Agile Development Blog

(Note: today’s blog post is brought to you by the letter “N”)

Continuing our series on N Levels of Planning, I realize that even the usage of “N” in our definition of planning levels has been perplexing me. Sometimes, I think I get what N means. Imagine N = 5. In this context, you might do higher level planning for your product teams. Create a great product vision. Build a thematic product roadmap. Have these faithfully inform release planning, iteration planning and ultimately daily planning. Okay great. Here, N = 5.  And then I think, “But what about when I move to more continuous flow of value delivery through Agile? Now what is my “N”? I move away from iteration timeboxes for delivery, so no plan there, right? Do I still think about some sense of planning at a product vision level and a product roadmap level? Do I still have some sort product release planning but it just differs in approach in continuous delivery versus timebox delivery? Perhaps I now have N = 2; or, is it 3 or 4? And, perhaps “planning” has a different meaning as well.

We’re not done with the ambiguity yet

The N levels of planning complexity doesn’t stop at the product planning level. Think about now inviting levels of business planning as a natural part of Agile transformation and maturity. If I add in a Strategic Business plan accompanied by a Business Roadmap plan, I’ve now moved to N = 7. Or not if I am not using timebox-driven planning. What if the business uses a milestone-driven approach? For example, we know we have this conference coming up; we want a release for that date. We’ll still use a prioritized backlog for our work and we’ll declare our release based on what functionality is available by the milestone. What is “N” now?

But wait! There’s more!

You’ve brought the business into your Agile transformation. As you do so, are you transforming business with your IT organization? Or, is your Agile transformation in the context of product lines in an ISV?  Your business context may impact what and how you plan. In both contexts, you are running Strategic Business planning and Product Roadmap planning in your N-levels of planning. But what do these plans produce and how do you use them? Here, “N” now may rely on your business context. In the emerging business initiatives, have we uncovered capabilities that spread across portfolios or maybe across products? Are there initiatives that extend beyond business unit boundaries? Does this boundary-crossing work create capability-driven versus product-driven teams? Now, what are our N-levels of Planning?

I wonder if I am going to end up with some sort of quadratic equation to resolve “N”

As we continue to delve into a guide for “N-levels of Planning” in Agile organizations, I believe we are discovering the “N” is driven by the variety of taxonomies that lie in our contexts. Criss-crossing these contexts and their taxonomies, there seems to be some potential skeletal guide for “N”. At the least, consider 4 basic realms in which “N” derives definition:

1. Your level of Agile Adoption into the enterprise (product line only, one business unit, or multiple business units)
2. Your business’s technical organizational and architectural structures (e.g. ISV versus IT)
3. Your thematic (requirements) structures (themes, epics, capabilities, MMFs, stories)
4. Your delivery structures (timeboxes, milestones, or continuous flow)

“N” is a complex variable in N levels of planning. I no longer believe there is one magic formula for “N”. I know for sure “N” does not forever equal 5, something I had been so sure of at one time. I will say, I don’t think “N” is an imaginary number :-) I believe “N” reveals itself as we apply intention around the four structures above for our Agile transformations and maturity. And, your mileage may vary.

More to come on our old friend “N”. But first, what’s your “N”?

Jean Tabaka is a “why bother” latte sipper, crash skier, college hoops fan, author and Agile Fellow at Rally Software Development. You can follow Jean on Twitter at @jeantabaka

#5 in our list of the Top 10 characteristics of an Agile organization is about the importance of practicing both Bottom-up and Top-down decision making.

In this 4 minute video, I talk about how successful Agile organizations embrace a notion of the ‘knowledge-creating company.’ In Agile, knowledge-creation can use “5 Levels of Planning” to ensure they are engaging in this whole organization practice. In sum, the highest level of planning, the vision, feeds and is fed by all subsequent levels, down to the lowest level of planning, the detailed daily work.

Watch my video for more about why I truly believe in both Bottom-up and Top-down decision making as a key success factor.

See our previous coverage of #10 Work/Life Balance, #9 Being a Servant and Leader, #8  Sustainable and Successful, #7 Contributing to the Community and the Company and #6 Collaborative and Smart. Stay tuned for #4 in our series, Personal Flexibility and Rhythm.