True Agile

Delivering value to our customers in the fastest way possible is the driver for how engineering processes are structured at . Being able to execute as a velocity faster than the competition is absolutely paramount to the success of our business. As the old adage goes, time is money.

Measurement

We measure velocity of work by dividing time into 1-week sprints, and measuring the amount of work completed within each sprint. We use JIRA to manage your Agile sprint process. Each task is assigned a Story Point, which is a relative unit of work.

KPIs

We track the number of story points completed within each sprint, and the summed number is our Key Performance Indicator (KPI).

KPI: Story points completed in a sprint.

We will compare your KPI across many sprints over sprints, with your peers within the same team, and across the firm.

OKRs

We will set a goal we hope each individual contributor is able to achive for their KPI number. This goal system that defines a certain KPI value at a certain point in time in the future, is a Objective and Key Result (OKR). Each engineer will have OKRs for their KPIs.

Iterations

Prioritizing the velocity at which we deliver new value and features to our customers means a cosntantly changing product. We believe in the Innovator’s Dilemma and the constant need to innovate.

We believe in launching an imperfect product fast over delivering a perfect product. Iterate fast. Fail fast. Learn.

Refactoring

Our philosophy on refactoring is that it must serve our customers. If refactoring will demomnstratably allow us serve our customers better, then we will refactor.

In our experience, the best time to refactor is immmediately after a big product launch. Refactoring should be done before adding any updates or new features to existing code. Developers also have more time to refactor immediatley after delivering a product to market.

Introduction