Forum /ˈfɔːr.əm/
(noun) Assembly of experts for open discussion about a problem or matter, often before an audience that can also express their opinion.

Forum is an Agile Progressive Framework. It is an open resource for Agile practitioners of all kind, including but not limited to Agile Coaches, Product Owners, Developers, Designers or anyone who is learning about or doing Product Development.

How to use it

Forum comes as set of Values, Principles, Roles, Events, Artifacts, Practices and Workflow definitions, along with recommendations on how to setup the Forum team. As an open resource feel free to use it as your own discretion. But we strongly recommend to use it as it is because it has proven to be effective.

Where does it come from?

Forum is a response to the incompleteness and failure of most implementations of Agile nowadays. Most remarkable problems are the lack of focus on Delivery, Technical Excellence, Training, Sustainability, Business & Development Collaboration and Diversity.

Forum is strongly influenced by the original Agile Manifesto, the Lean methodology, the Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps book, the Extreme Programming methodology and the Scrum framework.

Forum is also the result of years of experience developing software and managing teams in different companies.

What is Forum?

Forum is an Agile Progressive Framework for Software Development with a strong focus on putting in place everything that is needed to reach high performance through Continuous Delivery of Value while keeping a Sustainable Pace. This requires following Agile Values and Principles, with emphasis on Technical Excellence and Delivery Capabilities.

Forum is not exclusively Customer-centric as describes interrelated goals among the Team, the Organization and the Customer.

The final goal of Forum is helping achieving Customer, Team and Organization Satisfaction.

Unlike other Agile methodologies Forum conceives the whole picture of key Principles, Practices and Achievements needed for its Goals and sets the right environment for all these elements to develop successfully.

Forum encourages active Collaboration, Technical Excellence, Self-Organization, Constant Training, Innovation and Continuous Delivery, not just by Values and Principles but with dedicated Roles and Practices.

Forum is also the name that receives the cross-functional self-organized team that is the cornerstone of the Forum Agile Framework.

What is Value?

Forum uses Value instead of Product or Feature deliberately. This is intended because it is much more accurate. Most Agile teams are not doing a single Product or Feature, but all are delivering Value through their Value Stream to some Value Receiver (usually the Customer but many other times other Forum teams or the Organization). If this involves developing over different Products or Features, creating new Services, maintaining existing ones or supporting other Forum teams does not matter.

Value definition has to be decided by each Organization and Forum team, and can vary broadly among different fields and industries. In Forum this is specified as the Value Stream (the Value Scope of the Forum team) and the Value Goals in the Value Roadmap.

Why is Progressive?

Forum Agile Framework is all about speeding up the Value Delivery through the Value Stream from the Forum team to the Value Receiver until reaching a Continuous Flow. For most organizations this is an evolutionary path that takes time. The primary measure for this is the Forum Delivery Rate, the average time it takes for the team to deliver Value.

Forum adapts to teams with different Delivery Rates. When Delivery Rate is equal or more than two weeks Forum uses time-box iterations named Evolutions to help with the Scope and Planning of Value Delivery. This includes Artifacts (Evolution Plan, Evolution) and Events (Evolution Start and Evolution End).

When Delivery Rate is below two weeks the time-box iterations are no longer required and the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery through the Value Stream is reached, which is the purpose of the Forum Agile Framework.

Forum Core

The Forum Core are its Values and Principles that give meaning to the inner structure of the Forum Agile Framework. They are also the best introduction to understand its motivation and purpose. The team alignment with this Forum Core is evaluated regularly as part of the Forum Reflection event.

Forum Values

Forum manifests six Values as a representation of its essence. These Values are proven to be effective in pursuing Forum Goals of Customer, Team and Organization Satisfaction.

Honesty

All Forum relationships, interior and exterior, are based on Honesty. Honesty promotes openness, empowers and enables Forum members to develop consistency in how they see and share the reality with others. This is specially important to identify points of Improvement and to give and receive Feedback.

The Value of Honesty is key in all Forum communications, Events and Practices.

Collaboration

The Forum is a concept built upon Collaboration among the Forum members, with the Organization and the Customer. The Value of Collaboration refers to actively promote it and exercise it and as all other Values is shared responsibility of all Forum members to make it happen.

The Value of Collaboration is key in all Forum Events and Practices, and specially is required during the Development itself.

Innovation

A characteristic Value of the Forum Agile Framework is Innovation. Forum encourages Innovation as the driving force for Development towards the Value Goals. Innovation applies to everything inside the Forum Value Stream including Technical and Non-Technical capabilities.

The Value of Innovation is key in all Forum Events, especially those related to the definition and implementation of Value Stories. It is also key to increase the weight of the Value delivered by the Forum and thus affects directly its Performance and Motivation.

Simplicity

The lead Value applicable to every aspect of the Forum is Simplicity. Forum encourages Simplicity as a way to minimize the work, to ease the Value Delivery through the Forum Value Stream and to enable Understanding and Transparency.

The Value of Simplicity is essential in all Forum Events, Artifacts and specially Practices. It is also key in the Development and Design of Value Stories to reach the Value Goals.

Respect

The foundation of the Forum essence is the Value of Respect, as the glue that holds the Forum relationships together. Respect builds Trust, Safety and Wellbeing, allowing Openness and explicit Communication.

The Value of Respect is crucial in all Forum Communications and Events.

Diversity

Forum encourages Diversity from the Forum Setup to every aspect of the Forum Events and Practices. Diversity implies understanding of uniqueness and recognizing individual differences.

The Value of Diversity has been proven as essential regarding Forum Cleverness, Adaptability, High Performance and Value Goals.

Forum Principles

Forum expresses six Principles complementary to its Values, so in conjunction they summarize its philosophy. These are the Principles:

Transparency requires Visualization

Communication uses the Common Language

Innovation requires Trust and Time

Delivery of Value is Continuous

Forum Excellence requires Constant Training

Customer, Team and Organization Satisfaction are Interrelated Goals

Forum Team

The Forum team is also known as the Forum. It is the cornerstone of the Forum Agile Framework. A Forum is a cross-functional self-organized team with all the capabilities to reach the Value Goals through Continuous Delivery keeping Sustainable Development.

The Forum foundation is good people with specific knowledge working together at a human level with effective collaboration to satisfy the Customer, the Forum itself and the Organization as a whole.

Each Forum is configured inside a Value Stream and the scope of its work is defined as Value Goals of its Value Stream. These Value Goals are collected in the Value Roadmap artifact. In Organizations with multiple Forums, each Forum has its own Value Roadmap with its own Value Goals. This is specially important to keep its autonomy and set its scope and objectives clearly.

The Forum Training is essential in the Forum Agile Framework as stated in its Principle: "Forum Excellence requires Constant Training". The Forum team must dedicate a minimum of 10% of its time to active Training, promoted and coordinated by the Forum Coach.

