Why a LEGO Simulation?

Relation to Agile

• Opens backlogs that trigger ideating rather than detailed instructions to follow.
• Promotes mindful product development rather than a series of tasks to accomplish.
• Establishes useful metrics to assess benefits of agile rather than figures the trainers asked to collect.
• Demonstrates continuous improvements rather than winning or losing the game with one try.
• Ensures teams collaborate toward common success rather than competition for score.

User stories

• A user story is a description of a product feature from an end-user perspective.
• The user story describes the type of user, what they want, and why.
• Helps to create a simplified description of a requirement.
• Usually expressed using verbiage like
  • As a specific-role I would like to perform-ability to facilitate need.
  • As an instructor I would like to use a whiteboard to express abstractions to students.

Backlogs

• Set of user stories that need have not been fulfilled by nor assigned to the current sprint
• list of prioritized features, containing short descriptions of all functionality desired in the product
• Should trigger ideating
• Description should be alterable upon further discussion

Backlogs

• typically comprises
  • features
  • bugs
  • technical work
  • knowledge acquisition
• source

Example Backlog

• The following slide is an example of a backlog

Lego City Backlog

Transit

• As a lego person, I would like to live in an isolated forested area.
• As a lego person, I would I like to be within walking distance to a bus stop.

Entertainment

• As a lego person, I would like to be within 20 minute bus-range of a train station
• As a lego person, I would like to be within 20 minute bus-range of a classical art gallery

Product Development

• As a developer, the objective is to have clear vision of the requested end product
• Aggregation of backlogs should illustrate the requested end product

Inter Team Collaboration

• Not a competition
• Work toward a common goal

Production Metrics

• Establish convention for measuring productivity.
• Velocity is a measure of the amount of work a team can tackle during a single sprint.
  • is the key metric in Scrum.
  • is calculated at the end of the sprint by totaling the points for all fully completed User Stories.

Continuous Improvements

• Sprints should yield progressively more productive results
• With each Sprint, a team further establishes a velocity which allows them to better estimate and execute their commitments.

Keep In Mind

• Teams are not competing; collaborating
• product is a city
• building elements are Legos
• product owner is the maker of the product
• product owners will be available to dev for questions

Sample City Features

• dependent on product owner
  • one story building (at least 2)
  • two story building (at least 1)
  • shop
  • school
  • hospital
  • kindergarten
  • bus stop
  • park

Establishing Initial User Stories
(5 minutes)

• Request a list of features from your product owner to establish a backlog of user-stories.
• Be sure to gain clarity with each request.
• Time begins now

User Stories

• A user story is a description of a product feature from an end-user perspective.
• The user story describes the type of user, what they want, and why.
• Usually expressed using verbiage like
  • As a specific-role I would like to perform-ability to facilitate-need.
  • As an instructor I would like to use a microphone to be heard by students.

First Sprint Planning Wall
(5 minutes)

• Using paper, implement planning wall to aggregate plans
  • 4 columns:
    • index
    • feature
    • t-shirt size (estimated effort)
    • scrum number (estimated points)
• Time begins when I click here

Convert to Swim Lane
(5 minutes)

• Convert planning wall to swimlane structure
  • 5 columns:
    • 1 point
    • 2 points
    • 3 points
    • 5 points
    • 8 points
• Time begins when I click here

Team Sprint Box
(2 minutes)

• Pull stories into the team's sprint box
• Ask if teams are comfortable with commitment
• Assign Scrum masters to each team
• Time begins when I click here

End First Sprint Development Phase

• The sprint has ended
• Hands should be off Legos
• Development should temporarily cease

First Sprint and Product Review (2 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here
• At the end of each sprint, the team establishes what has been accomplished during the sprint.
• Product owners ensure the product has the requested features.
  • Do buildings have windows?
  • Do buildings have doors?
  • Are buildings different colors?

First Sprint Retrospective
(2 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here
• Typically the last thing done in a sprint.
• Often preceded by the sprint review
• Usually, these questions are answered
  • What went well during the sprint cycle?
  • What went wrong during the sprint cycle?
  • What could we do differently to improve?

Second Sprint Planning Wall
(2 minutes)

• Using paper, implement planning wall to aggregate plans
  • 4 columns:
    • index
    • feature
    • t-shirt size (estimated effort)
    • scrum number (estimated points)
• Time begins when I click here

Convert to Swim Lane (2 minutes)

• Convert planning wall to swimlane structure
  • 5 columns:
    • 1 point
    • 2 points
    • 3 points
    • 5 points
    • 8 points
• Time begins when I click here

Team Sprint Box (2 minutes)

• Pull stories into the team's sprint box
• Ask if teams are comfortable with commitment
• Assign Scrum masters to each team
• Time begins when I click here

Begin Second Sprint Development Phase!
(5 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here

End Second Sprint Development Phase

• The sprint has ended
• Hands should be off Legos
• Development should temporarily cease

Second Sprint and Product Review (2 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here

Second Sprint and Product Review (2 minutes)

• At the end of each sprint, the team establishes what has been accomplished during the sprint.
• Product owners ensure the product has the requested features.
  • Do buildings have windows?
    • Are windows vertically aligned?
  • Do buildings have doors?
  • Are buildings different colors?

Final Sprint Planning Wall
(2 minutes)

• Using paper, implement planning wall to aggregate plans
  • 4 columns:
    • index
    • feature
    • t-shirt size (estimated effort)
    • scrum number (estimated points)
• Time begins when I click here

Convert to Swim Lane (1 minutes)

• Convert planning wall to swimlane structure
  • 5 columns:
    • 1 point
    • 2 points
    • 3 points
    • 5 points
    • 8 points
• Time begins when I click here

Team Sprint Box (1 minutes)

• Pull stories into the team's sprint box
• Ask if teams are comfortable with commitment
• Assign Scrum masters to each team
• Time begins when I click here

Begin Final Sprint Development Phase!
(5 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here

End Final Sprint Development Phase

• The sprint has ended
• Hands should be off Legos
• Development should temporarily cease

Final Sprint and Product Review (2 minutes)

• Time begins when I click here
• Product owners ensure the product has the requested features.
  • Do buildings have windows?
    • Are windows vertically aligned?
  • Do buildings have doors?
  • Are buildings different colors?
    • Is each building a solid color?
  • Is the school next to the hospital?
  • Is the park next to the school and away from the hospital?
  • Is the river next to the park but away from the school?