Assessing iteration results

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Assess iteration results at the end of each iteration.

This guidance is similar to information that was available in Tool Mentors in the IBM® Practice Library.

Before you begin

Projects are organized into a series of fixed-length development periods called iterations. Each timeline has its own set of iterations. Because work items exist only in the context of a project area, before continuing with this task, ensure that you are connected to a project area and have access to the project being reviewed and its plans. To learn about creating a new iteration plan, see the following article on jazz.net: http://jazz.net/library/article/36.

Procedure

To assess your iteration results:

Step 1: Review Iteration Results

  1. At the end of an iteration, the team should assess whether the objectives and evaluation criteria of the iteration plan were met (such objectives can be documented in the Overview page of an iteration plan).
  2. Check the status of all work items committed to the iteration plan by performing the following steps:
    1. Go to the Planned Items tab of the Iteration Plan Editor.
    2. For each team member, check the number of closed and open work items indicated under the name of each team member.
    3. For the work items that are still open or in-progress, assign them to the next iteration and re-prioritize as necessary.

For more information about viewing work items, see Viewing work items in a plan.

Step 2: Demonstrate value and gather feedback

When the team demonstrates the product to customers, end-users, and other stakeholders, record the feedback (enhancement requests or defects) by creating new work items.
  1. In the Team Artifacts view, right-click the Work Items folder and select New > Work Item.
  2. In the Create Work Item window, select Defect, Enhancement, or Task as a work item type and click Finish.
  3. Provide a work item name in the Summary field. Enter the additional information such as work item Severity, Priority, and Estimate.
  4. Click Save or Ctrl+S to save the work item.

For additional information about creating work items, see Creating work items.

Step 3: Perform a retrospective

Prior to the end of the iteration, create a work item to capture input from the team. The MCIF for Agile process template includes a work item type called "retrospective" for this purpose. You can also create a new page or capture the retrospective summary in the Notes page of the current Iteration Plan Editor.
  1. In the Iteration Plan Editor, click the Notes tab.
  2. Select the Edit page Notes icon in the toolbar.
  3. Provide the retrospective summary and click Save.

Results

By completing this task, you have connected to the project area and opened the iteration plan. Checked the status of work items committed to the iteration plan and reassigned the open work items to the next iteration. Created new enhancement or defect work items based on gathered feedbacks. And performed a retrospective by capturing the summary in the Notes page of the current iteration plan.