Forum size is recommended to be between three and ten members. Beyond ten members coordination and communication can be impediments for high performance.

Forum Agile Framework understands that in some Organizations cross-functional teams need support from Enabling Teams (for areas like Quality, Delivery or Security) or Platform Teams (to deliver Value on top of underlying services). In these cases the Forum team autonomy to develop and deliver the Value Stories for its Value Goals must be guaranteed and these supportive relationships must be coordinated by the appropriate Forum roles (typically Tech Lead, Quality Champion and Delivery Champion).

Common Language

The Forum communicates internally and externally in the Common Language, a set of named concepts known by the whole Organization and related to the Organization Domain including the Forum Domain - the specific sphere of knowledge applicable to the Forum -. It is essential to define the Common Language concepts specific to the Forum as part of the Forum Setup or whenever the Forum Agile Framework is adopted. Its purpose is to facilitate the Communication and Understanding across the whole Organization and specifically in the Forum.

Ubiquitous Language is the term that Eric Evans uses in “Domain-Driven Design — Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software” in order to build a language shared by the team, developers, domain experts, and other participants.

Forum Roles

Roles are sets of functions that Forum members assume to help the whole Forum to achieve the Value Goals. The three basic roles are Value Manager, Developer and Forum Coach. All Forum members apart from the Value Manager and Forum Coach are considered Developers, but can also assume another role. Roles are not exclusive, must be declared publicly and can be assumed temporarily.

The Forum Agile Framework is Progressive also in the roles application. The ideal Forum has a Value Manager, several Developers (some of them assuming the roles of Tech Lead, Quality Champion and Delivery Champion) and a Forum Coach, so typically five to ten Forum Members. But if the Forum has to be configured with fewer members the basic roles of Value Manager and Developers apply.

Value Manager

The key role of Value Manager coordinates the maintenance of all Forum Artifacts and facilitates the Forum Practices of Value Roadmapping, Value Story Mapping and Feedback Gathering and the Forum Event of Value Planning.

The Value Manager is responsible for maximizing Value delivered by the Forum through the Value Stream and facilitating collaboration between the Forum, the Stakeholders and the Customer. Also responsible of coordinating the Forum's collaborative definition of Value Goals and Value Stories.

Developer

All Forum members apart from the Value Manager and Forum Coach are considered Developers, due to their dedicated activity in the Development towards the Value Goals. This typically includes Software Engineers, Designers, Quality Assurance, etc.

All Developers are responsible for Value Stories Development and Value Delivery. Also responsible for actively collaborate in all Forum Artifacts, Events and Practices.

Tech Lead

Technology is essential in Forum Agile Framework and the Tech Lead coordinates its impact to Forum Events, Artifacts and Practices, in close collaboration with the rest of Developers and the whole Forum.

The Tech Lead is responsible to coordinate the Value Stories development towards the Value Goals, to encourage Innovation and to facilitate Technology debates among the Forum.

Quality Champion

The role of Quality Champion is responsible for encouraging Quality in all Forum activities and deliverables, with special focus on Value Stories definition and documentation, Value Stories Development and Workflow. It is also essential in encouraging the Forum Practice of Testing, coordinating all necessary training related to Quality and monitoring the Quality metrics like Change Failure Rate.

Quality Champion works in close coordination with Delivery Champion regarding the Quality Automation, specifically Testing Automation, to accelerate the Value Delivery through the Forum Value Stream. Also works in close coordination with all Developers encouraging Testing and with the Value Manager regarding refinement of Value Stories.

Delivery Champion

The role of Delivery Champion is responsible for encouraging Delivery in all Forum activities and processes. It is also essential in encouraging the Forum Practice of Continuous Delivery, coordinating all necessary resources and training related to Delivery and monitoring the Delivery metrics like Delivery Rate.

Delivery Champion works in close coordination with Quality Champion and all Developers to speed up the Value Delivery removing all the impediments to achieve the Forum Continuous Flow.

Forum Coach

The role of Forum Coach is responsible of coordinating all Forum Training and fostering the Forum Values and Principles in the Forum, facilitating all Forum Events and Practices - along with the Value Manager, Tech Lead, Quality Champion and Delivery Champion - when needed and coordinate the collaboration with other Forums if necessary.

The Forum Coach works in close coordination with the Value Manager regarding all Value-related activities and with the Developers to ease every aspect of their Workflow.

In mature Forum teams the Forum Coach may not be needed as all Forum members understand and practice the framework without a dedicated role.

Forum Training

Forum Training is essential to achieve Forum Excellence as stated in its Principles. The Forum must dedicate a minimum of 10% of its time to active Training, promoted and coordinated by the Forum Coach. This Training includes (but it's not limited to) the following aspects:

  • Forum Domain and Organization Domain
  • Forum Technical and Non-technical Practices
  • Forum Values, Principles, Roles, Events and Artifacts
  • Innovation-related Technologies and Knowledges
  • Delivery-related Technologies and Knowledges
  • Any discipline useful to achieve the Value Goals

Forum Training specific objectives and disciplines can vary broadly depending on the Forum existing capabilities. This specifics have to be coordinated by the Forum Coach along with the Quality and Delivery Champions about their respective areas.

The Training dedicated time has been proven to be not only profitable on the eyes of Stakeholders but truly essential in reaching high performance and excellence faster.

Forum Setup

The Forum Setup is the initial creation and configuration of the Forum team. As Forum Agile Framework is never imposed, the team performs a Forum Training in order to decide freely about its adoption with a good understanding of the framework and its benefits. The complete Forum Setup requires the appropriate time for preparation (no less than two weeks).

Forum Value Stream

The Forum Value Stream is the Scope of the Value to be delivered by the Forum team. The first part of the Forum Setup is to define its Value Stream, which can vary broadly depending on the Organization, its purpose and structure, but the requirements are:

Value Stream must be:

  • Specific:
    • The Value Stream definition for the Forum has to be clear across all the Organization to set expectations and responsibilities accordingly
  • Independent:
    • The Forum team has to be capable of working autonomously on it end-to-end, from Value Story Concept, through Development and to Delivery
  • Persistent:
    • The Value Stream has to persist (unless its Value disappears) as the definition of the Forum purpose, encouraging Continuous Improvement and Ownership. The Forum is responsible for its maintenance, evolution and delivery.

Recommended Value Stream definitions:

  • Functional Scope:
    • The Forum is dedicated to a persistent functional domain or subdomain. For example its Value Stream can be 'Search capabilities'.
  • Theme Scope:
    • The Forum purpose is a fixed theme. For example its Value Stream can be 'Improving Delivery performance of other Forums'.
  • Business Scope:
    • The Forum mission is to deliver Value over a business domain or subdomain. For example its Value Stream can be 'User Retention'

Not recommended Value Stream definitions:

  • Product:
    • Value Streams are typically cross-product, so defining teams about specific Products will only increase their interdependencies and will not allow autonomy
  • Project:
    • Temporary Projects do not encourage Continuous Improvement and Ownership so are not a good choice as Value Streams

This Value Stream definition is preferred to be designed by the future Value Manager and the Stakeholders, but this can also vary depending on the Organization structure.

