Sizing and Prioritizing Stories – a Visual Approach to Cost/Benefit Analysis presented by Ian Savage, McAfee

This is a free talk sponsored by the Rose City SPIN.

Networking starts at 5:00 PM Talk starts at 6:00 PM

Abstract

Between three different sessions at the Agile Open Northwest 2008, the author and another software professional developed a cost/benefit charting scheme that:

1. enables development teams and customers to prioritize features,
2. identifies features that should be a. quashed, b. pursued, or c. further decomposed, and
3. allows stakeholders to monitor and manage priorities during a project.

This quick collaboration produced a diagramming technique that can be used in Agile shops and in shops using more traditional methods. The chart is a basic Cartesian plane with Cost (Points) on the x-axis, Value on the y-axis, and something other than dots at the intersections. We call this technique Analyze This as it focuses analysis where it is needed.

Speaker Bio

A quality evangelist at McAfee, Ian is a veteran software developer, quality assurance engineer, and manager with experience in the manufacturing, financial services, construction estimating, and security domains. For more than 30 years he has worked to improve productivity and software quality through rigorous development methods and now through the pragmatic application of Agile methods.

Ian serves on the Software Association of Oregon’s board and Program Committee. He co-founded and serves on SAO’s QA Forum committee and the Central Oregon chapter board. He also serves on the boards of Agile Open Northwest and Agile PDX. He is a member and supporter of the Agile Alliance and has served PNSQC in various capacities (think: free pizza). Earlier he contributed to American Society for Quality’s certification program for software quality engineers and was among the first to earn ASQ’s CSQE.

How to Register

This is a FREE lecture sponsored by the Rose City SPIN. Please RSVP to [email protected].

About Rose City SPIN

The Rose City Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN) is a monthly forum for networking, mutual support, and promotion of effective software practices. We exchange practical experiences, ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and war stories about the technical, business, and human facets of software process improvement. The Rose City SPIN serves the software development community of the Portland/Vancouver metro area. Whether you work for a large company or a small one, corporate or self-employed, industrial or academic setting, you are welcome at the Rose City SPIN