Eduardo Miranda

Sizing user stories using paired comparisons

Agile estimation approaches usually start by sizing the user stories to be developed by comparing them to one another. Various techniques, with varying degrees of formality, are used to perform the comparisons - plain contrasts, triangulation, planning poker, and voting. This article proposes the use of a modified paired comparison method in which a reduced number of comparisons is selected according to an incomplete cyclic design. Using two sets of data, the authors show that the proposed method produces good estimates, even when the number of comparisons is reduced by half those required by the original formulation of the method.

Agile monitoring using the line of balance

There is a need to collect, measure, and present progress information in all projects, and Agile projects are no exception. In this article, the authors show how the line of balance, a relatively obscure indicator, can be used to gain insights into the progress of projects not provided by burn down charts or cumulative flow diagrams, two of the most common indicators used to track and report progress in Agile projects. The authors also propose to replace the original plan-based control point lead-time calculations with dynamic information extracted from a version control system and introduce the concept of the ideal plan to measure progress relative to both, end of iteration milestones and project completion date.

Planning and executing time-bound projects

Looks at how the SPID (statistically planned incremental deliveries) approach combines critical chain planning with incremental development and rate monitoring to help software developers meet project deadlines. SPID focuses on how best to organize a project to guarantee delivery of at least a working product with an agreed subset of the total functionality by the required date.

Protecting software development projects against underestimation

When a project in progress has been seriously underestimated, it is essential to figure out how much additional effort is required to complete it within its original scope and delivery date. This article posits that project contingencies should be based on the amount it will take to recover from the underestimation, and not on the amount that would have been required had the project been adequately planned from the beginning, and that these funds should be administered at the portfolio level. A model to calculate the required funds is developed.

Time boxing planning: buffered moscow rules

Time boxing is a management technique which prioritizes schedule over deliverables but time boxes which are merely a self, or an outside, imposed target without agreed partial outcomes and justified certainty are at best, an expression of good will on the part of the team. This essay proposes the use of a modified set of Moscow rules which accomplish the objectives of prioritizing deliverables and providing a degree of assurance as a function of the uncertainty of the underlying estimates.

A review of the current situation, challenges and opportunities in the financial analysis of enterprise architectures

Enterprise architecture (EA) has gained increasing recognition from industry and academia because of the support it provides for alignment of business and technology. To achieve this alignment, an EA responds to business concerns with technology solutions based on transition architectures. Both require support from financial analysis. Various researchers and practitioners have developed financial analysis approaches, but most: 1) use poorly standardised concepts; 2) ignore rapidly changing technology; 3) use limited procedures for financial analyses. This review provides specific information about the current situation of financial analysis available for EA, describes approaches found in a literature review, and proposes challenges and future research directions.

Looking for the event list

How to build such list is a key issue and is actually a question only partially answered. Ward [2,3] suggests a brainstorming approach to its construction. He advices work to be done by a group and not to be considered complete until every conceivable event to which the system might respond, no matter how far-fetched, has been examined and accepted or rejected. To discover new events, system developers can apply the following questions to an event list already founded:

FINFLEX-CM: A Conceptual Model for Financial Analysis of Solution Architectures Considering the Uncertainty and Flexibility

Financial analysis of solution architectures is essential to determine their profitability and justify their implementation. These financial analyses are supported on variables such as costs and benefits which should be standardized, clear and consistent to understand the objectives of the financial analysis, the relationship between the variables and the components of the solution architecture, and the financial indicators obtained once the financial analysis is performed. To do that, the financial analysis of solution architecture should be supported in a conceptual model that contains the concepts, relationships and explanations that support a financial analysis. However, the current models are focused on the structure of solution architectures and they are limited with respect to their financial concepts. As a result, the understanding and identification of those concepts are usually done informally, turning this process into a complicated and an error-prone task. The article presents a theoretical conceptual model, called FINFLEX-CM, that formalizes the concepts and supports the financial analysis of solution architectures, increasing understanding and promoting the standardization.

A Nominal Group Interview Technique to Support Lightweight Process Assessments: Description and Experience Report

This paper describes a group interview technique designed to support lightweight process assessments while promoting at the same time collaboration among assessment participants. The method was successfully used in one consulting assignment were it got previously discording participants, talking to each other and agreeing on the issues. The technique borrows from agile software development the concept of user stories to cast CMMI’s specific practices in concrete terms and the Planning Poker technique, instead of document reviews and audit like interviews, for fact finding and corroboration.