Part 3 in a 12-part series. This post covers frequent delivery.
In part two of this series, Blake McMillan covers Change as a Competitive Advantage. He covered this the point that stands out, ” . . .we balance the speed with the value by avoiding churning out things that no one wants. . .”.
As well, “We are trading time for potential value. That intense focus on value is a differentiator even though it seems like common sense.” Blake hit on avoiding waste and time value, two concepts that we should and can maximize.
This leads into the third principle:
Principles behind the Agile Manifesto
This is one of the more challenging principles to execute. Frequent delivery requires a thinking shift for creating products and services.
Now, conversations focus on what can be built in a short time to see if it meets customer needs. As well, it puts creative people and people who will use the product or service into an uncomfortable place.
This place enables discovery. The process inspires learning.
A result, is going back to what worked before. The ages old process of open chats and hand drawn sketches before doing work becomes new again. We seem to have lost touch with that fact.
Doing a search of incremental product delivery show several drawings to show the point.
Henrik Kniberg drew a picture that mostly captures the intent of incremental delivery. It can be found on his blog at this link.
Frequent Boat Delivery
The drawing below shows a different view of the point.
The boat is useful as built. The design is sound and will keep the customer dry. Given enough time and human effort, it will cross a lake.
Look at how the boat is powered. The power method shows magic of frequent delivery. With each new increment, the boat gets closer to the customer’s needs and wants.
The final increment is a boat powered by an inboard engine and an outboard propeller. As well, steering is also delivered incrementally.
For a moment, consider the sketches above as concept prototypes. As a result of customer conversations, these sketches evolve one after another. A next step then is a physical prototype.
Frequent delivery doesn’t have to be “the real thing in real life”. Smaller, less significant releases matter more than a new, full-size boat in the parking lot.
Testing an idea before it reaches production helps to validate understanding of what the customer needs and wants. Better to make a small investment in time and money than build a hotel like the one below which is unfinished in North Korea.
Blake moves us on to collaboration. He covered Principle #4 of the series at this link.
Principle 1, Principle 2, Principle 3, Principle 4, Principle 5, Principle 6, Principle 7, Principle 8, Principle 9, Principle 10, Principle 11, Principle 12
