{"id":8683,"date":"2015-01-21T00:55:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T00:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/visualstudioalm\/2015\/01\/21\/agile-project-management-futures\/"},"modified":"2022-07-28T02:51:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T10:51:48","slug":"agile-project-management-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/agile-project-management-futures\/","title":{"rendered":"Agile project management futures&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>\n    <strong>UPDATED:\u00a0Jun 12, 2015<\/strong>\n  <\/p>\n<p>\n    Well, we&#8217;ve almost made it through everything I originally put into this post.\u00a0 The Kanban metrics are the one things we&#8217;re still waiting on.\u00a0\n  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n      Swim lanes landed on VSO last week: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-jun-3-vso\">https:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-jun-3-vso<\/a>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      Last month we rolled out our new backlog navigation, including drag-drop re-ordering and re-parenting in every view\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      And we&#8217;re continually rolling out more and more card customizations.\u00a0 We&#8217;ll be doing even more here, so stay tuned.\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n  &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>UPDATED: Mar 11, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Back with another update as we knocked a few more items off this list in our deployment this week:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-mar-10-vso\">http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-mar-10-vso<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Kanban board now supports a &#8220;definition of done&#8221; for each column.<\/li>\n<li>The Kanban board now supports re-ordering<\/li>\n<li>The Taskboard now supports showing Bugs as cards (alongside tasks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n  I&#8217;ll continue to update this post as we make these features available.\u00a0\n<\/div>\n<div>\n  &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>UPDATED: Feb 19, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This week in our Visual Studio Online update we shipped a few of the items described in this post:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-feb-18-vso\">http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-feb-18-vso<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Kanban and Taskboard now support inline adding (and editing).<\/li>\n<li>The Kanban board now supports split columns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#45; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Last month we unveiled a new section of our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/en-us\/news\/release-archive-vso\">features timeline<\/a> that highlights items we&#8217;re actively working on.\u00a0 As Brian described\u00a0on his <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.msdn.com\/b\/bharry\/archive\/2014\/12\/17\/a-new-visual-studio-online-and-team-foundation-server-features-timeline.aspx\">blog<\/a>,\u00a0we&#8217;re laying out\u00a0a rough timeline of when we expect new functionality to be available on VS Online as well as TFS on-premises.\u00a0 This morning we updated the timeline with a bit more detail about some investments in the agile project management space.\u00a0 The list is not comprehensive \u2013 there are things we\u2019re doing that are not included here \u2013 but I wanted to take the opportunity to walk through some of those investments in a bit more detail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 In all the descriptions below I\u2019m using concept art rather than actual screenshots of the product. Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll make it look good.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<h3>DONE:\u00a0Kanban \u2013 Add &amp; Reorder<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re actively working on changing the Kanban board to allow adding and reordering directly from the board. Many of you have told us that you want to work on the boards exclusively, and only leverage the backlog view when necessary.\u00a0 This change is a step in that direction.\u00a0 Adding will always happen in the first column, while reorder will be available on all columns.<\/p>\n<p>In the picture below, notice that I have an add command in the New column.\u00a0 When clicked, a new card is added to the first position in the New column where you can inline add the title of the new story, feature, etc.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/4130.AddReorder1.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Reordering is simple.\u00a0 Using the same picture, let\u2019s imagine you want to move item #987 up in priority.\u00a0 Just grab the item, move it to the correct position, and you\u2019re done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/3301.AddReorder2.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Changes made on the Kanban board are reflected directly on the product backlog as well.<\/p>\n<h3>DONE: Kanban \u2013 Split Columns<\/h3>\n<p>Most Kanban teams use a pull model to move work through their board.\u00a0 To do this effectively, each column on your board is \u201csplit\u201d into two sub-columns \u2013 Doing and Done.\u00a0 This provides a clear signal that work is ready to progress, and can be pulled by the person\/team\/etc. who owns that next stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at what a board looks like today without split columns. Notice the \u201cIn Dev\u201d column has three items, but there\u2019s no way to indicate if one of these items is done and ready to be pulled into the \u201cIn Test\u201d column.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/1778.Split1_.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a picture of that same board but with the \u201cIn Dev\u201d column split into a \u201cDoing\u201d and \u201dDone\u201d sub-column.\u00a0 The team can now indicate on the board that item #987 is done and is ready to be pulled to \u201cIn Test\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/3247.Split2_.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Bugs on the Taskboard<\/h3>\n<p>Teams use different approaches when working with bugs\/defects.\u00a0We want our tools to support\u00a0these\u00a0approaches without mandating\u00a0&#8220;one size fits all'&#8221;.\u00a0 Flexibility here is really important.\u00a0 The three approaches we\u2019ve identified are listed below.\u00a0 In each picture, blue cards are Product Backlog Items (PBIs) or User Stories (depending on your process configuration), yellow items are Tasks, and red items are Bugs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DONE: Approach 1<\/strong> &#8211;\u00a0Decomposing Bugs as you would decompose a Product Backlog Item (PBI).\u00a0 This is the approach Scrum advises.\u00a0 Bugs show up on your Product Backlog and are planned, decomposed (using Tasks) and completed during a sprint, just like any other item on your backlog.