The Forum Domain is the sphere of knowledge and influence of the Value Stream. The constant Forum Training must include profound learning of the Forum Domain for all Forum members.

The Common Language is the set of named concepts known by the whole Organization related to the Organization Domain. The definition of the Forum Domain may find necessary to add new concepts or review existing ones in the Common Language. This is an ongoing process that starts in the Forum Setup and continues through the Forum existence.

Forum Value Roadmap

The Value Roadmap defined in the Forum Setup is the initial set of Value Goals for the Forum. This definition follows the Forum Practice of Value Roadmapping and is helpful to understand the requirements to set the initial Forum Members.

More in the Forum Practice of Value Roadmapping

Forum Members

The Forum Members definition is preferred to be designed by the Tech Lead and the Value Manager with buy-in and support from the Stakeholders, but this can also vary depending on the Organization structure.

Once the Forum has initiated its activity the Forum OnBoarding (of new members and OffBoarding (of existing members) processes are critically important and have to be carefully defined by the Forum. In the OnBoarding process the Forum Practice of Mentoring is essential.

Forum Setup Training

The purpose of this specific Forum Training is for the team to discover and learn the Forum Agile Framework in order to decide whether to use it or not. This Training includes (but it's not limited to) the following aspects:

  • Forum Domain
  • Forum Values, Principles, Roles, Artefacts, Development and Events
  • Forum Technical and Non-technical Practices

Once the team has decided to adopt Forum Agile Framework the last step of the Forum Setup is performed:

Forum Inception

The Forum Inception is the starting event for a Forum facing a newly created or modified Value Roadmap. Its purpose is to set the general Scope and Expectations of potential Solutions and Risks towards the Value Goals.

The Forum Inception in the Forum Setup is specially important because it is the first contact as a team of the Forum with its Value Goals and it is a great opportunity to collaborate and know each other.

More in the Forum Event of Forum Inception

Forum Items

The Items in the Forum Artifacts are the pieces of information the Forum interacts with in the Forum Development process.

There are only three types of items: Value Goals, Value Stories and Feedback Stories.

Value Goal

Value Goals are high-level objectives that define the purpose of the Forum Value Stream. They are expressed in the Value Roadmap artifact and defined in the Value Roadmapping practice.

Value Goal Anatomy

The basic anatomy of a Value Goal includes the following fields:

  • Goal: The purpose of the Value Goal in a sentence
  • Description: More detailed specification of the Goal
  • Measurement: Expected measurable impact and metrics to be achieved
  • Value Receiver/s: General recipient of the Value (typically the Customer, the Forum itself or the Organization)
Value Goals are a generic approach inspired by Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) concept created by Andy Grove and popularized by John Doerr

Value Story

Value Stories are medium-to-low objectives derived from the Value Goals. They are first represented in the Value Story Map with a low-to-medium level of definition with an initial Value Priority and related to a Value Goal. This Forum Practice is known as Value Story Mapping and is coordinated by the Value Manager with the active collaboration of the whole Forum.

Value Stories must be refined to high-level detail through the Forum Practice known as Value Planning and then can be promoted to be represented in the Value Plan following an order of absolute Value Priority, once they meet the Definition of Ready requirements. Ready Value Stories in the Value Plan are eligible to be part of an Evolution Plan or to be directly developed if the Forum Continuous Flow is in place.

Value Stories have three status: Value Story, Ready Value Story and Done Value Story. Value Story is low-to-medium level of detail and is visualized in the Value Story Map. Ready Value Story is high-level of detail meeting the Definition of Ready requirements and is visualized in the Value Plan. Done Value Story is already developed meeting the Definition of Done requirements.

Value Stories are the minimum unit of Value Delivery in the Forum Agile Framework.

Value Story Anatomy

The basic anatomy of a Value Story includes the following fields:

  • Story: Description of the Story in the Common Language with the syntax:
    As {Value Receiver Persona} I want to {some Action} in order to {Value benefit}
  • Tasks: List of Tasks for accomplishing the Story
  • Validation Scenarios: List of Scenarios to validate the Story. Each Scenario is written with the syntax:
    Given {Initial Context} When {some Action} Then {some Result}
  • Feedback Stories: List of Feedback Stories related to the Story
  • Estimation (Optional): From 1 to 10, being 1 a day or less and 10 (days) of a full-time dedicated Developer (even when more than one is required). If a Value Story is estimated beyond 10 then it has to be splitted into smaller Stories. Estimation is essential when Development includes Evolutions (to set the Scope of the Evolution Plan) and optional when in Continuous Flow
  • Value Goal: The Value Goal it derives from

Feedback Story

Feedback Stories are representations of single pieces of Feedback to be used in the Forum Events of Value Story Mapping and Value Planning to help in the creation and definition of Value Stories.

Feedback Stories have to be related to Value Stories whenever possible so they can be better tracked and inspected in order to validate the Value Receiver Satisfaction and usually are the foundation of new Value Stories.

Feedback Stories are defined in the Forum Practice of Feedback Gathering and in the Forum Daily and Forum Reflection events and stored in the Feedback Stock artifact.

Feedback Stories have two status: Active and Digested. Active Feedback Stories are those still to be used in the Value Story Mapping and Value Refinement practices to create or update Value Stories. Digested Feedback Stories are those already used and linked to their related Value Stories in the Value Stories definition.

Feedback Story Anatomy

  • Story: Description of the Story in the Common Language with the syntax:
    As {Value Receiver Persona} I think that {Feedback target} is {Feedback valoration} and can be improved by {Feedback improvement}
  • Source: Description of the Feedback source
  • Background Value Story (Optional): Value Story it comes from if applicable
  • Created Value Story (Optional): Value Story that has been created from this Feedback

Forum Artifacts

All Forum Artifacts are coordinated by the Value Manager but the whole Forum collaborates actively on the addition, edition and deletion of items.

Forum adapts to teams with different Delivery Rates. When Delivery Rate is equal or more than two weeks Forum uses time-box iterations named Evolutions that require the following Forum Artifacts: Evolution Plan and Evolution.
When Delivery Rate is below two weeks Evolutions are no longer required and the Forum Continuous Flow of Value Delivery is reached so the Forum Artifacts of Evolution Plan and Evolution are not required.

Value Roadmap

The Value Roadmap artifact represents all the active Value Goals defined for the Forum Value Stream. These Value Goals are created and reviewed in the Forum Practice of Value Roadmapping coordinated by the Value Manager.

