Following on from our previous post; Prioritising Agile Requirements: Timeboxing, we now take an overview of what you need to know about Timeboxing and the 2 main Timeboxing options.
Timeboxing: What you need to know
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Technique used for delivering functionality, or a solution, within a set period of time.
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Provides confidence in meeting the delivery of the most important functionality set out in the prioritised requirements.
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Works in conjunction with Iterative Development
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A fixed period of time (days, weeks) to deliver working functionality. Based on the belief that it’s better to have a working system with limited functionality, than to wait for years to have a complete system.
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Whilst durations can be longer or shorter, the typical length of a Timebox is between 2 and 4 weeks.
Timeboxing within DSDM® Agile projects
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Timeboxing is used in combination with the MoSCoW prioritisation technique to ensure on-time delivery of the most important functionality.
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Timeboxes allow the project team to remain focused and measure progress/success more frequently.
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Provides an early warning of problems and an early opportunity to address the problems.
The 2 Main Options
Every Timebox starts with a kick-off and ends with a close-out. Beyond this, DSDM® recognises 2 styles of Timebox:
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The DSDM® structured Timebox consists of 3 main steps: Investigation, Refinement and Consolidation.
DSDM® is a registered trademark of Dynamic Systems Development Method Ltd in the UK and other countries.
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The Free Format Timebox is relatively new in comparison to the Structured Timebox and DSDM® place no preference on which is used. The Free Format Timebox is seen as useful in bridging the gap between DSDM® and other Agile frameworks such as Scrum Sprint.
DSDM® is a registered trademark of Dynamic Systems Development Method Ltd in the UK and other countries.
5 final points worth remembering:
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Keep the team’s focus on the smaller subset of the solution within the context of the big picture during any one Timebox.
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Ensure requirements/user stories remain the focus (rather than tasks).
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Ensure acceptance criteria has been fully reasoned by the Business Ambassador and the Solution Development Tester.
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Identify and agree acceptance criteria for deliverables early in the Timebox.
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Continually review throughout each phase of the Timebox for early identification of problems.
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