Visual Project Backlog

There has been quite a few occasions where i have needed to show the business in meetings the current backlog at a high level and a list of user stories in excel or your favourite cam ban board just doesn't look as cool enough. With a tiny amount of effort i use this Visio template i have created and shared at the link below. All you do is put the story name and ID on the story card in the appropriate Sprint Column and Epic/Feature Row and the Business now has a good visual representation of when they are getting what.Some feedback i get is not only does it show what user stories are being delivered in what order but also what part of the product these user stories come from. Any feedback on how others have done this would be great.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0Wks2Iq9J52RjZtRUFsWHhkN28

Agile Discovery Phase Showcase Template

Similarly to the sprint showcase template i have shared i am sharing a PowerPoint template i have used for presenting the findings from the completion of a scrum/agile discovery phase. The typical agile discovery phase activities are covered including elevator pitch, business drivers, delivery sliders, risks etc.
http://www.slideshare.net/yachele1/discover-phase-showcase-template

Agile Showcase Presentation Template

I have shared a basic agile showcase presentation template i have used over an over again on my projects.
http://www.slideshare.net/yachele1/agile-release-showcase-template

In true scrum the developers are supposed to present during the showcase to the team in an informal manner. Increasingly product owners are seeing value showcase provide by incrementaly demonstrating new features so they invite business stakeholders which make these showcases more formal and we all know that once senior stakeholders are involved they love their slide packs. 

Knowledge Management Congress Australia 2012 Debate "Can Tacit Knowledge Become Explicit Knowledge using Social Media?"

There was a interesting discussion at this years Knowledge Management Australia Congress  and the debate was regarding  whether  " tacit knowledge can become explicit knowledge using social media?". I wouldn't really call it a debate because all 4 speakers were in general agreeance that they don’t believe that tacit knowledge can be converted into explicit knowledge BUT social media tools are by far the best tools out there to transfer knowledge.

Just a quick background on what is  tacit and explicit knowledge are as defined by Wikipedia

Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others.

Tacit knowledge on the other hand is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising it.

 I though of a simple example this the other day while watching the TV show Master Chef.

Can you read a recipe book written by a master chef, cook the dish following every instruction perfectly, producing a meal  that tastes just as good as that prepared by the master chef?

Probably not, because you don’t have the same level of skills or training acquired by the chef with years of experience.

But that in itself is the interesting part because it is now easier than ever to convey knowledge in a more collaborative and personalised manner using social media. It is now easier than ever the learn.

Let go back to the Master Chef example. If the recipe was recorded via video instead of written, this would now allow amateur chefs to imitate the master chef.  The visual aid is an improved technique for conveying knowledge. It gives you an insight into the emotion and passion the master has while preparing the dish. Lets take this a step further and assume that the video had a online forum allowing  the amateur chefs to communicate with the master or with each other. This engagement is a tremendous advantage for the amateur allowing them to communicate things that may have gone wrong allowing them to improve.

Now you can see that although the master chefs tacit knowledge cannot me converted into explicit knowledge , social media has improved the learning process substantially.

The role Social Media can play in the knowledge transfer means that today more than ever the following are possible:

• Social Media tools give us a greater transparency to a larger number of peoples experiences

• Social Media tools are the best way of dealing with complex problems

• Social Media tools allow large organizations to transfer knowledge more effectively

• The fact that Social Media tools can be personalised means people stay more engaged in conversations.

Enterprise 2.0 - Adding a Social Layer to SharePoint

Below is a link to a presentation i gave at Impact2011on some different ways to add a social layer to sharepoint.
http://youtu.be/bJBlK9YZ0DQ

Agile Epics and Stories

I’ve been working on a project recently that is using the agile methodology. The users were having a bit of trouble grasping the differences between Epics and User Stories. Just to recap all an Epic is, is a big story. It’s is something that will have to be broken down into many stories before it is even close to development.

Below is a diagram i came up with to illustrate that there is no magic size on when a story should become an epic and that this is ok. it’s different project by project.

Better Late Than Never

OK. I have always been a huge consumer of blogs and other forms of unstructured content. I never considered myself a hoarder of knowledge and have always shared with colleagues and friends. I have been meaning for a while though to come around to  share back to the community all the useless knowledge i have acquired over time.

So a bit of background on myself.

Professionally im a SharePoint Consultant living in Sydney, Australia.

Socially i enjoy getting as far away from a PC whenever i get a chance. Preferably really fast on a motorcycle.