Working with Clients

How not to work with clients

  • Get a list of requirements from the client.
  • Make a schedule of weekly deliverables.
  • Speed up when you start running late.

How to work with clients

  • Get their vision and one key value to focus on first.
  • Deliver a testable prototype of that value in a week.
  • Start creating a backlog of user stories to do.
  • Meet weekly to re-plan based on user testing and re-scope based on velocity.

The Vision

How to get the client's vision

TypeDefinitionPurpose
4-Panel Storyboard An illustrated example to articulate vision of app for developers and potential users Client creates to shows customers the idea. Developers make the storyboard real.

Task Board

  • A visualization of the user stories being worked on for this iteration
  • Best: a physical board in a shared team space
  • Common alternative: an online visual tool like Trello or Github projects.

Task Board with Client Review

Ready to do: selected for this week's iteration
Ready to review: tested, pushed, waiting for client approval

Task Board with User Testing

A story is done until when it passes user testing.

Backlog to Task Board

  • User stories are tokens for conversation, not specifications.
  • When selected in planning, define new UI, test examples, and (ideally) user test scenarios.

Task Board Flow

  • Move stories move from left to right until completed
  • Clear board and start over on each iteration
  • Limit work in progress
    • If two stories in Doing, help a teammate finish one rather than start a new one

<More to come!>

Thanks to Hakim El Hattab for RevealJS