Co-location
- Everyone on a common project team sits together in a group. No separate offices, cubicles or other barriers exist. New ideas and challenges are quickly and easily discussed. Accountability and accessibility are fostered throughout the team.
Pairing
- Two people work together on the same task. Developers share the same computer, keyboard, and mouse. High-Tech Anthropologists® creating design mock-ups use the same pencil... This promotes collaboration on ideas, peer accountability, and cross-pollination of project knowledge.
Storycards
- All tasks and project requirements are hand-written on
5" x 8" lined, index cards. Each task is independent from all others. The collection of all storycards describes the potential scope of a project. Each card includes an outline of the task to be completed, the desired output, and the definition of "done".
Work Authorization Board
- Picture a large bulletin board, on which are posted the different pairs on a project. The storycards assigned to each pair are posted under their names, in priority order. Pairs indicate their progress on each card. Boards are re-constructed on a weekly basis. Boards provide transparency and more effective team communication.
Green Dotting
- If work done on a storycard passes the following two steps, it gets a green dot to indicate it is done: Step 1) Developers run a series of automated unit tests against their code, on their own computer all tests must pass. Step 2) Quick review of the work is done by non-developers to identify any broken functionality and usability issues not caught by the unit tests.
Estimation
- Before storycards are prioritized by a client or assigned to a pair, they are estimated. Every pair on the team selects the amount of time they believe a particular task will take them to complete. This estimation of effort allows the project manager to identify the associated cost (budget) and the impact each feature would have on the timeline (deadline).
Show & Tell
- At the end of each week, the project team assembles with the client to literally demonstrate the recent work completed. This provides an open forum to discuss the client's changing needs, build a shared vision, and help guide what work should be prioritized for the coming week.
Planning
- After show & tell, the project manager partners with the client to select and prioritize the storycards for the upcoming weeks. This provides a "steering wheel" for the clients to guide their project. Paper planning sheets are laid out on a table, representing available time and budget. As copies of storycards are placed on the sheets, the client is effectively authorizing work to take place in the coming weeks.
