Howard Podeswa - The Agile Guide to Business Analysis and Planning: From Strategic Plan to Detailed Requirements

Figure 1.5Howard Podeswa, Hell, 2013 (final state), 9 ft 15 ft. (Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.)

Comparing the two versions, you can see that some of the features that were present in the early prototype have been retained: the circular composition, the central perspective point inside the circle, as well as the overall tenor of the images. Nevertheless, the final result is significantly different from earlier versions. One featurethe circle motifhas become much more emphasized. All of the details have changed. This process is strikingly similar to the agile analysis and planning process youll be reading about in this book: It begins with a broad vision of the product and how users will experience it. It continues with an analysis of constraints and context for the usage of the product. It proceeds with a series of prototypes and sketches to test out hypotheses about the product. And it uses an iterative process based on intervention (trying something out), measurement (gathering user feedback), and adjustment to determine the features that make their way into the product.

What is true in art is true in software development: the traditional, step-by-step approach to analysis and planningwhat software developers refer to as the waterfall approachworks pretty well when you are working on something routine. But when youre working on something truly innovative, about which little can be known in advance with certainty, its more effective and natural to adopt an experimental approachthe agile analysis and planning approach that is the subject of this book. As well see, this approach even has benefits for noninnovative development, too. For example, it shortens time to market by focusing effort on high-value features, using data to inform decisions.

Some readers might now be thinking, I work in a mainstream business. Im in insurance/finance/government (fill in your business domain), where its all about reliability. What does agile have to do with me? We dont do trial and error!

Heres an example of why agile development is still relevant in these contexts. These days, Im working with teams on a usage-based insurance (UBI) product. The product will base costs and benefits on customer behaviors: what times of day they drive, how they accelerate and brake, where they travel, and so on. Its a very controversial product to develop because of privacy issues. And thats the point. Theres so much uncertainty about what features and inducements customers will and wont accept that if analysts specified all the requirements upfront, much of their work would likely end up on the cutting room floor. Instead, they are using an approach similar to the one Ive described for creating novelty in artone that begins with a broad vision and gradually brings features into focus through a process of experimentation: trying something out and making adjustments based on the response. That is the agile approach.