Master
ThoughtWorks
Menü
schließen
  • Unsere Services
    • Übersicht
    • Customer Experience, Produkt und Design
    • Data Strategy, Engineering und Analytics
    • Digitale Transformation und Operations
    • Enterprise Modernization, Plattformen und Cloud
  • Unsere Kunden
    • Übersicht
    • Automobil
    • Gesundheit
    • Öffentlicher Sektor
    • Clientech, Energie und Versorgung
    • Medien
    • Handel und E-Commerce
    • Banken und Versicherungen
    • Non-Profit
    • Reise und Transport
  • Insights
    • Übersicht
    • Unsere Empfehlungen

      • Technologie

        Ausführliche Betrachtungen neuer Technologien.

      • Business

        Aktuelle Business-Insights, Strategien und Impulse für digitale Querdenker.

      • Kultur

        Insights zu Karrieremöglichkeiten und unsere Sicht auf soziale Gerechtigkeit und Inklusivität.

    • Digitale Veröffentlichungen und Tools

      • Technology Radar

        Unser Leitfaden für aktuelle Technologietrends.

      • Perspectives

        Unsere Publikation für digitale Vordenker*innen

      • Digital Fluency Model

        Ein Modell zur Priorisierung digitaler Fähigkeiten, um für das Unvorhersehbare bereit zu sein.

      • Decoder

        Der Technology-Guide für Business Entscheider

    • Alle Insights

      • Artikel

        Expertenwissen für Ihr Unternehmen.

      • Blogs

        Persönliche Perspektiven von ThoughtWorkern aus aller Welt.

      • Bücher

        Stöbern Sie durch unsere umfangreiche Bibliothek.

      • Podcasts

        Spannende Gespräche über das Neueste aus Business und Technologie.

  • Karriere
    • Übersicht
    • Bewerbungsprozess

      Finde heraus, was dich in unserem Bewerbungsprozess erwartet.

    • Hochschulabsovent*innen und Quereinsteiger*innen

      Dein Einstieg in die IT-Welt.

    • Stellenangebote

      Finde offene Stellen in deiner Region.

    • In Kontakt bleiben

      Abonniere unsere monatlichen Updates.

  • Über uns
    • Übersicht
    • Unsere Mission
    • Awards und Auszeichnungen
    • Vielfalt, Gleichberechtigung, Inklusion
    • Management
    • Partnerschaften
    • Neuigkeiten
    • Konferenzen und Events
  • Kontakt
Germany | Deutsch
  • United States United States
    English
  • China China
    中文 | English
  • India India
    English
  • Canada Canada
    English
  • Singapore Singapore
    English
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom
    English
  • Australia Australia
    English
  • Germany Germany
    English | Deutsch
  • Brazil Brazil
    English | Português
  • Spain Spain
    English | Español
  • Global Global
    English
Blogs
Wählen Sie ein Thema
Alle Themen ansehenschließen
Technologie 
Agiles Projektmanagement Cloud Continuous Delivery  Data Science & Engineering Defending the Free Internet Evolutionäre Architekturen Experience Design IoT Sprachen, Tools & Frameworks Modernisierung bestehender Alt-Systeme Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Microservices Plattformen Sicherheit Software Testing Technologiestrategie 
Geschäft 
Financial Services Global Health Innovation Retail  Transformation 
Karriere 
Karriere Hacks Diversity und Inclusion Social Change 
Blogs

Themen

Thema auswählen
  • Technologie
    Technologie
  • Technologie Überblick
  • Agiles Projektmanagement
  • Cloud
  • Continuous Delivery
  • Data Science & Engineering
  • Defending the Free Internet
  • Evolutionäre Architekturen
  • Experience Design
  • IoT
  • Sprachen, Tools & Frameworks
  • Modernisierung bestehender Alt-Systeme
  • Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
  • Microservices
  • Plattformen
  • Sicherheit
  • Software Testing
  • Technologiestrategie
  • Geschäft
    Geschäft
  • Geschäft Überblick
  • Financial Services
  • Global Health
  • Innovation
  • Retail
  • Transformation
  • Karriere
    Karriere
  • Karriere Überblick
  • Karriere Hacks
  • Diversity und Inclusion
  • Social Change
Agiles ProjektmanagementTechnologie

Epics: What Are They Good For?

Lourenço P. Soares Lourenço P. Soares

Published: Sep 9, 2014

The role of epics in agile analysis

Some time ago, Alexandre Klaser and I presented the Goal-based Prioritization framework, which describes a table where the columns are hypotheses to be tested and lines are levels of refinement. We were asked about the role of epics in this framework and that got me thinking. My first thought was that epics don’t have a role to play at all.

But then again, sometimes they do. I believe there are scenarios where the concept of an epic makes sense (e.g.: when a story is found to be too big – in this case, we can make it an epic until we split it into smaller stories), but I do not like the idea of writing epics and then dividing them into stories. When we do that, we are coming from a presumed set of functionalities, and describing it as stories.

When epics are used this way, we must assume that these requirements are already known and are simply being put on paper. I call this the Inductive Model. This model starts from a problem, to an imagined solution to the problem, which is divided into a set of features described by epics, and these epics become stories.

Problem → Solution → Features →  Epics →  Stories → Working software

This sequence assumes that the best solution to the problem is the one initially thought of, and that the software that represents the solution (and therefore solves the problem) will be obtained when all features are implemented as described in the epics (and consequently in the stories). So far, so good. But how do we know that all the features described are necessary to provide the solution? And more: why are we so sure that the imagined solution actually solves the problem? And finally, how is the problem in question related to the business goals?

The Inductive Model is appropriate in situations where the cost of changing your mind is very high, so we invest a lot of time specifying what should be done to make sure we are doing the right thing. Luckily, today’s software is not limited by the ability to change it (if it ever was). On the other hand, the inductive model can lead to an uncontrolled increase in the scope, because there is no opportunity to validate how much is enough. This leads to a temptation of just adding all features that will ensure that the problem will be solved. Even in mature teams, the consequence of this previous analysis is a full backlog.

Generative vs. Inductive

What strikes me as odd is that the Inductive Model prescribes what should be done as opposed to the result to be obtained, and this results in a "closed" solution that leaves no room for discovery and innovation. What we propose with Goal-Based Prioritization - the way we use the project goals to derive progressively more rounded-up solutions - is a "Generative" model of analysis. The Generative Model seeks to make the business goal "generate" the user stories that will fulfil it. To do this, we assume that there is a problem to be solved, and come up with assumptions of what we believe will bring us closer to meet that goal, thus:

Objective → Hypothesis → Stories → Working software

The first thing you might notice is that this is a beeline for working software. This does not mean we would deliver the same volume of user stories in less time, but that the work is done in smaller increments and validation for that specific goal happens earlier. Another benefit is that it assumes very little, since it does not presume that there is a correct solution.

Someone may wonder if using this model could ever deliver the “required” functionality, given that they are not formally described. It is impossible to answer this without another question: Who "requires" that functionality? The analyst? The manager? The only person who can legitimately need some software, is the end user of that software. The design team should meet only the needs of this user, so any "required" functionality for the  project team is solely the opinion of the staff as to what would meet the user's needs. No effort of analysis, in my experience, is enough to identify it. Working software is the best measure of success in this regard.

Master
Datenschutz | Modern Slavery statement | Barrierefreies Webdesign
Connect with us
×

WeChat

QR code to ThoughtWorks China WeChat subscription account
© 2021 ThoughtWorks, Inc.