Most of the agile framework focus on delivery part and provide no guidance on project initiation part. What are right questions to ask when we are in very first meeting with the sponsor? How to guide the sponsor through a process of converting high level business idea into a vision and go about chartering exercise? How to effectively conduct project initiation workshop and start with a discovery exercise that sets the scene for a project and produces an initial backlog? These are some of the concerns addressed in this presentation.

1. Discuss Agile Conference
DELHI 2016
The Art of Agile Project Initiation
By Kshitij Agrawal

2. “Agile” Project Initiation
Inception builds shared understanding and alignment
thru lightweight collaborative sessions

3. Agenda
Solutionize and Prioritize
Roles and Process Mapping
Build business and project context
Expectations Management
Initial discussions & Preparation
High Level Planning
Summary

4. Case Study
 Mr. X is a businessman & sports enthusiast. He is planning to climb on Mt
Everest.
 Has multiple stores in metro cities selling safety gears & other equipments for
adventure sports (paragliding, scuba diving, hill-climbing, bungee jumping etc).
 He wants to expand his business using digital channels and has called
consultant from IT firm ABC Ltd for help.
If you are that consultant from ABC firm meeting with Mr. X first time.
What will you discuss? What will you ask and tell?

5. Case Study .. cont
Ask
 What do you want?
 Why? What problem are
you trying to solve?
 Target Audience /
customers / market
segments
 Competitors, USP /
Differentiators
 Why not X instead of Y
 Cost & timelines constraints
 What do you want from us?
Tell & Sell
 Your company and its
philosophy
 Experience in similar
problem domain
 Feature Driven and
Iterative Development
 MVP & Value driven
prioritization
 Agile Benefits
Next Steps
Inception Workshop
 Purpose
 Approach
 Deliverables
 Participants
 Logistics

6. Inception Process
Initial Prep
Check-in &
Expectations
Management
Build Business
Context
Build Project
Context
Solutionize and
Prioritize
High Level Planning
Showcase

7. Initial Preparation

8. Initial Prep – Assemble the Team
 Project Manager
 Business Analyst
 Technical Arch / Lead
 Test Lead
 UX Designer
 DevOps

9. Study & Research
 Client Culture
 Client Practices
 Client IT Set-up
 Business Domain
 Problem Domain
 Competitors
 Technologies
 Customers
 Internal Experiences of
similar projects

10. Logistics
 Book stakeholders calendar
 Travel Arrangement
 Stationary
 Book good Venue

11. Expectation Management

12. Agenda
Timelines Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Morning Workshop 1
90 Mins (9:00 – 10:30)
 Kick-Off
 Ice Breaker
 Know each other
As is Business
Process
To be journey &
Features
Technical
Architecture
Planning
Morning Workshop 2
90 Mins (10:45 –
12:30)
 Sponsor
Presentation
 Hopes & Fears
As is Business
Process & Pain
Points
Sketch &
Prototype
Plan &
Prioritize
Assembling
the Plan
Lunch
(45 Minutes)
Learning Lunch Learning Lunch
Afternoon Workshop 1
90 Mins (1:15 – 2:45)
Visioning Exercises User Journeys Non-Functional
Requirements
Plan &
Prioritize
Showcase
Consolidation
45 Mins (3:00 – 3:45)
Consolidation of findings & converting into electronic format
Open Space for any other agenda
Standup / Retro
15 Mins (3:45 – 4:00) Retrospective and Adapting plan for next day

13. Assess Expectations
Hopes
Executive
Backing
Get some
answers of our
problems
Get some new
perspectives
Yet another time
wasting meeting
Can we get lot
done in short
time?
Fears

14. Discover & Explore
Business & Project Context

15. Elevator Pitch

16. Product In a Box
<Product Name>
<Slogan>
<Benefit #1>
<Benefit #2>
<Benefit #3>
Fun Picture
What if your product was a box
What would it look like?
Create a slogan – something catchy
Draw your creation
 Why would anyone buy – list the
benefits

17. Envisioning / Cover Story
Cover: Story of Big
Success
Headline: Substance of
cover story
Sidebars: Interesting facts
Quotes: Customer Quotes
Brainstrom : Initial Ideas
Images : Supporting
content with illustrations.
Pic taken from gamestorming.com

18. Lean Business Model Canvas
Author Ash Maurya. Taken from leanstack.com

19. Trade Off Slider
Time to Market
On Budget
Performance
Breadth of Features
Depth of Features
High quality, low defects
<Insert yours>
High Low

20. Solutionize & Prioritize

21. Scoping
Business
Process
Roles &
Goals
Personas Scenarios
User
Journeys
Prototype
Stories

22. Business Process Modeling

23. Case Study 2 – User Roles
 Cricket Mania Ltd is an organization, which sells Cricket books and other goods
related to Cricket.
 They are planning to launch a website to sell the goods online in India.
You are in inception workshop trying to come up with user roles. Try to come
up with as many roles as possible.

