Compendium / Development Process
Optimize for Batch Success
An effective batch development process optimizes for a team’s batches of
work to have the best chance at successful delivery.
Characteristics of A Batch Development Process
- Higher degree of variation in size of work items
- Variation in workflow for work items
Batch Development Processes
- Scrum
- Extreme Programming (XP)
Development Cycle
Cycle Length
A two-week cycle is generally a good starting place for teams, and ends
up suiting most contexts. One-week and three-week cycles are also viable for some situations. One-week cycles are more suited to batch work with few to no dependencies and size ranges that skew smaller. Three-week cycles can be effective for batch work that involves longer-than-average review steps for compliance, legal, or similar domain concerns, but also where units of work skew toward a larger size.
Events
Cycle Planning
Location in Cycle: Morning of first day of cycle
Maximum Duration: 2.5 hours
Outcome: Cross-functional team begins the development cycle confident in a jointly-developed plan
Recommended Content for Cycle Planning
- Batch Cycle Planning and Tracking Guide
- Development Process Outcomes – Cultivate Understanding of Capacity
- Development Process Roles – Team Steward
Daily Standup
Location in Cycle: Morning of all but the first and last days
Maximum Duration: 10 minutes
Outcome: Team and other attendees have a good understanding of who will be working on which things for the day
Recommended Content for Daily Standup
Backlog Grooming
Location in Cycle: 2nd or 3rd day before end of cycle
Maximum Duration: 1 hour
Outcome: Team has confirmed that the top items in their backlog equivalent to one and a half times their Throughput are in priority order, with well-formed stories, estimates, and conditions of success, so that the upcoming Cycle Planning has the best chance of producing a well-informed plan for the Cycle backed by the confidence of all the Cross-Functional Team Members. Should the team find that the top of the backlog is not in good shape for planning, there are still a few days to pursue the information needed for an effective Cycle Planning.
Recommended Content for Backlog Grooming
Backlog Maintenance
Location in Cycle: 1-3 occurrences spread through the cycle
Maximum Duration: 1 hour
Outcome: The team has reviewed backlog items further down the backlog, generally 3 sprints or more away. The goal is to gain a better shared understanding of work that is further out, to both provide better high-level projections and determine whether to invest in design sessions for items with significant architectural implications that require thought and iteration.
Recommended Content for Backlog Maintenance
Cycle Review
Location in Cycle: Morning of last day right before Cycle Retrospective
Maximum Duration: 30 minutes
Outcome: Stakeholders, dependent teams, and other interested parties receive a concise recap of the outcome of the scheduled work, the non-backlog work encountered during the cycle
Recommended Content for Cycle Review
Cycle Retrospective
Location in Cycle: Morning of last day right after Cycle Review
Maximum Duration: 1 hour
Outcome: Team has discussed how they feel they did in working together as a team, with reflection upon what worked, what could improve, and experiments they can try to improve their effectiveness, all of which has been documented in the Development Log.
Recommended Content for Cycle Retrospective
- Batch Cycle Planning and Tracking Guide – Last Day of Cycle
- Development Process Outcomes – Nurture Critical Thought about Effectiveness
- The Iterative Cycle: Commit, Execute, Evaluate