Terms from the world of agile project methodology

  • What is a Burn-Down-Chart?
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    A burn-down chart visualizes a team's progress in a sprint. Every day the chart is updated by the team in order to have an up-to-date overview of the course of the sprint.
  • What means Checkpoint-Phase?
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    Within an agile contract model, costs and deadlines are only fixed after an initial test phase (known as the checkpoint phase).
  • What means Daily in agile processes?
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    Every day, in the same place, at the same time and time-boxed (15 minutes): The daily is an important part of agile development methods. It is a stand-up meeting that serves as the daily status meeting for the team. The following three questions are briefly answered by each team member: What have I done since the last Daily? What am I planning to do? What hinders me?
  • What means Definition of Done?
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    The definition of done determines when done is really done! It must therefore be known to everyone involved and everyone must have understood what “done” means.
  • What is an epic in the agile process?
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    Epics describe a specific requirement for a product at a coarse-grained level. Details don't play a role yet. Epics are later broken down into detailed user stories.
  • What means Estimation Meeting?
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    At this meeting, the team gets to know the user stories for the first time. Then they appreciate the range of functions of the stories (Planning Poker cards are often used here). The product owner presents the user stories here and is available for questions. At the end there is an estimated product backlog that is ready for planning.
  • What means Exchange-for-Free?
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    Within the framework of the agile fixed price, Exchange-for-free means that user stories can be variably adapted and optimized quickly and without additional costs until the next sprint is scheduled and thus implemented.
  • What means Impediment?
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    Impediments are any obstacles that stand in the way of the team. It can be anything from a broken keyboard to an incomprehensible user story.
  • What is meant by Kanban?
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    Originally from the automotive industry, the term Kanban was also adopted for the IT world. The idea behind the development method is that the work is visualized on a board and the number of tickets that are already being processed is limited. All tasks are divided into to do, work in progress and done on a Kanban board. Each team member takes on new tasks as soon as their tasks are completed. The aim is to reduce throughput times and map bottlenecks.
  • What is planning in the agile process?
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    Planning is often divided into two phases: In the first phase, the "what" is clarified, in the second the "how". In the first part, every user story is analyzed and must be understood by the whole team. Technical conditions, acceptance criteria and the level of done are recorded. In the second phase, solutions are developed for how the user stories can be implemented. The aim is that in the end all members know what needs to be implemented and how.
  • What is a Product Backlog?
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    All backlog items that the product owner considers important are collected in the product backlog. They are prioritized and sorted by importance.
  • What does a Product Owner do?
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    The product owner is responsible for the vision and also for the return on investment. He defines the desired product and communicates his wishes to the team. At the end of a sprint, he is the one who approves the product increment.
  • What is a retrospective in agile methodology?
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    The review takes place at the end of each sprint. Here the team presents the results of their work. During the review, feedback is obtained and any improvements noted.
  • What does retrospective mean in agile methodology?
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    After each sprint there is also a retrospective. It serves to illuminate and question the past sprint in order to work even more efficiently or effectively in the future.
  • What does risk share mean in agile methodology?
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    With an agile fixed price, risk share means that both parties share in the additional work that is caused by the unforeseeable happening.
  • What means Scrum?
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    Scrum is an iterative process model in agile software development. Projects are not planned completely and in detail in advance, but are refined step by step. Incidentally, the term scrum originally comes from rugby.
  • What does a Scrum Master do?
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    The Scrum Master stands behind the team, he is the one who removes impediments and ensures optimal working conditions. At the same time, he acts as a coach and moderator. Incidentally, he is not authorized to give instructions to the team, but leads the team laterally.
  • What means Scope?
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    In the context of the agile fixed price, the scope is the extent of a project. This scope is checked again after the first sprints and adjusted as necessary.
  • What is a sprint in the agile process?
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    The team undertakes to implement a certain number of user stories within a certain period of time (usually 2 to 4 weeks). This fixed period of time is called a sprint.
  • What are Story Points?
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    User stories are provided with so-called story points. These represent the complexity or the range of functions of a story. Many teams use the planning poker method for estimating.
  • What does user story mean?
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    User stories are always structured according to the following pattern: As (user type) I would like to (do the following) in order to (achieve a specific goal). Above all, it is important that they are always written from the perspective of the user. In addition, user stories are not long novels, but a maximum of two sentences.
  • What does task board mean in agile methodology?
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    The task board provides a visual overview: Here, several columns show which user stories are in which status (to do, work in progress, testing, done). The stories are divided into individual tasks, which are then moved to the respective column.
  • What does velocity mean in an agile team?
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    Agile development is often referred to as team velocity. This is a key figure that shows how many story points a development team has processed within a sprint.