Value Story Map

The Value Story Map artifact expresses Value Stories derived from the Value Goals with a medium-to-low level of detail following the Value Story definition guidelines. These Value Stories derived from the Value Goals are created in the Forum Practice of Value Story Mapping.

Value Plan

The Value Plan artifact represents the Ready Value Stories with a high-level of detail following the Definition of Ready requirements in absolute Value Priority order. These Value Stories come from the Value Story Map, derived as well from the Value Goals in the Value Roadmap.

Evolution Plan

The Evolution Plan artifact stores the Value Stories selected from the Value Plan to be part of the Evolution Plan. These Value Stories are collected into the Evolution Plan artifact in the Forum Event of Evolution Start.

Evolution

The Evolution artifact stores the Done Value Stories (following the Definition of Done requirements) from the Evolution Plan at the end of the Evolution. These Done Value Stories are collected into the Evolution artifact in the Forum Event of Evolution End.

Feedback Stock

The Feedback Stock artifact represents the Feedback Stories collected in the Forum Practice of Feedback Gathering. These Feedback Stories are used in the Value Planning event to create and refine Value Stories.

The Feedback Stock is maintained and coordinated by the Value Manager. Feedback can come from any Value Receiver including the Customer, the Organization and the Forum itself.

Feedback Stories can be linked to Background Value Stories (Done Value Stories) and to Created Value Stories derived from its Feedback.

Forum Events

Forum Agile Framework defines a number of formal Events with specific purposes to help accomplishing the Value Goals and to minimize the need of other meetings. Forum Events are responsibility of the whole Forum and are facilitated by the Forum Coach if needed.

Forum purpose is to achieve the Value Goals reducing complexity and encouraging Simplicity and continuous Collaboration, both synchronous and asynchronous.

All Forum Events are categorized about the type of Communication into Synchronous or Synchronous/Asynchronous.

Synchronous means all Forum Members participating in the Event have to be communicating in real-time, face-to-face or remotely. The Event Duration has to be set and announced when the Forum Event is scheduled. A suggested Event Duration is described below but it is up to the Forum to modify it when needed.

Synchronous/Asynchronous indicates that while real-time is preferred it is also possible to communicate in non real-time. When Asynchronous Events take place (for example through chat or email) a time-frame has to be set (typically 1 to 8 hours) so all the communication can be done and the Event can be considered closed. This time-frame is named Event Window and has to be set and announced when the Forum Event is scheduled and defined as Asynchronous.

Forum adapts to teams with different Delivery Rates. When Delivery Rate is equal or more than two weeks Forum uses time-box iterations named Evolutions to help with the Scope and Planning of Value Delivery. This includes the following Events: Evolution Start and Evolution End.
When Delivery Rate is below two weeks the Evolutions are no longer required and the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery is reached so the Events of Evolution Start and Evolution End are not required.

Forum Inception

Synchronous
When Value Roadmap is created or modified
Duration: 2-5 days

The Forum Inception is the starting event for a Forum facing a newly created or modified Value Roadmap. Its purpose is to set the general Scope and Expectations of potential Solutions and Risks towards the Value Goals.

It is a Forum Event of special collaboration and common understanding that takes from 2 to 5 days. Its most valuable outcome is the Forum Alignment towards its Value Goals.

The Forum Inception event is coordinated by the Value Manager and involves the following:

  • Forum Alignment:
    • The Forum understands and reflects about the Value Goals in order to be aligned with them as a team.
      • Value Goals Motivation (Why?): Review of the motivation behind each Value Goal and its potential benefits.
  • Value Impact Mapping:
    • The Forum visualizes the scope and underlying assumptions derived from the Value Goals through a mind-map created collaboratively for each Value Goal following the Forum Practice of Value Impact Mapping
  • Value Story Mapping:
    • The Forum deducts low-to-medium detailed Value Stories from the Value Impact Map of each Value Goal and visualizes them in the Value Story Map following the Forum Practice of Value Story Mapping

Value Planning

Synchronous/Asynchronous
Evolution: Any day before Evolution Start - Continuous Flow: Every week
Duration: 4-8 hours - Window: 8-12 hours

The Value Planning event is the heart of the Forum Agile Framework. It requires the active collaboration of all Forum Members and the interaction over the following Artifacts: Feedback Stock, Value Story Map and Value Plan.

It is independent of the Forum Development process, whether it is Forum Evolutions or the Forum Continuous Flow.

The Value Planning event involves the following:

  • Value Plan Review:
    • Review of all active Value Stories in the Value Plan so they have to be maintained, updated or removed.
  • Feedback Digestion:
    • Review of all active Feedback Stories in the Feedback Stock artifact so they can be used in both Value Story Mapping (to create or modify Value Stories in the Value Story Map) and Value Story Refinement (to better detail Value Stories in the Value Plan) practices.
    • Once it has been used for the creation or update of a Value Story, a Feedback Story becomes inactive as Digested Feedback Story and linked to the related Value Story in the Value Story definition.
  • Value Story Mapping:
    • Addition, Update and Removal of Value Stories in the Value Story Map deducted from the Value Goals in the Value Roadmap following the Value Story Mapping practice.

Value Plan Review, Feedback Digestion and Value Story Mapping practices can happen anytime so they are only required as part of the Value Planning if not done previously to the event.

  • Value Story Promotion:
    • Most relevant Value Stories in the Value Story Map are promoted to the Value Plan based on their Value Priority
    • Prioritization based on Value Priority of existing Value Stories in the Value Plan and new ones from the Value Story Map.
  • Value Story Refinement:
    • Promoted low-to-medium detailed Value Stories from the Value Story Map are refined into high-level detail Ready Value Stories in the Value Plan following the Definition of Ready requirements.

Some requirements may need dedicated time out of the Value Planning (User Interface Design, UX research, etc). These requirements are best to be prepared in advance to this Event. Value Stories with these requirements won't be considered Ready Value Stories until completion.

  • Value Plan:
    • The result is the prioritized list of Ready Value Stories that the Forum can develop, also known as the Value Plan

Evolution Start

Synchronous
At Start of Evolution
Duration: 2 hours

The Evolution Start event is the kick-off of the Evolution and requires that the Value Planning event has occurred previously.

