The document discusses bringing clarity and harmony to product release planning. It uses a metaphor comparing chaotic product releases to the mythical Kraken, and advocates eliminating politics and last-minute heroics from the release planning process. The document presents a release planning canvas template to help structure discussions and provide transparency around objectives, stakeholders, timelines, risks, and success metrics for each release.

1. 1

2. 2
DON’T RELEASE THE KRAKEN
OR
BRINGING CLARITY AND HARMONY TO PRODUCT
RELEASE PLANNING
Saeed Khan
@saeedwkhan
March 29, 2019

3. 3
Visible
Decisions

4. 4
We help companies build great
products and great product
organizations.
• Workshops, Coaching & Mentoring
• New Product Research / Discovery
• Strategy / Roadmapping
• Positioning & Messaging
• Implementing Metrics for
Continuous Improvement in People,
Process & Products
skhan@transformationlabs.io
@saeedwkhan

6. ON MOUNT OLYMPUS

7. THE GODS ARE
MEETING

8. ZEUS IS
LISTENING…

9. …TO HADES

10. HADES CONVINCES ZEUS
TO…

11. RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!

12. THE FEARLESS HERO

13. SPRINGS INTO ACTION

14. AND JUST AS THE KRAKEN IS ABOUT
TO…

15. …HARM THE PEOPLE

16. THE HERO SAVES THE DAY

17. AND STOPS THE KRAKEN DEAD IN ITS
TRACKS

18. THE END

20. AT A MANAGEMENT
OFFSITE

21. THE EXECUTIVES ARE
MEETING

22. THE CEO IS LISTENING…

23. …TO THE VP SALES

24. THE VP CONVINCES THE CEO
TO…

25. RELEASE THE PRODUCT!!!

26. THE FEARLESS PRODUCT
MANAGER

27. SPRINGS INTO ACTION

28. AND JUST AS THE PRODUCT IS ABOUT
TO…

29. …HARM THE USERS

30. THE PRODUCT MANAGER SAVES THE
DAY…

31. …AND STOPS THE RELEASE IN ITS TRACKS

32. THE END

33. Politics
Heroics

34. Politics:
the exertion of power,
influence or authority by
interested parties in a given
situation.

36. Heroics:
being extraordinarily bold,
determined and altruistic, in
a given situation.

38. Release
The actual software
(functionality, features,
binaries etc.) created
by engineering teams.
Launch
The action of making
the software release
available to customers,
users, the public etc.

39. Maintenance (or Bug Fix) Release
Code to address important issues or defects found in the
software.
Typically made available as soon as code is ready.

40. Minor Feature Release
A small (tactical) feature set of incremental value to the
company and market.
Made available once code is ready or when needed. (Based
on policy or business needs).

41. Major Functional Release
A set of new capabilities or improvements requiring LARGE
effort and providing significant value to the company and
the market.
Typically made available in alignment with other business
activities.

42. 28%
every 3-6 months
23%
> 6 months apart
ow often do you plan major feature release
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningSurvey - Survey is still open. Add your voice.

43. 44%
For their team
30%
Across teams
Have a well understood, clear &
consistent
release planning process
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningSurvey - Survey is still open. Add your voice.

44. 58%
Align release plans with a
well-defined product roadmap
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningSurvey - Survey is still open. Add your voice.

45. 41%
Have a well understood
prioritization process
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningSurvey - Survey is still open. Add your voice.

46. 47%
Have a clear way to measure success
once
the work is complete
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningSurvey - Survey is still open. Add your voice.

47. 44%
Consistent release
planning process
41%
Consistent
prioritization
process
58%
Align release
plans with a
roadmap
X X =

48. Source: Standish Group

49. Release

50. Release

51. WHEN YOU GO SHOPPING, YOU WANT
THIS…

52. BUT YOU GET THIS

53. Release
Support
Prod
Mgmt
Marketing
Sales
Engineering

54. “A problem well
stated is a problem
half solved.”
Charles Kettering

55. Product RoadmapTime & Goal
based articulation of
Product Strategy
Product Strategy“How & Why” to achieve
Product Objectives
Release 2 Release 3
Product ObjectivesWhat the Product needs
to achieve
Product VisionThe aspirational product
goal
Business Vision, Objectives, StrategyThe Framework under
which the business runs
Release

56. How to measure progress
and success?
When is delivery & What
can derail the plan?
Who is involved & who
performs the work
Who are we building for
and what do they need?
Why are we working on
this release?
Release
Metrics
Timelines & Risks
Stakeholders, Skills & Resources
User & Feature Prioritization
Release Objectives

57. Key Questions to Answer
• Why are we planning this release?
• Who are the key stakeholders?
• When do we need to deliver?
• Who are we building this for?
• What is the required functionality?
• What risks/challenges do we expect?
• How will we know we’ve succeeded?
• What else must be completed?

