User Stories & Daily Updates Finale

Posted by mkhairul - June 30, 2009 at 02:06:34 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

Since my services were no longer required. I was terminated. Not terminated like what the terminator do, but terminated as in changing my status from employed to unemployed.

The results for the User Stories & Daily Updates is left hanging, I didn’t get the chance to get the feedback that I need from my colleagues. One thing for sure is, my approach of introducing and implementing does not bear the results of what I had in mind. There’s room for improvement.

Since I’m freelancing, I guess I have the time to reflect and read up on some experiences on User Stories & Scrum from the trenches.

Update 2/07/2009: Fixed a typo. LoL.

User Stories & Daily Updates Practices Failed

Posted by mkhairul - June 13, 2009 at 03:06:49 pm - 1 Comment

Categories: blog

After explaining to my colleagues what users stories are and advising them to use it to refine the User Requirement Specifications, none heeded my advice. Why?

I tried to muster an environment where people would update each other through email every day on the progress of the project. Having a sense of progress can really turn things around. I have no solid data or citation for this, just from my observation so far. After I stopped emailing the team members of the updates, none tried to continue this practice that I’m trying to establish. Why?

These are the questions that I’m trying to find an answer, maybe I can find it in some books but it’ll be better if I asked my colleagues directly.

I thought the use of User Stories is obvious to get what the users want but there’s a bit of confusion involving what’s inside the URS is not what the users want. The users wants this and this, but the team lead insist on following the URS. So what’s it gonna be?

Introducing User Stories

Posted by mkhairul - June 1, 2009 at 11:06:41 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

I have started introducing the use of user stories to the other team members. Hopefully it is simple enough to be understood.

There was a weird suggestion though to make the user stories as a formal means of refining the user requirements which require the user’s signature. I’m really against that, the last thing we need is to get the users to sign on more stuffs, it will make them think that they’re signing a death warrant if something goes wrong which will make them avoid signing it. They’ll bounce the form back and forth to other officers.

What I had in mind is that these user stories are only to help us make better software and useful for planning.

There was no objection to the usage of user stories, so I guess I can look forward to seeing how the user story are being produced and used.

Fueled by the power of hope

Posted by mkhairul - June 1, 2009 at 06:06:44 am - No Comments

Categories: blog, project, rants

We have to make do with what we have, I’m being told. We have to “double our efforts”, I’m being told. *sigh*

Three months (for a seven month project) spent on requirement specification without starting development is a mistake. The development should start after the first few weeks of engaging the users for its User Requirement Specification, since it will give time for planning, learning, designing, iterating and refactoring.

Some might say, “What about the costs, and all the other stuffs if we start too early when the users are not sure?“. When the developer starts early they can plan about the framework or architecture of the system. Prioritize the first few requirements and see how it can be as flexible (this is difficult) as possible so that if its not needed, it won’t be a problem. If a certain requirement are dropped due to time constraint when revising the URS, no big deal, later on when its needed, we already know it can work perfectly and kudos to us for having a resilient design.

Two more months left to deliver, more than half a dozen modules have not even begin development.

I fear for what the future holds. I hope that I am not doomed to failure. Heh. Another rant fueled by the power of hope!

A View of the Writing Process

Posted by mkhairul - June 1, 2009 at 04:06:36 am - No Comments

Categories: blog

One of the theme from Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process is a view of the writing process.

Writing calls on two skills that are so different that they usually conflict with each other: creating and criticizing.

Now I understand why it is so hard for me to write sometimes, I wrote long posts and in the end I dare not post it because it has become so dull to the point I feel ashamed to post it (sometimes I post them anyway).

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