 I-S-S Agile Topic When teams start off using Scrum, the prospect of getting things done within a sprint can be a huge logistical and practical challenge. Gathering together all of the skills necessary to turn work from an idea into potentially deployable functionality is very difficult. Yet, if teams don't get stuff done within an iteration, then the customer isn't getting any real value, and the team doesn't really know what it is truly capable of. This retrospective assumes that teams are already achieving potentially deployable every sprint, but wish to go even further. However, the same principle of this retrospective can be used for teams who aren't quite getting done by the end of the sprint. In this retrospective, there are actually very few requirements in terms of resources, although it's always a good idea to have some index cards, some post-its, and some marker pens handy. Depending on whether you wish to embrace the multimedia aspect of this retrospective will determine whether or not you need to set up a computer and or projection capabilities in advance. This retrospective typically lasts about an hour. Hook. Welcome everyone and explain that today we're going to look at extending the team's definition of done from potentially deployable to done. And the metaphor we will be using is space. So far, by getting to potentially deployable each iteration, we are in effect reaching Earth's orbit. This is good, because this opens up new possibilities for us. We can launch satellites that help us improve communications and monitor weather, for example. While our ultimate goal may be to somehow colonize space, our next immediate challenge is to construct an international space station. Not only now do we need to reach Earth's orbit safely, but we also need to be able to navigate precisely and dock our components. We're going to play you a short video clip now to create the hook for this retrospective. You may wish to play this video to the team yourself. But why some say the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other thing. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone. And one we intend to win. To paraphrase the inspirational Kennedy, but why some say done? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why fly the Atlantic? Why put a man on the moon? We choose to extend our definition of done. We choose to extend our definition of done for this iteration and every other iteration. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Because that goal will give our users true value and test the extent of our solutions. Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept. One that we are unwilling to postpone. And one which we intend to win. Ask the team if working out what it would take for them to get to a state of continual delivery is something that they are keen to explore. Provided nobody objects, we can continue. But if there is an objection, listen to it and be prepared to run an alternative retrospective. However, reiterate that there is no obligation to make any changes. All we're committing to here is exploring the potential. Events. Start off by asking the team to capture all of the aspects of the product development lifecycle that they currently incorporate into their definition of done. Ask them to write them on sticky notes and place them on the wall. Acknowledge that this is already no small feat. And explain that in our space metaphor we would probably need extra components, extra training, extra protocols and enhanced communication in order to dock components to the ISS. What other considerations might we need? Write each of these on sticky notes. Ask the team to break up into small groups and take one or two of these sticky notes and explore what they would need for these categories to extend their definition of done. Give them 10 minutes, then ask them to come back to the group with their thoughts. Capture the group findings on sticky notes on the wall. Meanings. We're now moving into the meaning section. And here the aim is to help teams evaluate whether or not it's worth investing their efforts in making this happen. To go back to JFK, he realized that his project would not come for free or even cheap. That budget now stands at $5,400 million a year. A staggering sum. Though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year. Explain that, of course, we're not looking at expenditure on anything like that scale, but it won't be easy nonetheless. It will take a lot of discipline and effort, so it should be worth it. Luckily, I don't think this would be as much an act of faith and vision as Kennedy was talking about. Ask the team the following questions and capture their responses. What is the value to us in extending our definition of done? What is the value to those outside of the team? How might doing this save us time and energy in the long run? Some benefits that the team might come up with include faster fixes, fewer defects, quicker feedback, shorter time to market, and the ability to scale up easier. Else. As we mentioned earlier, there is a natural variation to this retrospective where the team aren't actually getting to potentially deployable yet. And so you could focus the retrospective on how do we get out of Earth's atmosphere and into orbit. We may also wish to look at where our ultimate goal is. Of course, JFK wished to put a man on the moon. What would that look like in our version of the metaphor? What about after that? Perhaps our metaphor may extend ultimately to colonizing another planet. Explore with the team what the current understanding is about their definition of done and what it could possibly be extended to mean. Decisions. Position the next steps as a NASA press conference, scheduled to reveal the plan for the intentions and next phase of ISS agile. Ask the team to create some fictional roles that team members will be taking on. For example, the chief education officer, who's responsible for training the ops team to deploy the product. The chief communication officer, who's responsible for ensuring all necessary information, both inbound and outbound, is disseminated to appropriate parties in good time. The chief procedures officer, who's responsible for defining the necessary interfaces and protocols for smooth integration of modules. The chief robotics officer, who's responsible for increasing automation. Or perhaps the chief recruitment officer, who's responsible for acquiring new skills and knowledge into the team. Ask each of these new commanding officers, with support from other crew, to come up with a list of tasks for their area that need to be taken on in order to be confident that the definition of done can be extended in this upcoming sprint. These items will be taken on to the next sprint's backlog. You may choose to close the retrospective by replaying the Kennedy speech and asking whether this is actually a challenge that the team choose to accept. One that they are unwilling to postpone and one that they intend to win.