How To Provide a Release Plan Without Losing Agility - Mike Cohn

How To Provide a Release Plan Without Losing Agility - Mike Cohn

Stakeholders want to know what will be delivered, and when.
Your team wants to stay agile.
So how do you create a roadmap (aka release plan or milestone plan) without locking down every detail?

I’m about to start on a road trip between Idaho and Colorado: a 16-hour drive. I know where I’m going, and my general route, but I don’t know every turn I’ll take — and that’s fine.
That’s how agile teams should treat release plans and roadmaps.
My route is a plan, not a promise. It’s not set in stone. The turns I made and my ETA could change based on roadwork, traffic congestion, an opportunity for an exciting detour, or even a flat tire. The further the distance I have to travel, the more uncertainty I should expect.
Agile plans are the same. We can’t predict every eventuality, but we can provide a forecast. We can provide a general idea of where we are planning to go, a predicted range of when we will likely hit key milestones, and our confidence level in the plan.

Most agile teams know there’s too much uncertainty to make guarantees. At the same time, they feel like a guarantee is the only thing stakeholders will accept.
Here’s what agile teams might be missing: Stakeholders have their own plans to make. And they are just as worried about being held accountable to their predictions as teams are.
Stakeholders need accurate delivery dates and milestones (note I didn’t say precise). They crave predictability.
Sometimes it might feel like they’re asking for a guarantee. But in truth, the only way to give them absolute certainty is to

• Overpad your estimates (like me telling someone my 16-hour drive will take 24, just in case), or
• Refuse to adapt when conditions change.
  

Neither is good for the product, or the team.

So what can you do when a stakeholder seems to want a guarantee vs a forecast? Try this: Talk to stakeholders in terms they understand.
Here’s one technique I’ve found helpful:
Compare their request to requests for similar forecasts in their own domain.
For example:

• Ask a salesperson what their comfort level would be if they were asked to guarantee exactly how much they’ll sell — and which customers they’ll close — in each of the next six months, or in the first year of a product’s release.
• Ask a marketing person what their concerns would be if asked to commit to specific campaign results with exact timelines.

Don’t be confrontational. The point isn’t to trap them — it’s to show that uncertainty exists everywhere, and that agility is a strength, not a weakness.

Then, share my road trip analogy with your stakeholders.

Tell them that you can’t give them a guarantee, but you can present a roadmap that looks ahead 3-6 months. The roadmap will show the team’s goal, how much progress you believe you can make by when (expressed as a range), and your team’s confidence in the plan.

Need help communicating your plans? Try our Plan Visualizer Tool, free for all MGS Essentials members.

Remind stakeholders that, like suggested routes on a long trip, agile roadmaps provide visibility, align expectations, and help people plan — without pretending every turn is known in advance.
Freeing your team from unrealistic expectations can accelerate their move from good to great.

A roadmap is a plan, not a promise Why stakeholders push for guarantees The path to alignment starts with empathy Give stakeholders what they need to succeed

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