- 10.3 Overview of Features
- 10.4 Benefits of Feature Preparation
- 10.5 Feature Preparation Activities
- 10.6 Timing of Feature Preparation
- 10.7 Assessing Readiness
- 10.8 Accounting for Preparation Work: Tasks and Spikes
- 10.9 Specifying Features and Their Acceptance Criteria
- 12.4 MVP Planning
- 17.3 Why Do We Need a Scaled Agile Approach?
- 17.4 Planning: Choosing an Approach That Supports Inter-team Collaboration
- 17.8 Scaling the Agile Organization
- 18.6 Agile Corporate Culture
- 18.7 Overview of Principles and Practices for an Agile Corporate Culture
- 18.8 Three Principles for Applying Agile Practices
10.4 Benefits of Feature Preparation
Sometimes I have to convince teams that feature preparation is not only allowed in agile development but should be encouraged and included in the plan. By preparing features before quarterly planning sessions begin, you facilitate improved capacity planning: developers can provide better estimates because they have a clear understanding of what’s being requested. Furthermore, by preparing features before their implementation, you enable hyperproductive teams.2 Developers can begin work on the solution without having to wait for key information or technical preparations. Collaborating teams can work in parallel with confidence because the feature’s acceptance criteria (AC) and process models specify how the pieces must fit together when assembled. If integration errors show up, they’re caught quickly because the feature AC are also used as the basis for specifying and executing automated high-level integration tests.