PRINCE2 Agile - Business Case theme Flashcards
Why might there be no formal BC in PRINCE2 Agile?
Teams may talk in terms of delivering value and prioritise delivering the next-most-high impact feature from the backlog as opposed to following a plan.
What is a Product Owner?
A person who manages, prioritises, and organises the backlog to get the most value from it.
If developed, how might the BC be different in PRINCE2 Agile?
BC is mandatory in PRINCE2 but not mentioned in Agile. In PRINCE2 Agile it is mandatory.
The Business Case does not change in PRINCE2 Agile. but the BC may contain more emphasis on benefits and value, priorities, the minimum that should be delivered, and tolerances. It can frame a best-case, worst-case, and expected-case scenario in terms of the amount of work being delivered at the end of the project.
Need to have an understanding of how incremental delivery will impact the value of the product and viability of the project in terms of funding.
The BC is written quickly with more emphasis on the expected value or benefits rather than the outcome. The outcomes may change to get the same value.
It may also outline the MVP.
How should the BC be developed in an environment with a high degree of uncertainty?
When there is a large amount of uncertainty, PRINCE2 spends a lot of time on creating the BC. This often leads to PRINCE2 being viewed as Waterfall as it requires big designs or spec up front. Agile favours doing and learning over comprehensive documentation, so teh BC and SU/IP may be shorter than in PRINCE2. Some details is till needed to allow the PM to create a stage plan for the next stage and for the PB to approve the stage boundary.
BC should be delivered quickly with the assumptions clearly indicated and with the appropriate level of detail.
How could a BC be developed using the techniques of Agile?
In BAU, there is likely a large backlog of features to develop. In a new project, the team needs to spend some time to ideate and estimate ideas for the backlog. In doing this, a BC and general direction of the product is developed.
BC could also be developed over time.
Ways to drive value need to be well-defined and prioritised so they can be incorporated into Agile.
What is visioning and how might it be supported?
The first sprint can be spent pitching and estimating ideas. This can be called visioning, a sprint zero, or a discover phase.
How might Agile impact the PRINCE2 theme?
Changes or flexing may impact the benefits listed in the BC.
Time and estimates may be hidden so the team can focus solely on value.
Frequent releases / early delivery may be necessary to meet the BC.
BC should outline the MVP and list when it will be delivered and put into operational use.
MVP needs to be clearly stated and understood. Need to understand customer’s budget - does this cover just to MVP, or is budget needed to expand the MVP or maintain it?
What is value?
It is easier to quantify value at a project-level than it is to quantify it at a user story-level, particularly on a new project or with new functionality.
Value needs to be measurable and tangible.
It is important to understand what is valuable to the project, organisation, or environment and assign the perception of value accordingly.
What is the difference between PRINCE2 and PRINCE2 Agile on value perception?
PRINCE2 highlights outcomes, whereas Agile highlights the real-world value that will come from them. For example, the main focus of a PRINCE2 project would be to deliver a system and release / implementation would be a second thought. Agile would focus on delivery, implementation, and release on an equal footing.
What is another name for value?
Net-benefit.
How should feedback be treated
It is important to get feedback from real users ASAP. After reviewing the feedback, it may be wise to alter the priority of the feedback or add additional items to the backlog to pursue additional or more impactful value.
Feedback should be handled collaboratively.
How to assign and measure value?
- Map and test assumptions of the initial hypothesis (why should we build X?).
- Learn the problem and map different ways to solve
- Define the ultimate benefit and what value that will give. Why is the value valuable?
- Is the solution valuable to the project, organisation, or environment and assign the perception of value accordingly.
- State the exact outcome and expected valuable in a measurable way
- When measuring, it is important to go all the way and measure every benefit mentioned in the value statement / get the to core degree benefit. It is also important to measure for other metrics and understand the full picture as end value may have been delivered elsewhere
How might the pursuit of value impact the project plan?
The most impactful features or features that will allow early feedback should be developed further. This feedback should then influence the project plan. One can use this early work to test assumptions.
