40.7. You Know You Didn't Understand Iterative Planning When…
- All the iterations are speculatively planned in detail, with the work and objectives for each iteration predicted.
- Early estimates in inception or the first iteration of elaboration are expected to be reliable, and are used to make long-term project commitments; to generalize, reliable estimates are expected with trivial or light-weight investigation.
- Easy problems or low-risk issues are tackled in early iterations.
If an organization's estimation and planning process looks something like the following, planning in the UP was not understood:
1. | At the start of an annual planning phase, new systems or features are identified at a high level; for instance, "Web system for account management." |
2. | Technical managers are given a short period to speculatively estimate the effort and duration for large, expensive, or risky projects, often involving new technologies. |
3. | The plan and budget of projects are established for the year. |
4. | Stakeholders are concerned when actual projects do not match original estimates. Go to Step 1. |
This approach lacks realistic and iteratively refined estimation based upon serious investigation as promoted by the UP.