24. Case Study 2 – User Roles…
 Customer Roles
 Novice Player or New Player
 Gift Buyer
 Cricket Coach
 Cricket Academy
 Professional Player
 Experienced Player
 Report Viewer
 Sales & Marketing Person
 CxOs
 Helpdesk Person
 Administrator
 Product Manager

25. User Goal Activities Tasks
Role /
Persona
Goal
Activity
Task /
Feature
Admin Customer Fulfilment
Manager
Manage
Products
Product
Set-up
Tracking
Shipping
Progress
Product
Bulk Upload
Add
Product
Delete
Product
Product
Inquiry
Edit Product
Basic
Search
Track
Shipping
Reconciliation
Buy Product
Search
& Select
Add to Cart &
Payment
Submit to
Delivery
Vendor
Sr. Manager
Manage Fulfilment Increased
Revenue
Optimized
Operation
s
Analyze
Reports
Inventory
Mgmt
Advance
Search
See List
Sorting &
Filters
Detailed
Info
Add To Cart
Edit Cart
Checkout from
Cart
Provide
Shipping Info
Pay by Card
Pay by Internet
Banking
Generate List
of Orders
Pass goods
to Delivery
Vendor
Update
Order Status
Notify
Customer
Manage
Exceptions
Generate
Reports ....
.... ....
....
-->
-->-->-->

26. Wireframes and Mockups

27. Non-Functional Requirements
Capacity
Resilience
Performance
UsabilitySupportable
Testable
Security
Portability
Globalization
Compliance
Reliability

28. Technical
Technical
<technology platform>
<language>
<libraries>
<tools>
<database>
<CI/CD tools>
<Test Automation Tools>
Environment
<Development Environment>
<Test Environment>
<UAT environment>
<NFT environment>
Infra
<Software>
<Hardware>
<Network>

29. High Level Planning & Showcase

30. Planning Process
Relative
Prioritization
Find MVP
Create High
level Plan
Make Priority
Adjustments
Complete
Staffing
Estimate
Costs
Make Adjustment
for Risks &
Constraints
Assemble
Final Plan

31. Story Map
Epics /
Features
Stories
Product
Set-up
Order
Tracking
Product
Bulk Upload
Add
Product
Delete
Product
Product
Inquiry
Edit Product
Basic
Search
Search &
Filter
Shopping
Cart
Reporting
Advance
Search
Filter on
xxx
Sorting on
column xxx
Detailed
Info popup
Add
To Cart
Remove
From Cart
Checkout
from Cart
Enter Shipping
Info
Pay by
Credit Card
Pay by Internet
Banking
....
.... ....
....
Logical Usage Sequence
P
R
I
O
R
I
Y
Product
Info
Filter on
yyy
Filter on
zzz
Basic Info
List
Payment
Change
Quantity
Product
Compare
Show Invoice &
Delivery Charges

32. High Level Plan
2 week incremental delivery
4 Dev, 2 QA
Total:- 6 Iterations
Apr’16 – June’16 – 3 Months
1. Hit the ground running with
environment and team set-up
2. Product Set-up via bulk
upload
3. Basic Customer Journey.
4. Alpha release with cash on
delivery option.
2 week incremental delivery
2 teams each with 4 Dev, 2 QA
Total:- 6-7 Iterations
July’16 – Sept’16 – 3 Months Oct’16 – Dec’16 – 3 Months
Capacity – 40 to 50 Points Capacity – 90 to 110 Points
1. Finish Admin product setup UI
2. Payment Gateway Integration
3. Customer Journey enhancements
4. Feedback from alpha release
5. Beta release with MVP
1. UI enhancements, notifications,
triggers
2. Reports
3. Feedback from beta release
4. Any non-MVP features that
capacity allows
5. Full launch
2 week incremental delivery
2 teams each with 4 Dev, 2 QA
Total:- 6 Iterations
Capacity – 80 to 100 Points
Notes:
• Initial approach that allows early feedback and early removal of uncertainties.
• The plan is broken into logical milestones, which needs to be revisited at frequent
intervals to reflect actual velocity.

33. The NOT List
IN OUT
Core logic for customer product buy &
search
Inventory Management
Admin product set-up Mobile App
Payments Gateway Integration
UNRESOLVED
Integration with analytics module
Reusing core web security or creating new security module

34. Engines & Anchors
Data Driven
Decision
Making
Legacy
Technology
Constraints
Building
Consensus among
business groups
Competitors
launching ahead
Customer Impact
During Change
Clear Product
Roadmap
Agile Training
Challenges
Success Factors
Infrastructure
Support

35. RAID
RISKS
What keeps you awake at night?
Known Unknown
Unknown Unknown
ISSUES
What are the known problems we have?
ASSUMPTIONS
Frequently validate
Common source of risks & issues
DEPENDENCIES
Internal
External

36. Showcase

37. Parting Thoughts
 Focus on conversation, collaboration and shared understanding
 Adapt agenda and exercises
 Don’t hesitate in challenging client’s ideas and having difficult conversations
 Opportunity for client connect
 Opportunity for team bonding and building relations

38. Questions ?

39. Thank You 