The Evolution Start event involves the following:

  • Ready Value Stories Review:
    • In descending order of Value Priority the Ready Value Stories in the Value Plan are reviewed by the whole Forum.
    • List of Tasks necessary of each Ready Value Story is defined by the Forum
    • Ready Value Stories are estimated by the Forum
  • Ready Value Stories Selection:
    • Select the Ready Value Stories from the Value Plan in Value Priority that the Forum estimates for the Evolution. These Value Stories are stored in the Evolution Plan.
    • Forum Capacity (Optional): Evolution Duration (days) multiplied by the total of Forum Developers. When using Value Story Estimation is useful to select estimated Ready Value Stories up to ~75% of Forum Capacity.
  • Evolution Plan Details:
    • Goal: Descriptive Goal for the Evolution Plan
    • Ready Value Stories: List of Ready Value Stories to develop
    • End Date: The purpose of Forum Agile Framework is to periodically decrease the Evolution Duration until reaching less than two weeks so the Forum Continuous Flow can be applied. This is typically related to the Forum Delivery Rate, which has to be improved continuously. Evolution Duration has to be defined based on that premise and it is a metric of progress in the Forum Agile Framework.
  • Evolution Start:
    • The Forum starts development following the Evolution Plan with all included Ready Value Stories

Evolution End

Synchronous
At End of Evolution
Duration: 2 hours

The Evolution End event is the conclusion of the Evolution development and the generation of the Evolution artifact with all Done Value Stories developed during that time.

The Evolution End event involves the following:

  • Done Value Stories Review:
    • In Value Priority order the Done Value Stories developed are reviewed by the whole Forum according to the Definition of Done requirements
  • Evolution Demo:
    • Functional demonstration of all Done Value Stories completed during the Evolution
  • Evolution Details:
    • Name: Descriptive Title for the Evolution
    • Summary: Description of main achievements, actions and issues encountered during the Evolution
    • Done Value Stories: List of Done Value Stories developed during the Evolution in Value Priority order
  • Evolution End:
    • The result is the prioritized list of Done Value Stories that the Forum has developed, also known as the Evolution
  • Evolution Communication:
    • Communication of the Evolution Details in the Common Language to the whole Organization

Forum Daily

Synchronous/Asynchronous
Every Day (except Value Planning day)
Duration: 30 minutes - Window: 2 hours

The Forum Daily event is not just an informative event, it is an obstacles-seeker, micro-planning event, an opportunity to identify impediments to the Value Stream and to re-plan the day to advance towards the Value Goals.

It is independent of the Forum Development process, whether it is Forum Evolutions or the Forum Continuous Flow.

The Forum Daily event involves the following:

  • Forum Update:
    • The Forum shares relevant information about ongoing Value Stories to enable Collaboration and Impediments Discovery.
    • Impediments detected are created as Feedback Stories
  • Plan Quick Review:
    • The Forum inspects the Evolution Plan if using Evolutions or the Value Plan if using Continuous Flow to evaluate if any change is needed in the current Value Stories

If necessary this can lead to separate (right after this event) practice of Value Story Refinement that may include Value Stories Creation, Update, Removal or Priority Change.

Forum Reflection

Synchronous/Asynchronous
Every Week
Duration: 1 hour - Window: 4 hours

The Forum Reflection event is key for the Forum Continuous Improvement, as it allows to reflect about the Forum itself.

It is independent of the Forum Development process, whether it is Forum Evolutions or the Forum Continuous Flow.

The Forum Reflection event involves the following:

  • Forum Inspection:
    • The Forum reflects on all different aspects affecting its Performance and Satisfaction including (but not limited to):
      • Forum Values and Principles
      • Forum Roles
      • Forum Development
      • Forum Practices
      • Forum Satisfaction
    • The Forum evaluates and visualizes the Forum Metrics evolution
    • The Outcome of the Forum Inspection is the generation of relevant Feedback Stories to address specific Improvements.

If necessary this can lead to separate (right after this event) practice of Value Story Refinement that may include Value Stories Creation, Update, Removal or Priority Change.

  • Forum Celebration:
    • The Forum celebrates Achievements and Improvements as a team. It is a key time to encourage alignment with Value Goals and motivation.

Forum Development

The Forum Development processes, technologies and tools have to be decided by the Forum, but the Forum Agile Framework states two main frames for this Forum Development to happen: Forum Evolution and Forum Continuous Flow.

The purpose of the Forum Agile Framework is accelerating progressively the Forum Delivery Rate to achieve the Forum Continuous Flow of Value Delivery.

When the Forum Delivery Rate is low (two weeks or more) Forum Evolutions (time-boxed iterations) help with the Scope and Planning, but Forum Agile Framework encourages the progressive acceleration of Value Delivery (through its Values, Principles, Artifacts, Events and Practices) so the Evolution Duration can be shortened periodically until reaching the Forum Continuous Flow when Delivery Rate is high enough (less than two weeks).

Forum Evolution

The Forum Evolution is a time-boxed iteration that helps with the Scope and Planning of Value Delivery.

Forum is an Agile Progressive Framework and its adoption can vary according to the Delivery capabilities of the team. This is primarily measured by the Delivery Rate, the average time it takes for the team to deliver Value.

Forum adapts to teams with different Delivery Rates. When Delivery Rate is equal or more than two weeks the Forum uses Evolutions. This includes the following Forum Events: Evolution Start and Evolution End and Forum Artifacts: Evolution Plan and Evolution.

Evolution Duration is up to the team but it is typically from two to several weeks, depending on the Delivery Rate. When Delivery Rate is below two weeks the Forum Continuous Flow is in place.

The purpose of the Forum Agile Framework is to continuously improve the Forum Delivery Rate so the Evolution Duration can be periodically decreasing until it goes below two weeks and the Forum Continuous Flow is reached.

Forum Continuous Flow

The main purpose of the Forum Agile Framework is to reach the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery through the Value Stream.

When Delivery Rate is below two weeks Evolutions and their related Artifacts and Events are no longer required and the Forum Continuous Flow of Value Delivery is reached.

All Events and Artifacts not related to Evolutions are completely independent of them. This is essential to understand because it allows the transition from Evolutions to Continuous Flow seamless based just on the Delivery Rate. Typically when using Evolutions the Evolution Duration will become shorter as the Delivery Rate improves from months to weeks and when it goes below two weeks then the Forum Continuous Flow is reached.

In order to speed up the Delivery Rate necessary for the Forum Continuous Flow it is extremely important to follow the Forum Practices of Testing and Continuous Delivery.

Value Story Development

The specifics of Value Story Development have to be decided by the Forum but the Forum Agile Framework requires the use of these practices embedded into the Development process:

  • Testing:
    • Automated Quality is essential in the Definition of Done of a Value Story and key in the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery
    • More in the Forum Practice of Testing
  • Refactoring:
  • Pair/Mob Programming (Optional):
  • Continuous Delivery:
    • Working in small batches with built-in Automated Quality, Continuous Integration and Deployment allows the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery
    • More in the Forum Practice of Continuous Delivery

Forum Metrics

The Forum Agile Framework is results-oriented so it is crucial to measure Forum Progression in the form of Delivery capabilities, Quality and Value Receiver Satisfaction to achieve Continuous Improvement. Many other metrics can be monitored by the Forum but these are required.

