Introduction
The journey from conceptualization to the successful launch of a new feature is an intricate process that relies on effective collaboration and communication among team members. As a Technical Project Manager and Scrum Master, I work with product, design, development, and QA teams to bring software features from ideation to launch. In this blog post, I want to give you a behind-the-scenes look at our team's new feature development process, showcasing the different stages and the importance of effective communication and coordination at each step.
Stage 1: New Feature Tech Assessment
The process begins with a New Feature Tech Assessment meeting, during which the product team presents the basic concept and requirements of the proposed feature to the technical team. This meeting allows the product team to gain a preliminary understanding of the feature's complexity and ensures that all parties are aligned on the objectives and expectations.
Stage 2: Requirements and Design
Following the initial meeting, the product team finalizes the detailed requirements for the feature and adds them to the Feature Release Hub. Concurrently, the design team creates visual representations of the feature. These designs are also added to the Release Hub, preparing the project for the next stage.
Stage 3: Design Presentation
The Design Presentation is a crucial stage in which the design team presents their work to the product, engineering, and QA teams. This meeting facilitates open communication, allowing developers to ask questions, provide feedback, and ensure they understand the feature's design and functionality. During this meeting, smaller tasks called child issues are created to guide the development process.
Stage 4: Engineering Preparation
The engineering team is then responsible for finalizing any remaining child issues and organizing them under the "Needs Grooming" category. Weekly backlog grooming sessions are conducted to review these issues, refine their details, and move them to the "Ready" status when they are prepared for development.
Stage 5: Feature Planning Session
Once all child issues have been reviewed and refined, a Feature Planning Session takes place. During this meeting, the team adds the issues to upcoming sprints and estimates the timeline for User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
Stage 6: Development, Testing, and Release
After the developers have completed their work on the feature and internal testing has been conducted, the project moves to UAT. Users test the feature and provide feedback, which the team addresses accordingly. Once any issues have been resolved, the feature is released.
Conclusion:
Our team's new feature development process emphasizes collaboration, communication, and thorough preparation at each stage. By continuously refining our process and learning from past experiences, we strive to create exceptional products that meet the needs and expectations of our customers.