- 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
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
10.6 Timing of Feature Preparation
When do you begin the preparation of features? The lean guideline is to wait until the last responsible moment (LRM)—the point at which any further delay would result in unacceptable costs. How you apply this principle depends on the planning approach you’re using.
In a Kanban system, you prepare each feature as it approaches the top of the backlog, with a lead time of about six weeks for large features and two to four weeks for smaller ones.
If the teams are using the alternative planning approach—timeboxing—you prepare the group of features lined up for the upcoming quarter starting about halfway (six weeks) into the prior quarter. Some organizations prepare these features in a reserved iteration (e.g., SAFe’s Innovation and Planning [IP] Iteration),3 but this is generally not advised. We look at arguments for and against reserved iterations (aka hardening iterations) in Chapter 17.