People often learn about CAPED (Complexity-Aware Planning, Estimation, & Delivery) while they’re in the middle of a big project, and it suddenly becomes clear that they haven’t been working complexity-first. Not a problem! While CAPED is designed to tackle complexity at the start of a big initiative, it can still be useful for a project that’s already in flight.
In last week’s CAPED webinar, after we gave an overview of the benefits of tackling complexity early with Active Planning, we asked participants for examples of initiatives that would benefit from the CAPED approach. One participant said, “I can’t think of a large project that wouldn’t benefit.”
Most big things worth doing have a big dose of complexity. They’re new things for humans, usually bigger than what one team can do independently.
But if you haven’t started with the complex part, and you realize it while the project is in-flight, what do you do next?
Feature Mining is our favorite tool for identifying the first slice of a big initiative. But it can also be used to find the next slice in a big initiative.
If you are already working on a big initiative, you can do Assumption and Complexity Mapping from CAPED Phase 1 and Feature Mining from CAPED Phase 2 in parallel with the work that is in-flight. Then take the MMF(s) from Feature Mining, refine them into stories, and move them to the top of the appropriate backlog(s) for their next Sprint.
Sound interesting for what you’re working on?
Or join us at our upcoming Certified CAPED Consultant workshop to get equipped to bring CAPED to your organization.
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