When I build release plans, or even look at release plans of other projects, I end up running through a checklist of things in my mind, to determine if it is good enough. If you are an Agile PM trying to build a plan, this could be useful for you.
| Iterations | Is the length of the iteration enough to be able to complete a medium size story within it ? Do the number of iterations fit well within the acceptable timeline ? Can we assume a production quality build after every iteration ? |
| Estimation | Are the stories sized relatively ? Does the team understand the estimation unit across all roles ? |
| Velocity | Is the planned velocity, the average velocity of last 3 iterations ? If its a new project, are we planning based on a raw velocity exercise ? Are team members across roles in planning the velocity ? |
| Resource ramp up | Is there time factored in for new people to ramp up on the team ? |
| Ordering of stories | Are the stories ordered around the critical path functionality ? (Always remember the critical path determines the schedule) Are the higher priority stories slotted for earlier iterations ? Are the stories ordered so that they meet any functional or technical dependencies? |
| Negotiable Scope | Are there some “nice to have” stories in the plan which can be later negotiated if need be to bring the project on track ? |
| Spikes / Proof of Concepts | For technical unknowns, are there spike stories which allow the team to explore technical solutions ? |
| Non functional requirements | Is there clarity on requirements for Performance, Security, Scalability and how they are going to be addressed ? |
| Functional Automation | Will developers do functional automation as a part of a story or this will be done as a part of QA ? |
| Regression/Stabilization | Is there a need for a separate regression/stabilization iteration once the development is complete ? |
| User Acceptance Testing | How much time is required to UAT the set of stories the team will deliver ? |
| Risks | Does the team understand how much risk is there in the plan ? Are these risks shared with the customer ? |
good list. I guess missing some bits on the people front - leaves, crazies in your team, rotations etc., but a lot can be covered under "Resource ramp up".
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