Things you wish you shared with your team before they agreed on that deadline Dominika Rogala @RogalaDominika VECTOR TECHNOLOGIES

@RogalaDominika #redev18

5 things your team needs to know before they agree on a deadline @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. How many days are there in a year? @RogalaDominika #redev18

UK 2018: 253 working days YEAR = 8 months work + holidays + weekends @RogalaDominika #redev18

Work takes a week… Junior dev: I have 7 days! Experienced dev: I have 5 days! Truly: ... @RogalaDominika #redev18

YEAR < 250 days MONTH < 20 days WEEK < 5 days @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. We work much less than we think

  1. We are humans @RogalaDominika #redev18

We’re not robots. sometimes we get sick. sometimes we are tired. sometimes we have a bad day. Yet we often plan as if we were perfectly regulated robots. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Let’s see some other differences between people and robots: @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. Start using a new tool: training & time install tool @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. Joining the team: build trust add to network @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. Viruses 2 weeks off install patch @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. We are humans

  1. Traps that kill our estimations @RogalaDominika #redev18

@RogalaDominika #redev18

tomorrow P! A R T IT’S A noun A mystical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation and achievement is stored. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Today we procrastinate. How much? 2 hours. A day. @RogalaDominika #redev18

“In the meantime” actually takes time. @RogalaDominika #redev18

meantime P! A R T IT’S A noun A mystical land where 99% of all human focus is stored. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Travelling through mystical lands steals Next mystical land that Tomorrow, context-swithing meantime, context-switching (between)... time: P! A R T IT’S A @RogalaDominika #redev18

Gerald Weinberg’s rule of thumb - cost of context switching. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Are your teams working on one project at a time? Lucky them! And lucky you ;) Are they working on two or more? Here’s the cost you pay for it. As long as you can’t do anything about it, remind them to add this cost in estimations. @RogalaDominika #redev18

P! A R T IT’S A Things we can’t predict @RogalaDominika #redev18

@RogalaDominika #redev18

Traps: Tomorrow “In the meantime” Context-switching Things we don’t know… … what’s your trap? @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. Traps steal time

  1. All work counts @RogalaDominika #redev18

Documentation… It’s easy to forget about it in estimations so make sure people on your team remember about this silent hero. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Estimations. Planning. Specifying requirements. Is this even real work? @RogalaDominika #redev18

@RogalaDominika #redev18

How about outsourcing? Isn’t it what we use when we want to speed up development? Yes, that’s right. But it’s always at a cost of team’s time. @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. All work counts

  1. Priorities @RogalaDominika #redev18

Why do we always meet for Christmas Dinner on time but miss other deadlines? @RogalaDominika #redev18

@RogalaDominika #redev18

Christmas Dinner Priority: Time @RogalaDominika #redev18

What are your priorities? Product quality? User experience? Money? Does your team know? @RogalaDominika #redev18

Everyone has a default priority that they will use if no other is clearly defined. @RogalaDominika #redev18

  1. Share top priority @RogalaDominika #redev18

@RogalaDominika #redev18

We work less than we think We are humans Traps steal time All work counts Share top priority @RogalaDominika #redev18

Time. Humans. Traps. Work. Priorities. @RogalaDominika #redev18

How to make sure people in your team know all these things, and remember it in the right moment? @RogalaDominika #redev18

Talk about time Talking about estimations creates common understanding of time. Everyone is involved and thus we constantly improve our teams’ estimation abilities. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Let them guess Create a culture of blameless improvement. Always make it clear if we’re estimating or declaring a binding deadline (team & outside). @RogalaDominika #redev18

Estimation is not declaration @RogalaDominika #redev18

Ask about buffers @RogalaDominika #redev18

Add buffers for Maternity/paternity leaves Sick leaves Days around holidays @RogalaDominika #redev18

Add buffers for Skiing season New joiners Irregular known unknowns @RogalaDominika #redev18

Iterate and reflect Use what you already have (sprint planning, retros) to talk about time. @RogalaDominika #redev18

Share Interesting resources, your planning techniques, mistakes you made… Oh, an you can share this talk. Here’s a 10-minutes video @RogalaDominika #redev18

Time. Humans. Traps. Work. Priorities. @RogalaDominika #redev18

If you want your team to agree on deadlines they will meet make sure they know what you know. @RogalaDominika #redev18