18 Nov Create a Sprint plan and burndown chart for the CapraTek scenario.

Order Instructions

Assessment 5:The Sprint

Create a Sprint plan and burndown chart for the CapraTek scenario.

 

Introduction

Note: The assessments in this course are based upon a scenario at CapraTek. You must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

 

The Sprint is the essence of the Scrum methodology and is manifest in daily meetings. During each meeting, the team addresses what has been done, what needs to be done, and how to remove existing impediments to progress.

 

The first Sprint meeting is an opportunity for the project sponsor or project manager to introduce the project or product that the team will be working on, including the project schedule and the product backlog. It is also an opportunity for the team members to become acquainted with one another and discuss ideas, skills, and other factors to enable the project to get off to a good start. As the meeting progresses, the team needs to:

 

Identify a Sprint goal.

Identify Sprint tasks and times for completion.

Designate team member roles.

Define what it means to be “done,” that is, when the Sprint is considered finished.

Subsequent Sprint meetings occur on a daily basis and focus on what has been done, what needs to be done, and identification of impediments and how to address them.

 

Overview

You have carefully planned your first Sprint meeting. Now it is time to conduct it. Your goal in this first Sprint meeting is to gain enough information to plan a Sprint that fits into the project schedule and is within the abilities of your team to deliver. The meeting should produce a well-informed team that is ready to attack the Sprint backlog efficiently. Please note, this is the backlog for this individual Sprint. Do not confuse it with the product backlog that you created earlier.

 

Preparation

The following resources are required to complete the assessment.

 

CapraTek: Sprint Planning Meeting.

 

Directions

View the CapraTek: Sprint Meeting activity.

 

Complete the following two parts of this assessment.

 

Part 1: The Sprint Plan

Create a Sprint plan based upon the CapraTek activity that includes:

 

Sprint goals. This should be a detailed description.

Sprint tasks.

A description of the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of project stakeholders.

A Sprint burndown chart (for the Sprint, not the entire project) that derives its source data from an Excel table. Include both the table and the chart in your submission. Paste the table from Excel into your Word document if possible. The table should include the following items:

Sprint tasks.

Days dedicated to the Sprint.

Start hours.

Total hours.

Estimated remaining hours.

Actual remaining hours. (Because this is the beginning of the first Sprint, actual remaining hours and estimated remaining hours will be the same.)

Note: The graph should depict a straight line representing estimated remaining hours. An example of a burndown chart can be found in Mastering Agile, in this assessment.

 

A definition for “done.” This should be detailed. For example, if your Sprint goal was to create a button that turns the system on/off, just writing “the button turns the system on and off,” is insufficient. You must describe the functionality, how it appears to the user, how it might affect other systems, et cetera. It should describe “done” in enough detail so that the team is clear about the product’s entire functionality at Sprint completion.

Part 2: Updated Burndown Chart

Imagine on day three one of your team members gets sick and does not come in to work. In addition, another team member is required to spend three hours in an unexpected mandatory training. Update your burndown chart to reflect the new project conditions.

 

Submission Requirements

Create a single Word document with both parts of the assessment. Copy your Excel table and graphs into the document if possible. Make sure all headings and graphics are effectively labeled.

 

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

 

Competency 1: Apply the principles of Agile project management.

Describe the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of project stakeholders.

Competency 4: Develop an Agile project management plan.

Describe a Sprint goal that is appropriate and achievable.

Write a definition for “done” that reflects Sprint requirements.

Create a burndown chart that accurately depicts a Sprint schedule and tasks.

Update a burndown chart to reflect a change in project conditions.

Competency 5: Communicate effectively.

Communicate effectively in a professional manner consistent with the standards and conventions of project management.

SCORING GUIDE

 

CapraTek: Sprint Planning Meeting

CapraTek leadership is moving forward with the Alfred! thermostat IOS project. You’ve created a schedule and project backlog, and now it is time to plan the sprint. You will need to use the work you’ve done during the scoping phase in conjunction with the information you will gather during this activity to complete your assignment.

 

After completing the activity, you will be prepared to:

 

Create a sprint plan including the goal, tasks, and time estimates.

Document the criteria for acceptance – “done.”

 

 

Shannon Coleman

Business Analyst

I do appreciate that, Reed. My understanding is that we aren’t trying to “get through” entire backlog for the entire project, but rather to focus on the highest priority user stories, which I’ve done. I’ve prioritized the list we had and put information into the notes section that should help the development team understand what each user story needs to delive

 

Reed Massey

Director of Smart Home Technologies

So … it was suggested that we meet informally before we have our next Sprint Planning meeting to make sure we’re ready to have a productive conversation about the backlog. I know I’m not actually involved in the planning process – that’s between Shannon as the product owner and the rest of the team, but since Shannon is new to the process, I thought I could help make sure she has the information she needs when the team is asking questions.

 

Brandon Mathews

Software Architect

I think it will help to think about what “done means done” actually means when we’re using a Scrum approach. It’s not complicated – done simply means that we’re all on the same page about whether or not the work was completed. My experience – based on other Scrum teams I’ve been on – is that the acceptance criteria are the metrics around the acceptable functionality or performance of the feature that was defined by the story.

 

The definition of done was slightly different. That concept is that the development team and the Product Owner agreed to in terms of when a product is ready to go out the door. Sometimes these things get expressed in more than one item on the product backlog, and sometimes they’re bound together in one user story. As is the case with most things, it’s going to depend on the team and the project. To me, what done means is that the feature or whatever was to be worked on during the sprint is ready for handoff to the Product Owner. The code meets acceptance criteria, has the proper documentation, and has been properly tested. It’s done.

 

Jackie Bird

Developer

I’m glad we’re having this conversation. I’ve been on teams where the Product Owner and other business stakeholders simply didn’t do enough front end work. It was sometimes difficult to make them understand that writing user stories wasn’t the end of their responsibility. It’s very important to the dev team that the items brought into the sprint be “ready.” That means that the user story has been clearly defined; that the acceptance criteria are discussed and put in writing. If there are dependencies, they’re identified at this planning stage. It’s also a good practice to say upfront who is the person who will actually accept the User Story and that the team has a good idea what it will mean to demo the user story or other sprint deliverables.