Delivery Rate

The average time it takes from the Forum to deliver Value. Every time the Forum is able to put Value (the minimum unit for this is a Value Story) in the hands of the Value Receiver, is considered delivered Value. The average time a Value Story is delivered by the Forum from the Value Plan to the Value Receiver is considered the Forum Delivery Rate.

The time starts when the Value Story in the Value Plan becomes In Progress and ends when in the hands of the Value Receiver (a.k.a. In Production). This depends on the Forum Delivery capabilities, but when Continuous Flow is in place with the Forum Practice of Continuous Delivery, the Delivery Rate matches the average time required for Value Story development, typically less than a week.

Change Failure Rate

The percentage of changes that fail in Production is the Change Failure Rate. It is a metric of Quality. A change is considered to fail when results in degraded service or requires remediation.

Quality is essential to be measured because is part of the Value itself. When Quality decreases, Value decreases. So in order to achieve any Value Goal it is necessary to keep Quality monitoring the Forum Change Failure Rate.

Value Receiver Satisfaction

The Forum has typically one or sometimes multiple Value Receivers according to the Value Goals of its Value Roadmap. The Value Receiver can be the Customer, the Forum itself or the Organization (for example other Forums). It is fundamental to measure the Value Receiver Satisfaction in order to evaluate the success of the Value Delivery (in the form of Value Stories and Value Goals) through the Forum Value Stream.

Value Receiver Satisfaction is an essential metric to measure success and is rated between 1 and 10 at a certain date, so it can be monitored and evaluated through time. Value Receiver Satisfaction is measured as part of the Feedback Gathering practice.

Forum Workflow

The purpose of the Forum Agile Framework is to reach a Continuous Flow of Value Delivery, so it is extremely important to ease the Forum Workflow, reducing all impediments and interruptions with the help of the Delivery Champion.

The Forum Workflow details have to be decided by the Forum, and can vary broadly among different teams with different Value Streams but the Forum Agile Framework requires these minimum definitions and conventions:

Definition of Ready

The Definition of Ready is the list of requirements that a Value Story must meet to be considered as Ready Value Story so it can be developed by the Forum.

Following the Value Story Anatomy previously defined in the Artifact Items section the minimum requirements are:

  • Value Story Definition:
    • Story: Description of the Story in the Common Language with the syntax:
      As {Value Receiver Persona} I want to {some Action} in order to {Value benefit}
    • Validation Scenarios: List of Scenarios to validate the Story. Each Scenario is written with Given/When/Then syntax
    • Feedback Stories: List of Feedback Stories related to the Story if applicable
    • Value Goal: The Value Goal it derives from
  • Value Story Dependencies:
    • Any information required by the Value Story to be developed has to be collected before it is considered a Ready Value Story.
    • This may include for example User Interface Design, User Experience Research, Consumable Services Definition, etc.
  • Value Story Priority:
    • To be considered as Ready Value Story it has be ordered by Value Priority in the Value Plan artifact.

These minimum requirements can be extended by the Forum to meet their needs.

The optional List of Tasks necessary to develop the Value Story and the optional Estimation are not requirements for a Ready Value Story, both can be added optionally in the Forum Event of Evolution Start when using Evolutions or when the Value Story is selected to be developed in the Forum Continuous Flow.

Definition of Done

The Definition of Done is the list of requirements that a Value Story must meet to be considered as Done Value Story when developed by the Forum.

The Forum has to set the complete requirements but these are required:

  • Checked Validation Scenarios:
    • All Validation Scenarios defined for the Value Story have been checked as accomplished by the Value Manager
  • Automated Quality:
    • Automated Testing that verifies anytime that:
      • Value Story Development meet all Quality standards agreed by the Forum and encouraged by the Quality Champion, with the minimum known as Unit Testing
      • All Validation Scenarios are meet, typically named as Acceptance Testing
  • Delivery:
    • The Value described in the Value Story is in the hands of the Value Receiver, this typically is stated as: the Value Story is in Production.
    • All Deliverables related to the Value Story are available like appropriate Documentation
    • Value Story meet all Delivery standards agreed by the Forum and encouraged by the Delivery Champion

Depending on the Forum Delivery capabilities and the usage of Evolutions or Continuous Flow the Value Story Delivery can be individual or groupal (typically in Evolutions all Value Stories are delivered into a Release). Either way a Value Story won't be considered Done Value Story until it is delivered

Quality Champion coordinates the Quality requirements of Definition of Done and Delivery Champion coordinates the Delivery requirements, but all must be agreed by the whole Forum.

Work in Progress

The Work in Progress (WIP) is the number of Tasks the Forum is working on at the same time. Limiting WIP has several benefits:

  • Increased Focus:
    • Faster resolution of Tasks when the WIP is adjusted
  • Impediment Detection:
    • Easier detection of Impediments such bottlenecks and stoppers
  • Sustainable Development:
    • The Forum keeps a sustainable pace based on its working capacity
  • Stop Starting/Start Finishing:
    • Prevents accumulation of unfinished Tasks and flooded processes
  • Forum Efficiency:
    • Prevents Forum members from excesive context switching

This requires the Forum Workflow Visualization and dedicated attention to the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery, facilitated and encouraged by the Delivery Champion.

Forum Practices

The Forum Practices are exercises that can be done anytime and have to be facilitated and encouraged by the Forum Coach, along with the Value Manager, Tech Lead, Quality Champion and Delivery Champion.

Value Roadmapping

The Value Roadmapping is the Forum Practice of setting the Value Goals for the Forum Value Stream. These Value Goals are represented in the Value Roadmap artifact, unique per Forum team.

The Value Roadmapping is initially done in the Forum Setup by the Value Manager, the Tech Lead (or other Technical representatives) and the Stakeholders before the Forum Members are configured. This is intentional. Based on the Forum Value Stream and Value Roadmap the Forum members can be selected.

Value Roadmapping can also be done periodically, typically every quarter, every semester or every year so the Value Goals for the Forum Value Stream are redefined as needed.

Value Roadmapping practice involves (but is not limited to) the following processes:

  • Research:

    • Forum Domain - Knowledge about the related market, existing problems and solutions
    • Value Receiver Personas - Knowledge about users, buyers or any persona receiving Value from the Value Stream
    • Organization Resources - Knowledge about what resources and budget can be dedicated by the Organization to the Value Stream

  • Strategic Planning:

    • Stakeholders Vision - Understanding of the Stakeholders Vision regarding the Value Stream

  • Value Goals Creation:

    • Definition of Value Goals according to Value Goal Anatomy based on all information gathered in previous steps

  • Value Roadmap:

    • The result is the prioritized list of Value Goals, also known as Value Roadmap
    • Explicit support from the Stakeholders to the defined Value Roadmap

Value Roadmap Review practice to check each Value Goal advancement has to be performed regularly, typically every month or quarter.

