Tools for Drawing Software Development Process

[David Grant]

Hi,

I would like to draw the process my team currently follows from identifying
a business need through to deployment of working software.

My goal is to identify bottlenecks with the team, and resolve these
problems in the spirit of continuous improvement, perhaps even getting so
far as to bear some passing resemblance to Scrum.

I believe visualising the process we follow may help this.

Does anyone have any recommendations for tools that can be used to draw a
business process? I can draw on a whiteboard, but it'd be nice to see
where we came from, and the steps we took.

Many thanks,

Dave

P.S. any other comments, including that I'm barking up the wrong tree, are
welcome!

[a***@gmail.com]

Hi David, You pretty much described Kanban :) I'd suggest drawing your flow as a Kanban value stream and start working with a Kanban board. Read David Anderson's Kanban book - I think you'll find he describes exactly what you are looking for. Good luck and keep us posted! Abi

[Ron Jeffries]

Hi ...

Does anyone have any recommendations for tools that can be used to draw a business process? I can draw on a whiteboard, but it'd be nice to see where we came from, and the steps we took.

For the team to own the process (which they are supposed to do, as you know), they need to own the diagram. Put it on a whiteboard, with sticky notes and markers. If you want history, that's why God put a camera in your phone.

Ron Jeffries
www.XProgramming.com
Sometimes you just have to stop holding on with both hands, both feet, and your tail, to get someplace better.
Of course you might plummet to the earth and die, but probably not: you were made for this.

[David Grant]

Today was our team retrospective, and I've written up the process we
followed. The activity is pretty much as Ron described:

http://adaptivelogic.co.uk/2014/01/21/mapping-the-value-stream-as-a-team-activity/

The activity was really useful: the team figured out that they didn't
really realise what process they were following (the organisation isn't
particularly mature with respect to software development), and raised a
number of very useful discussions which we're going to take forward.

Dave


On Fri, Jan 17, 2014 at 3:55 PM, David Grant <

Hi Ron,
I'd had a conversation with one of the SMs I work with who said the same
thing about ownership. My initial goal was to draw what _I_ thought it was
the process, then compare it with the team's point of view, but perhaps
that's just wasteful.
You make a good point about the camera. I'd wanted to be able to tweak it
after resolving bottlenecks so I don't have to redraw it frequently, but
maybe I'm overestimating the speed at which we can resolve them.
Sounds like we've got a fun activity for our next retrospective!
Dave
--
David Grant
Principal Consultant
Adaptive Logic Consulting Ltd <http://adaptivelogic.co.uk/>
<https://www.facebook.com/adaptivelogic> <https://twitter.com/adaptive_logic>
<http://www.linkedin.com/company/adaptive-logic-consulting-ltd>

[a***@gmail.com]

Hi Dave, I just saw your reply and follow up. Sounds like you are in the right direction, I'll go through the process you posted - thanks for sharing it. Best wishes and don't hesitate to ask if the need arises. Avi

[David Grant]

Hi Abi,

I read about value stream maps in Lean Software Development and am in the
middle (well, near the beginning actually) of reading the Kanban book.
This is the direction I'd hope to head. I'd be glad to keep you posted.

Dave

[David Grant]

Hi Ron,

I'd had a conversation with one of the SMs I work with who said the same
thing about ownership. My initial goal was to draw what _I_ thought it was
the process, then compare it with the team's point of view, but perhaps
that's just wasteful.

You make a good point about the camera. I'd wanted to be able to tweak it
after resolving bottlenecks so I don't have to redraw it frequently, but
maybe I'm overestimating the speed at which we can resolve them.

Sounds like we've got a fun activity for our next retrospective!

Dave