jane Nov 12/1 Wireframes needed
5 Price changes Suzie Nov 12/31
6 Omniture update Bob Dec 12/31
7 Google search integration Suzie Dec 12/31 Takes 90 days

14. CONFIDENTIAL
Results
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Pri Objective Weighting Target Date Comp Date Target Actual
1 Increase subscription
revenue
1.50 11/22 11/22 300K 305K
2 Increase membership
length
1.25 12/31 12/3 2 mo 1 mo
3 Increase advertising
revenue
1.00 12/1 12/31 100K 250K
4 SEO natural vs. paid
search
0.75 12/31 12/31 40% 35%
Q4

15. CONFIDENTIAL
Formula for success
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Agile (climbing tools)
+
Covey’s 7 Habits (the Sherpa or guide)
=
Ability to get up the mountain and accomplish
the business objectives efficiently

16. CONFIDENTIAL
Questions or comments?
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Jesse Gant
@gantjd
slideshare.net/gantjd