Master
ThoughtWorks
Menu
Close
  • What we do
    • Go to overview
    • Customer Experience, Product and Design
    • Data Strategy, Engineering and Analytics
    • Digital Transformation and Operations
    • Enterprise Modernization, Platforms and Cloud
  • Who we work with
    • Go to overview
    • Automotive
    • Healthcare
    • Public Sector
    • Cleantech, Energy and Utilities
    • Media and Publishing
    • Retail and E-commerce
    • Financial Services and Insurance
    • Not-for-profit
    • Travel and Transport
  • Insights
    • Go to overview
    • Featured

      • Technology

        An in-depth exploration of enterprise technology and engineering excellence

      • Business

        Keep up to date with the latest business and industry insights for digital leaders

      • Culture

        The place for career-building content and tips, and our view on social justice and inclusivity

    • Digital Publications and Tools

      • Technology Radar

        An opinionated guide to technology frontiers

      • Perspectives

        A publication for digital leaders

      • Digital Fluency Model

        A model for prioritizing the digital capabilities needed to navigate uncertainty

      • Decoder

        The business execs' A-Z guide to technology

    • All Insights

      • Articles

        Expert insights to help your business grow

      • Blogs

        Personal perspectives from ThoughtWorkers around the globe

      • Books

        Explore our extensive library

      • Podcasts

        Captivating conversations on the latest in business and tech

  • Careers
    • Go to overview
    • Application process

      What to expect as you interview with us

    • Grads and career changers

      Start your tech career on the right foot

    • Search jobs

      Find open positions in your region

    • Stay connected

      Sign up for our monthly newsletter

  • About
    • Go to overview
    • Our Purpose
    • Awards and Recognition
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Our Leaders
    • Partnerships
    • News
    • Conferences and Events
  • Contact
Global | English
  • 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
Select a topic
View all topicsClose
Technology 
Agile Project Management Cloud Continuous Delivery  Data Science & Engineering Defending the Free Internet Evolutionary Architecture Experience Design IoT Languages, Tools & Frameworks Legacy Modernization Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Microservices Platforms Security Software Testing Technology Strategy 
Business 
Financial Services Global Health Innovation Retail  Transformation 
Careers 
Career Hacks Diversity & Inclusion Social Change 
Blogs

Topics

Choose a topic
  • Technology
    Technology
  • Technology Overview
  • Agile Project Management
  • Cloud
  • Continuous Delivery
  • Data Science & Engineering
  • Defending the Free Internet
  • Evolutionary Architecture
  • Experience Design
  • IoT
  • Languages, Tools & Frameworks
  • Legacy Modernization
  • Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
  • Microservices
  • Platforms
  • Security
  • Software Testing
  • Technology Strategy
  • Business
    Business
  • Business Overview
  • Financial Services
  • Global Health
  • Innovation
  • Retail
  • Transformation
  • Careers
    Careers
  • Careers Overview
  • Career Hacks
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Social Change
Agile Project ManagementTechnology

The Problem with Roll-ups

Suzie Prince Suzie Prince

Published: Jul 27, 2012

In a multi-team environment, rolling up data hides valuable information about progress toward objectives.

Great customer experiences require the coordination and cooperation of multiple teams. This is especially true of Agile projects that depend on delivering customer value rapidly, regularly and reliably. Such teams need to work together while retaining the unique processes that suit their individual contexts. 



Even though business objectives may cross multiple teams, the complexity each team manages will significantly impact its process. It is also likely that the effort distributed across teams will vary from objective to objective. Rolling up data to calculate a single metric can hide this variation, giving misleading forecasts about progress toward objectives. Let's look at the example scenario below.



Common Scenario

Let’s look at the following scenario to understand how the distribution of effort influences the way we measure progress across multiple teams. Team Chicago and Team Bangalore are supporting a common goal, which has a total of 40 stories. Team Chicago is managing 5 of these stories and Team Bangalore is working on 35

RU1.png

 

Analyzing the progress of the teams below:

RU2.png

RU3.png

 

Incorrect Report of Program progress

Taking a look at the cumulative burn-up for the common goal involving the 2 teams, we see that the forecasted completion date is January 15, well before January 21 when Team Bangalore is likely to finish its work. Because the common goal cannot be completed until both teams finish their work, the business is constrained by Team Banglore's throughput, even if Team Chicago has already finished its work. Rolling up data, the cumulative burn-up generates an overly optimistic forecast, misleading the business about the reality of the situation. Looking at the individual burn-ups, however, provides the more accurate completion forecast of January 21.

RU4.png

  • Alerts that indicate where attention is needed
  • Project-specific progress bars and forecasting that do not mask information
  • Forecasts with scope changes that provide information that can help guide decisions



Sign-up here to see how Mingle Plus can help you accurately plan and track your program's progress.

 

 

Master
Privacy policy | Modern Slavery statement | Accessibility
Connect with us
×

WeChat

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