Value Impact Mapping

Value Impact Mapping is a technique of Value Discovery to bridge the gap between the Value Goals and its deducted Value Stories so it happens between the Value Roadmapping and Value Story Mapping practices. It is part of the Forum Inception event but can also be exercised when needed.

The Value Impact Mapping is the Forum Practice of visualizing the Scope of each Value Goal through a mind-map created collaboratively by the whole Forum following four aspects represented as branches:

Actors (Who?)

The Actors are those that can affect or be affected by the Value Goals. The Forum has to provide answers to these questions:

  • Who can produce the desired effect?
  • Who can obstruct it?
  • Who are the Value Receivers?
  • Who will be impacted by it?

Impacts (How?)

The Impacts are the changes needed to reach the Value Goals. The Forum has to provide answers to these questions:

  • How should the Actors' behaviour change to reach the Value Goal?
  • How can they help us to achieve it?
  • How can they obstruct or prevent us from succeeding?

Initiatives (What?)

The Initiatives are the implementations of the changes needed (or Impacts) to reach the Value Goals. The Forum has to provide answers to this question:

  • What can we do to perform the required Impacts?

Depending of its scope Initiatives can be translated directly into Value Stories in the Forum Practice of Value Story Mapping or can be the origin of several related Value Stories. These Value Stories are expressed by Value Goal and ordered by Value Priority in the Value Story Map artifact.

Value Impact Mapping is a modification of the Impact Mapping technique by Neuri Consulting LLP modified under license CCA 4.0

Value Story Mapping

Value Story Mapping is typically preceded by Value Impact Mapping when needed - but it is also compatible with any other technique of Value Discovery like Customer Journey Mapping, Empathy Mapping or Experience Mapping - as a guidance to deduct Value Stories from the Value Goals.

Value Story Mapping is a Forum Practice that creates low-to-medium level of detail Value Stories deducted from the Value Goals in the Value Roadmap with a vertical coordinate that represent descendant Value Priority and a horizontal coordinate that represents the Value Goal it derives from.

The Value Manager is responsible of keeping the Value Story Map updated and prioritized although the whole Forum collaborates actively on adding, improving and removing Value Stories.

Value Story Mapping practice involves the following:

  • Value Story Map Review:
    • Review of all active Value Stories in the Value Story Map so they have to be maintained, updated or removed
  • Feedback Digestion:
    • Review of all active Feedback Stories in the Feedback Stock artifact so they can be used to create or modify Value Stories in the Value Story Map
  • Value Story Creation:
    • Definition of Value Stories derived from each Value Goal in the Value Roadmap
  • Value Story Prioritization:
    • Prioritization of the Value Stories related to each Value Goal
  • Value Story Map:
    • The result is the prioritized map of Value Stories derived from each Value Goal
Value Story Mapping is (inspired by but) different and compatible with User Story Mapping (described by Jeff Patton in "User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product"), since the latter refers to the horizontal dimension of User Activities and the vertical of Product versions.

Artifact Review

The Forum Practice of Artifact Review is about inspecting any of the ongoing Forum Artifacts (Value Roadmap, Value Story Map, Value Plan, Evolution Plan or Feedback Stock) and evaluating if it's necessary to maintain, update or remove any Artifact Items in it.

Artifact Review can be exercised anytime (as the rest of Forum Practices) but it is specially required at some Forum Events if not done recently.

Artifact Review is coordinated and encouraged regularly by the Value Manager.

Feedback Gathering

Feedback Gathering is the Forum Practice that creates and updates Feedback Stories in the Feedback Stock from the Feedback collected from the Value Receivers (typically the Customer, Forum itself and the Organization) and other relevant sources and measures the Value Receiver Satisfaction metric.

Feedback Gathering is facilitated by the Value Manager and can be exercised in many different ways, but Forum Agile Framework requires some minimum processes:

  • Feedback Stock Review:
    • Review of all active Feedback Stories in the Feedback Stock artifact
  • Feedback Collection:
    • The Forum collects all relevant Feedback about its Value Stream from different sources, with special focus to the Value Receivers (Customer, Forum itself and Organization)
    • The Forum Metric of Value Receiver Satisfaction is measured as part of the Feedback Collection
  • Feedback Story Creation:
    • Definition of Feedback Stories from the collected Feedback into the Feedback Stock

Continuous Delivery

Continuous Delivery (CD) is the ability to get Value into the hands of the Value Receiver safely and quickly in a sustainable way.

The Forum Practice of Continuous Delivery as part of the Forum Development process is the center of achieving the Continuous Flow of Value Delivery and is encouraged by the Delivery Champion.

The Continuous Delivery practice involves (but is not limited to) the following:

  • Work in Small Batches:
    • Enables more speed of Value Delivery, shorter Feedback loops and lower cost of Development
  • Automated Quality:
    • Built-in Quality with Automated Unit and Acceptance Tests to increase and verify the Value delivered
  • Automated Build:
    • Predictable Automated Builds for early detection of problems. Forum Members are dedicated to maximize Value and not to perform repetitive tasks
  • Continuous Integration (CI):
    • Development practice that requires Forum Developers to integrate their work into a shared repository frequently with Automated Quality and Build
  • Automated Deployment:
    • Ability to Automate Deployment process to increase Predictability and Risk Reduction
  • Continuous Improvement:
    • Integrated culture of Improvement in the daily work of all Forum Members
  • Forum Ownership:
    • Continuous Delivery requires close Collaboration of all Forum Members with Competence, Autonomy and clear Value Goals.

Some of its benefits are:

  • Risk Reduction:
    • Predictable automated processes that produce low-risk painless Deployments that can be performed anytime on demand
  • Fast Feedback:
    • About the Quality and Deployability of the System so the Forum can perform Improvements when needed
  • Low Cost:
    • Working in Small Batches and investing in Automation reduce the cost of delivering Value to the Value Receiver
  • High Quality:
    • Automated Quality enables the Forum Members to focus on Improvements producing higher Quality and thus higher Value
  • Team Satisfaction:
    • Increasing Quality and removing repetitive tasks makes the Forum Members more satisfied and committed

Testing

The Forum Practice of Testing is fundamental in the Forum Agile Framework to achieve Quality and Value Delivery. It is exercised by all Forum Developers and is encouraged by the Quality Champion. Quality Automation is key for reaching the Forum Continuous Flow of Value Delivery.

The Testing practice involves (but is not limited to) the following:

  • Unit Testing:
    • Value Story Development includes Unit Testing as an automated verification of meeting minimum Quality standards
  • Acceptance Testing:
    • Automated verification that all Validation Scenarios for each Value Story are met
  • Behaviour-Driven Development (optional):
    • The Forum Agile Framework encourages both Quality and Simplicity at its core Values. An excellent practice to achieve that is BDD.
      • Behaviour-Driven Development starts from the Value Story Validation Scenarios and translates them into Tests, then developing the minimum necessary software to pass them, refactoring for continuous improvement

Refactoring

Refactoring is a disciplined technique for restructuring an existing body of code, altering its internal structure without changing its external behavior.