58. Objectives
Why
Stakeholders
Who(Internal)
Milestones/Dates
When(do we expect…)
Personas
Who(Customer/Market)
Epics/Functionality
What(will be delivered)
Challenges/Risks
What(are the uncertainties)
Metrics
How(do we know we succeeded)
Other Activities
What(else is there)

60. A (mostly) real example
Vision – the easiest way for
retirement homes to schedule
resident activities and share that
information with residents and
families.

61. Key Personas
• Retirement home management
• Retirement home staff
• Residents
• Family Members
• Application Administrator

62. ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018

63. ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.

64. ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)

65. - Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target launch in 5 months
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018

66. - Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target launch in 5 months
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Retirement Home Staff
- Resident
- Family Members
Management & Admin needs to be addressed in
future releases.

67. - Retirement Home Staff
- Resident
- Family Members
Management & Admin needs to be addressed in
future releases.
- Simple Resident Profile (E221)
- Activity Setup (single event, simple recurring event) (E224)
- Activity registration by staff only (E237)
- Full visibility of overall activity calendar, and resident calendar (E231, E232)
-View-only access for residents’ family members (E241)
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target release 5 months

68. - Retirement Home Staff
- Resident
- Family Members
Management & Admin needs to be addressed in
future releases.
- Simple Resident Profile (E221)
- Activity Setup (single event, simple recurring event) (E224)
- Activity registration by staff only (E237)
- Full visibility of overall activity calendar, and resident calendar (E231, E232)
-View-only access for residents’ family members (E241)
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target release 5 months
-Angular/React ramp up for team
- Must close 2 open headcount on team
- Unclear who will participate in Beta.

69. - Retirement Home Staff
- Resident
- Family Members
Management & Admin needs to be addressed in
future releases.
- Simple Resident Profile (E221)
- Activity Setup (single event, simple recurring event) (E224)
- Activity registration by staff only (E237)
- Full visibility of overall activity calendar, and resident calendar (E231, E232)
-View-only access for residents’ family members (E241)
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018
- Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- Russel C (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target release 5 months
-Angular/React ramp up for team
- Must close 2 open headcount on team
- Unclear who will participate in Beta.
- % Story completion
- % Defects deferred
- % Automated test coverage
- New stories created during sprints
- Beta customer conversions

70. - Focus on individual retirement home needs. Not groups.
-Web support for desktop & tablet. No App in this version.
- Simple to understand and quick time to value capabilities.
- Keep v1 focused and easy to use.
- SamW (PM)
- Cate B (PMM/Mktg)
- Liam H (Eng)
- RusselC (Sales)
- Margot R (Support)
-Team up-to-speed in month 1
- 4 month dev cycle
- Beta starts in month 3
-Target launch in 5 months
- Retirement Home Staff
- Resident
- Family Members
Management & Admin needs to be addressed
in future releases.
- Simple Resident Profile (E221)
-Activity Setup (single event, simple recurring event) (E224)
-Activity registration by staff only (E237)
- Full visibility of overall activity calendar, and resident calendar (E231, E232)
-View-only access for residents’ family members (E241)
-Angular/React ramp up for team
- Must close 2 open headcount on team
- Unclear who will participate in Beta.
- % Story completion
- % Defects deferred
- % Automated test coverage
- New stories created during sprints
- Beta customer conversions
- Beta recruiting must begin early
- Create training class for home staff
- Investigate import tool for home resident
information
ActiveLife v1.0 18/10/2018

71. Release

72. Release

73. ELIMINATE THE POLITICS IN RELEASE
PLANNING

74. REMOVE THE NEED FOR LAST-MINUTE
HEROICS

75. RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!

76. THANK YOU
One more
thing…

77. Your thoughts on the talk?
3 questions, 30 seconds.
http://bit.ly/ltpkrak
enWant to download the
Release Planning Canvas?
http://bit.ly/ReleasePlanningCan
vas

78. 78
DON’T RELEASE THE KRAKEN
OR
BRINGING CLARITY AND HARMONY TO PRODUCT
RELEASE PLANNING
Saeed Khan
@saeedwkhan
March 26, 2019