A happy flow planning is a planning based on the situation that everything will go as you want it. No problems building changes, everyone is always available or at least not unavailable at an unexpected time. I’ve seen a lot of these plannings and they have 1 thing in common: they never make their deadline.
When you plan, certainly over a longer period, there are always things that will go wrong. People get sick, estimations were not high enough, other unexpected, but important problems need to be done first. Most people know this. So, I’m not completely sure why I still see people plan as if nothing can go wrong. I can guess though. And then I can get to two reasons:
- People don’t have the skills to plan another way
- It’s difficult to sell a planning with a big margin of time in it to a manager or client
Yes, as a manager, scrum master or product owner in an Agile environment, but even not in an Agile project, one of the first skills you need is: how to explain the method for realistic planning? If not, you will never be able the do a good job. Maybe this blog can help.
Determine what is really a must-have
For reasons I will explain later, I prefer a method like MOSCOW (Must have, should have, could have, would have) above MVP (Minimal valuable product). For this reason, I will mention MOSCOW. But in the end, every method that determines a minimum set of functionality that needs to be done will work in the same way.
The most important group in MOSCOW is the Must-have group. Why? This is the only mandatory group. The other groups you can skip and still make your planning. And also it’s the group people struggle with the most. Yes, I have seen that a company said “This is a must”, but when the deadline came nearer and nearer all of a sudden it wasn’t needed that much anymore.
So we come to the real criteria for a must-have. The only must-have functionality that is a must-have? If you haven’t built it, you will not allow your users to use all the functionality already build. I will give an example. When you build a profile page for a new webshop, you want to show personal information and give the user the option to change password and email address. While you prefer showing the status or an order, you will not block the before entered functionality, if this is missing.
This might be different if you are replacing an existing profile page. If the existing one already shows the status of an order, your users are expecting this. Leaving it out in a new version might cause big problems.
Don’t plan only on Must-haves
So, why do I prefer MOSCOW? When the criteria are used correctly, it’s easier to sell a realistic planning. Managers and customers most of the time want both the Must-have and the Should-have. So, if you can base your planning on both groups, you also immediately have a margin. It is still the case that everything in the Should-have group can be skipped.
But even if you don’t use this method, always make sure your planning is not only based on the estimations of Must-haves. When you have no other choice, take extra time into account for unexpected problems, for example, a percentage. But it’s smarter to create a group of functionality that the manager or customer wants, but is willing to leave out to reach the deadline.
Plan on the capacity you most likely will have
If you have followed the steps before, you will have a margin in your planning. Planning the resources will not have to be an exact science because of that. Still, to build in extra security, it’s smart to not plan as if every person is available every day.
You can take a standard percentage for vacation and sick, you can ask people if they will be off. Since it doesn’t have to be an exact science, the method doesn’t matter that much. But do have a method that calculates the capacity of the people a bit more realistic than just adding all working hours together.
Always plan realistic, even if it is only for yourself
In general, you do a planning for a manager, a customer or a team. But, in the end, plan for yourself. Even, if for some reason, the planning for the manager, the customer, or the team isn’t realistic, make sure you have a planning that is. It makes it possible to warn when the deadline is in danger. It makes it possible to plan your own work and discuss when there is a time problem.
So, no matter what, always make a planning where Must-haves are determined the right way. Plan more functionality than just must-haves or plan extra time. And don’t assume everyone will be available all the time.
Realistic planning is one of the most important skills. Many Agile methods were partly invented because people struggle with this. But overall, it only works if you are honest with yourself.