The Forum Practice of Refactoring is an ongoing exercise embedded into the Value Story Development and encouraged by the Tech Lead. It is crucial to achieve Modular Architecture design that enables Adaptation to Change and improves Value Delivery capabilities.

Refactoring is not a stand-alone practice, it is part of the Value Story Development process and is also facilitated by the Testing practice.

Refactoring has several benefits:

  • Adaptation to Change:
    • Refactoring reduces the cost of changes thus enabling a much more efficient and fast adaptation to changes required to achieve Value Goals
  • Modular Architecture:
    • Refactoring enables modularity keeping the external behaviour thus allowing Modular Architecture for more extensibility and scalability
  • Simplicity:
    • Refactoring enables Simplicity thus enhancing maintainability and understanding

Pair Programming

Pair programming is a technique in which two Forum Developers work together at one workstation (face-to-face or remotely) on the same Task. Each Developer performs complementary actions to succeed.

The Forum Practice of Pair Programming is an expression of the Forum Core Value of Collaboration and involves fluent Communication and Knowledge Sharing.

There are different ways to perform Pair Programming but typically involves two roles:

  • Driver:
    • Developer on control of the keyboard, either physically or virtually. Focused on the completion of a Task or Subtask (defined part of a Task).
  • Navigator:
    • Developer in the observer position, reviewing code on-the-go, helping with the solution design and performing complementary actions like Documenting, detecting Issues or Impediments, etc.

And the following rules:

  • One Task at a Time:
    • Focus on a specific Task (or Subtask) is fundamental to achieve higher Quality and Efficiency
  • Switch Roles Regularly:
    • Shared active participation keeps the energy high and facilitates learning and understanding
  • Complementary Actions:
    • Maximizing Efficiency requires that both roles perform complementary actions to succeed
  • Schedule Time:
    • Pair Programming is an intense activity that requires not to be interrumpted so allocate time (no more than 75% of working hours) and proper breaks

Pair Programming has several benefits:

  • Knowledge Sharing:
    • Shares knowledge on Technology and Forum Domain, preventing silos and enabling better OnBoarding process
  • Implicit Code Review:
    • On-the-go Code Review with early detection of Issues and Impediments
  • Collective Code Ownership:
    • Enables consistency in solution design and encourages that any Developer can touch any part of the solution
  • Reflection:
    • Encourages discussion and visualization over different approaches to the solution
  • Work In Progress Limit:
    • Pair Programming increases Focus and Efficiency, thus enabling faster Continuous Flow of Value Delivery
  • High Quality:
    • Two minds explicitly collaborating together improves Quality and Issue detection
  • Team Satisfaction:
    • Pair Programming has proven to increase Team Satisfaction and Collaboration

Mentoring

The Forum Practice of Mentoring is a learning relationship from a Forum member entitled as Mentor with more experience or knowledge about one or more specific fields and another Forum member that wants to learn.

Mentoring involves two basic roles:

  • Mentor:
    • Any Forum member can become Mentor just assuming the role at any time, specifying which are his/her fields of expertise and declaring it publicy to the whole Forum
    • Any Forum member can stop being Mentor just declaring it at any time
  • Mentee:
    • Any Forum member can request to be Mentee of any publicly declared Mentor in the Forum
    • Any Mentee can cease the Mentoring relationship with a Mentor at any time

Mentoring includes (but is not limited to) the following objectives:

  • Learning:
    • The main purpose of Mentoring is Learning from the experience and knowledge of the Mentor to the Mentee and backwards. This can take many forms and is up to the Mentor and Mentee to decide the specifics.
  • OnBoarding:
    • Mentoring is extremely important in the OnBoarding process, facilitating the arrival of a new member sharing the knowledge first-hand of the framework, processes, technologies and tools
  • Guidance:
    • Mentoring is also about guidance, specially when the Mentee requires advice and orientation
  • Motivation:
    • Both Mentor and Mentee can develop Motivation through Mentoring discovering a better alignment with Value Goals and Forum Domain

Time dedicated to Mentoring has to be wisely distributed by the Mentor and Mentee in order not to be an Impediment for the the rest of the Forum.

The combination of Mentoring and Pair Programming practices is really powerful to share knowledge on Technology or the Forum Domain.

Experimenting

The Forum Practice of Experimenting is fundamental to exercise the Value of Innovation and as it is stated in the Principle: "Innovation requires Trust and Time".

Experimenting is part of the Culture of an Organization and is focused on Learning from Empirical Evidence and Opportunity Cost Optimization, allowing Data-Driven Decisions.

Experimenting can be applied (but is not limited) to the following aspects:

  • Feature:
    • An Experiment can consist in the addition, modification or removal of a Feature
    • User Interface:
      • It is specially useful to evaluate changes in User Interface with Empirical Evidence
  • Technology:
    • Experiments regarding changes in Technology are important to evaluate the impact of those changes
  • Process:
    • An Experiment can involve a new, modified or suppressed process. The desired Outcome typically includes Optimization of Value Delivery.
  • Tool:
    • Tool Experimenting can have an important Impact in the Forum but has to be performed wisely and precisely

Experimenting includes (but is not limited to) the following objectives:

  • Hypothesis Validation:
    • Experimenting purpose is the Validation of a Hypothesis defined from previous Observations and Research.
    • Hypothesis-Driven Development:
      • Specially useful when dealing with uncertainty and complex environments
      • Combined with Continuous Delivery it accelerates Validated Learning
  • Data-Driven Decisions:
    • Learning from Empirical Evidence will lead to Data-Driven Decisions over the best approach to design and implement a Solution
  • Opportunity Cost Optimization:
    • Experimenting encourages choosing the most cost-efficient option when it is critical to minimize the Opportunity Cost
  • Value Receiver Feedback:
    • Experimenting puts the Value Receiver in the center of the Solution Design so an essential outcome is to receive and apply the Value Receiver Feedback
  • Value Impact Evaluation:
    • Experimenting can also be used in Production to measure the Value Impact accurately before deciding to consolidate a change
Hypothesis-Driven Development was a concept originally expressed related to Software Development by Barry O'Reilly

Experiment Anatomy

Each Experiment has to be expressed with the following fields:

  • Change: Description of the change performed by the Experiment
  • Expected Outcome: Description of the desired consequences of the Experiment
  • Measurement: Expected measurable impact and metrics to be validated
  • Value Receiver/s: General recipient of the Value (typically the Customer, the Forum itself or the Organization)

Experimenting can be executed in many different ways and is up to the Forum to decide the exact details of its execution but it is essential as part of the processes of Continuous Improvement and Validated Learning so both the Value Manager and Tech Lead are responsible to facilitate the required Time and Trust to unfold it.