Archive for the ‘Gathering intel’ Category
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We’re moving forward with the project to the point that we need to pin down just how the service will work, so we know exactly what we’re building.
Within the framework of Agile software development, this phase of the project consists of writing user stories. With a service like this one, this phase consists of writing a lot of user stories. Each of the index cards on this very large wall is at least one user story (some are epic user stories, which, as the name suggests, means they need some breaking down):
User stories are short statements that describe what users want to do. Each user story specifies which type of user we are talking about (for example, an administrator versus an unregistered user) and then says what they want to do. Each also includes acceptance criteria — how we will know the goal of the user story has been met. Here’s an example:
As an SME, I want to report an internationalisation success story. [Acceptance criteria: success story must be attached to company name]
As you can probably surmise, the user story process is a long one, and the more you want your service to do, the longer the process takes! Last week we pulled together a group that included both UKTI representatives and Made by Many folks, and we got to work on the first round of user stories.
We made some headway on the project but the work is nowhere near done. Over the coming weeks we’ll continue generating new user stories and refining the ones we have until we are satisfied they are all clear and complete. From there we will estimate each (how much effort they take) and then prioritise them. The goal is to structure work so we release working software sooner than later, and then improve on or add to it in an iterative way.
We should be able to post more user stories in a more readable format in the next couple of weeks… we just need to work through a two-inch stack of index cards first!
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Made by Many arrived back from Austin on Thursday after five days of rather intense thought and debate at SXSWi.
I attended a range of sessions on communication, cross-channel storytelling, creativity, and so on. One of the things I noticed over the course of the conference was the development of several themes. I don’t think this was a deliberate move by speakers and organisers; rather, I think the community as a whole is talking about these things right now.
Two of these themes — failure and creative leadership — are especially relevant to this project and the community of business start-ups, and for that reason I’d like to unpack them here. Any comments are very, very welcome — this is designed to start conversations rather than lay down an edict of how things should be!
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The team at Made by Many — including Tom, Mike and I — is heading off to Austin, Texas this Thursday. We’re attending SXSW interactive, a five-day conference on just about everything to do with digital technology and innovation.
SXSW is stacked with opportunities to learn and network. Every day there are panel discussions, round tables and workshops on everything from content to start-up tips to development, mobile apps, and design. We each plan to attend several sessions that support the work we’re doing on Going Global.
Going Global meets the Digital Mission
Mike and I have spoken with Sam Michel of Chinwag Digital Missions, both about Going Global and about the changing needs of tech entrepreneurs looking to enter new markets. Sam will be leading a mission to SXSW and he has invited us to stop by a Digital Mission event and chat with participants — the very people we hope will use this service — about their experiences taking their businesses to new countries. We’re really looking forward to this.
This should be a fantastic opportunity for us to gather further insights, both into the challenges businesses are facing, and in regards to the solutions and tools they’re looking for. Everything we learn will we incorporated into the work we’re doing here, and we’ll also upload a post-SXSW write-up once we’re back in Blighty.
UK Technology Global Markets group