This document presents the Reverse Chaos method for prioritizing requirements. It summarizes findings from the Chaos Report showing small projects have a 76% success rate while large projects have only a 10% success rate due to the increased number of decisions required. The document advocates selecting the minimum number of features needed to provide customer value using techniques like card sorting and building a minimum viable product (MVP) or minimum viable feature (MVF).

1. Reverse Chaos
Method of Requirements Prioritisation
Gena Drahun

2. Gena Drahun
[ˈɡə-na dra-ˈgün]

3. More than 100 design projects…

4. Experience with small
projects…

5. Experience with large projects…
• Failed: 75% (3 of 4)
• Great success: 25% (1 of 4)

6. Chaos Manifesto
Standish Group

7. Chaos
Report,
Standish
Group

8. Study of
Project Success

9. Successful
76%
Challenged
20%
Failed
4%
Success Rates of Small* projects
* Less than $1 million in labor content

10. Challenged
52%
Failed
38%
Successful
10%
Success Rates of Large* projects
* More than $10 million in labor content

11. Large Projects vs. Small Projects
• 10x times more decisions to made
• 7,5x lower success rate

12. Can we make less
decisions and provide
the same customer
value?

13. Study of
Features Used

14. Hardly
or
never
50%
SomeFmes
or
occasionally
30%
OHen
20%
Usage of Implemented Features

15. Not
implemented
33%
Hardly
or
never
used
33%
Used
someFmes
or
infrequently
20%
Used
oHen
14%
Planned Features

16. Even if you have half your users asking
for a feature it doesn’t necessarily mean
they will actually use the feature.
What people say they will do is
often radically different from what
they actually do.
hLp://www.mindtheproduct.com/2013/05/the-­‐minimally-­‐viable-­‐feature-­‐approach/

17. … there’s a much bigger problem… :
people are often incapable of
articulating why they do things or
how they would behave in the
future.
hLp://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2012/10/04/market-­‐research/

18. Reverse Chaos

19. Scope of a Sample Product:
• 90 Features
• ~ 900 User Stories

21. Let’s apply the statistics
from Chaos Report

22. 14% Features
will be used often
(1 feature of 7 planned)

23. Select <N1> features
that you will be using
(expect to be used)
often

24. Closed Card Sorting:
• Individual/ Group Sorting
• with Product Team/ Users/ Business

25. MFP?
Minimum Functional Product

26. Perfection is achieved, not when there is
nothing more to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

27. 20% features
will be used sometimes
(1 feature of 5 planned)

28. From the features left,
select <N2> features
that you will be using
(expect to be used)
sometimes

29. Second round of Card Sorting

30. “Optimal” Product scope?

31. hLp://www.jeffgothelf.com/blog/agile-­‐doesnt-­‐have-­‐a-­‐brain/#sthash.riyIEay3.dpbs
Agile doesn’t have a brain.
Bill Scott
… no mechanism for determining if
they’re building the right feature.
Jeff Gothelf

32. THINK
WORK
SMARTER
NOT
HARDER

33. Almost the
END

35. MVP

36. Who of you know what
is MVP?

37. Are you sure?

38. We define MVP as… unique
product that maximizes
return on risk for both the
vendor and the customer..
Frank Robinson
Coined the term “Minimum Viable Product” in 2001
http://www.syncdev.com/minimum-viable-product/

39. .
Frank Robinson,
Coined the term “Minimum Viable Product” in 2001
http://www.syncdev.com/minimum-
viable-product/
* Hurdle rate is the minimum acceptable rate of return.
Most companies use 12% hurdle rate.
*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Minimum_acceptable_rate_of_return

40. .
Ash Maurya
Author of “Running Lean” and creator of “Lean Canvas”
http://leanstack.com/minimum-viable-product//
Minimum Viable Product
is the smallest thing
you can build that
delivers customer value
(and as a bonus captures some of that value
back).

42. hLp://www.mindtheproduct.com/2014/10/lean-­‐product-­‐management-­‐the-­‐
mvp-­‐culture-­‐within-­‐every-­‐featureenhacement-­‐development/

43. ED
1
2
3
Gena
Drahun,
September
2015
|
With
compliments
to
Jussi
Pasanen
and
Aaron
Walter
Build the product small but complete,
not by a part, by a slice or by a layer.

44. One step further?

45. MVF
Minimum Viable Feature
hLp://www.mindtheproduct.com/2013/05/the-­‐minimally-­‐viable-­‐feature-­‐approach/

46. You can set the level of
“perfection” per
individual feature

47. Choose the quality of your
product ingredients

48. *
Stephen
Anderson’s
Experiences
Pyramid
Meaningful
Pleasurable
Usable
FuncFonal

50. Gena Drahun
@HDrahun
hienadzdrahun
http://www.slideshare.net/Hienadz.Drahun
Add More Brains!