<br \/>\nWe enabled the ability to work this way (regardless of process template) late last year. You can read about this configuration in our release notes published on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/en-us\/news\/2014-nov-4-vso\">November 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/8880.BugsOnTaskboard1.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>DONE: Approach 2<\/strong> &#8211; Visualizing Bugs as you would visualize Tasks. In this approach, Bugs are typically parented to\u00a0items on your backlog and managed just like Tasks.\u00a0 On the Taskboard, Bugs show up alongside Tasks or in their own swim lane if they are not parented to an item from your backlog.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/8737.BugsOnTaskboard2.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This configuration is the\u00a0next one we\u2019re turning on.\u00a0 Our plan is to have this ready for you to use on Visual Studio Online by the end of Q1 of this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Approach 3<\/strong> &#8211; Bugs are given their own board separate from the Taskboard.\u00a0 With this approach, bugs do not show up on your product backlog but are given their own board alongside your Taskboard when they are assigned to a sprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/0312.BugsOnTaskboard3.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSupporting this scenario will come after we\u2019ve wrapped up the scenarios above.\u00a0 We\u2019re shooting for Q2 of this year.<\/p>\n<h3>DONE: Kanban \u2013 Definition of Done<\/h3>\n<p>For each column on the Kanban board we\u2019re adding the ability to add a text description for you to describe what \u201cdone\u201d means for each column.\u00a0 The text will be displayed on hover over an information icon that will be added to column header.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/7506.DefinitionOfDone.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>DONE:\u00a0Hierarchical Backlog Reordering and Re-parenting<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ve known for some time that our hierarchical backlog views lack a lot of functionality.\u00a0 They\u2019re great for analyzing and tracking relationships, but lack interactivity. For example, today you can only re-order and re-parent items when looking at a flat backlog.\u00a0 This is often limiting because viewing and editing the backlog in context of the hierarchy is a more natural way to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re fixing this by making changes to enable you reorder and re-parent items in any view on the backlog.\u00a0 In the example below, let\u2019s imagine you want to take Story D and re-parent to Feature 1.\u00a0 Just click on Story D, drag it up to Feature 1, and place it in the exact position relative to other children of Feature 1.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/4621.Reparent1.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The result would look something like this.\u00a0 From here, if you wanted to reorder within Feature 1, you could do so by dragging and dropping items into the correct position.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/8130.Reparent2.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nWe made a similar change to the sprint based views late last year.\u00a0 This change will be delivered in Q2 of this year.<\/p>\n<h3>DONE:\u00a0Kanban &#8211; Swim Lanes<\/h3>\n<p>On all Kanban boards we\u2019re introducing the ability to create a new horizontal lane for work that needs to be treated differently from your normal flow.\u00a0 Many people refer to this as an expedite lane because it\u2019s used for emergency work that can skip queues and preempt other work.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Below you can see that item #987 has been pulled into a separate horizontal lane so that the team can visually differentiate it from other work.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/5430.SwimLanes.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/>\u00a0<br \/>\nSwim lanes will be coming in Q2 of this year.<\/p>\n<h3>Kanban \u2013 Lead Time<\/h3>\n<p>A critical metric to teams practicing Kanban is the idea of lead time.\u00a0 Lead time is measured as the amount of time between work starting and an item being delivered. The clock starts as soon as the work starts, and the clock stops when the item is \u201cdone done\u201d.\u00a0 The picture below shows how to think about lead time in light of the basic Kanban board we started with above.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/2620.LeadTime.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nIn this example, item #123 does not yet have lead time.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s still in the \u201cNew\u201d column.\u00a0 Work has not yet started.\u00a0 Item #321 however, is in the \u201cDesign&#8221; column.\u00a0 As soon as it was dropped into \u201cDesign\u201d column, the clock started ticking on lead time.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re working on ways to allow you to configure and monitor lead time and other Kanban metrics.\u00a0 This capability (lead time) will be available by the end of Q2 of this calendar year.<\/p>\n<h3>DONE:\u00a0Kanban\/Taskboard \u2013 Card Customizations<\/h3>\n<p>Today, cards on your Kanban boards and Taskboards are more or less hard-coded.\u00a0 Each card has a title, the user assigned, and a value representing effort. While these basics are useful, it\u2019s limiting to not be able to change this data or add additional information.\u00a0 Over the course of Q1 and Q2 of this year you will see us start to unlock this capability.\u00a0 This will include adding additional fields, displaying tags, and inline editing information directly on the card.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/01\/1777.CardLove.png\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nI hope you\u2019re excited about these changes, and as always, don\u2019t hesitate to reach out with feedback, thoughts, questions, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thanks, Aaron<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aaronbjork\">@aaronbjork<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATED:\u00a0Jun 12, 2015 Well, we&#8217;ve almost made it through everything I originally put into this post.\u00a0 The Kanban metrics are the one things we&#8217;re still waiting on.\u00a0 Swim lanes landed on VSO last week: https:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-jun-3-vso Last month we rolled out our new backlog navigation, including drag-drop re-ordering and re-parenting in every view And we&#8217;re continually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":45953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[227,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agile","category-devops"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>UPDATED:\u00a0Jun 12, 2015 Well, we&#8217;ve almost made it through everything I originally put into this post.\u00a0 The Kanban metrics are the one things we&#8217;re still waiting on.\u00a0 Swim lanes landed on VSO last week: https:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/news\/2015-jun-3-vso Last month we rolled out our new backlog navigation, including drag-drop re-ordering and re-parenting in every view And we&#8217;re continually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/devops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}