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Software Theory

Functional Goals

After this post, I have had a number of conversations with people about what I really meant by setting functional targets instead of story point (velocity) targets. In one such discussion, I was given an example where someone set a goal to run for 90 minutes!! At first glance you might not find the last statement worth the exclamation marks at the end of it. But this is exactly the difference between functional targets and velocity targets. I think it’s wrong to set a target of running for 90 minutes. The real goal is to burn X number of calories.… Read More »Functional Goals

Agile Business Analysts

Yesterday, Craig Brown asked Do we need Agile Business Analysts?. Two and a half years back when I joined ThoughtWorks, I would have said “No, we don’t”. Today I strongly disagree with the view that Business Analysts can be done away with on Agile projects. The objective of an Agile project is to provide maximum value to the client as soon as possible. Now I agree that the ideal situation would be when you have business users & developers who agree and abide by this sentiment. You can happily get rid of the BA in such a situation. Real life,… Read More »Agile Business Analysts