On my current work project we have just replanned our Product Backlog, going from tasks (code stored procedures to populate table 'x') to stories (produce statement containg position summaries). First I printed out our current backlog and cut it into strips containing the individual tasks - then we spent half an hour sorting them into functional areas. After that we left the original tasks on one side and wrote candidate stories on Post-It notes and stuck them on the whiteboard, overlapping related stories. We conflated similar stories, resliced those that were too task like, estimated, and produced the new backlog - we didn't get back to the sorted strips of paper. So was cutting up and sorting the original tasks was a waste of time? No, I don't think so. It got us started, put is in the right mindset, and meant that we had reviewed all the tasks on the original backlog before we started on the new backlog. Just because an activity does not directly produce something tangible, it does not mean that it was a waste of time. If it got you started, or you learnt something then it was worthwhile.

Saturday, April 16, 2005 | Permalink | 0 Comments