The Art of Platform The Art of Platform DevelopmentDevelopment

Brian O’NeillBrian O’NeillLead Architect, Health Market ScienceLead Architect, Health Market Science@boneill42, bone@alumni.brown.edu@boneill42, bone@alumni.brown.edu

What’s the goal?What’s the goal?

Make our products look like Make our products look like they were built by one team.they were built by one team.

Change “product Change “product development” into an exercise development” into an exercise of capabilities composition.of capabilities composition.

Platform DevelopmentPlatform Development

• Requires a composition of Requires a composition of perspectives:perspectives:• Business PerspectiveBusiness Perspective• Capabilities PerspectiveCapabilities Perspective• People PerspectivePeople Perspective

The Business The Business PerspectivePerspective

ID Desire Opportunity

Cost

1 Make a google-like service to search all tweets ever for specific words.

$3M $500K

2 Make it possible to search for tweeters geospatially.

$1.5 $250K

3 Enable tweeting via voice recognition. $2M $750K

4 Enable voice navigation of tweets. $1M $800K

5 Make it possible for to perform faceted search on tweets (by age, gender, etc.)

$5M $500K

Why do we need more?Why do we need more?This perspective estimates costs in This perspective estimates costs in isolation.isolation.

BUT! Items may overlap functionally, BUT! Items may overlap functionally, making subsequent epics cheaper.making subsequent epics cheaper.

• If you truly plan to do all, reality If you truly plan to do all, reality might be…might be…

ID Desire Opportunity

Cost

1 Make a google-like service to search all tweets ever for specific words.

$3M $500K

2 Make it possible to search for tweeters geospatially.

$1.5 $50K (-$200K)

5 Make it possible for to perform faceted search on tweets (by age, gender, etc.)

$5M $50K (-$450K)

The Capabilities The Capabilities PerspectivePerspective

Desire Supports Business Objective

Cost (points)

Create real-time index of all tweets. (1), (2), (5) 13

Add geospatial information to the index. (2) 5

Add gender and age to the index. (5) 5

Enable voice recognition interface. (3), (4) 20

Capture tweets via voice recognition. (3) 13

Capture voice commands to navigate tweets.

(4) 5

PlanningPlanning

The capabilities perspective The capabilities perspective allows us to recognize synergies.allows us to recognize synergies.

It also decouples the It also decouples the development from the specific development from the specific use. use. (which encourages a platform (which encourages a platform perspective)perspective)

Initial stateInitial stateIndependent product backlogs Independent product backlogs with an 1:1 between backlog with an 1:1 between backlog and teamand team

Team 1Team 1 Team 2Team 2

Product 1Product 1 Product 2Product 2

Team 3Team 3 Team 4Team 4

Product 3Product 3 Product 4Product 4

The ChallengesThe Challenges

Platform perspective must be Platform perspective must be imposed upon the teams since it is imposed upon the teams since it is absent from the artifacts.absent from the artifacts.

We locally optimize within each silo, We locally optimize within each silo, instead of optimizing effort based on instead of optimizing effort based on demand for capabilities.demand for capabilities.

To deliver a platform, we need to To deliver a platform, we need to swim upstream against swim upstream against Conway’s Law..

A potential change…A potential change…

Consolidated into a capabilities Consolidated into a capabilities backlog, 1:n between backlog backlog, 1:n between backlog and team.and team.

Red TeamRed Team

Business DemandBusiness Demand

BlueTeamBlueTeam

GreenTeamGreenTeam

YellowTeam

YellowTeam

Team DynamicsTeam DynamicsLeverage an “open-source” approach to platform Leverage an “open-source” approach to platform development.development.

Any team can work on anything.Any team can work on anything.

Any team can contribute to any platform Any team can contribute to any platform component. component.

Github helps here: “gating” commits via pull requestsGithub helps here: “gating” commits via pull requests

Red TeamRed Team

The “PlatformThe “Platform

BlueTeamBlueTeam

GreenTeamGreenTeam

YellowTeam

YellowTeam

Pull Requests!

The People PerspectiveThe People Perspective

Ideally, any team would be Ideally, any team would be able to tackle any story and able to tackle any story and implement front-to-back, but…implement front-to-back, but…

All teams are All teams are notnot created created equal, expertise differs based equal, expertise differs based on team composition.on team composition.

e.g.e.g.

Red TeamRed Team

Business DemandBusiness Demand

BlueTeamBlueTeam

GreenTeamGreenTeam

YellowTeam

YellowTeam

html5 1

C* 5

SOLR 9

html5 10

C* 1

SOLR 1

html5 5

C* 10

SOLR 3

html5 3

C* 2

SOLR 3

Consolidating demand allows us to give the right work to the right team based on expertise, not product line.

The People PerspectiveThe People PerspectiveWe can quantify demand for We can quantify demand for expertise in the backlog.expertise in the backlog.

Desire Supports Business Objective

Cost (points)

Skill Set Required

Create real-time index of all tweets.

(1), (2), (5)

13 SOLR

Add geospatial information to the index.

(2) 5 SOLR

Add gender and age to the index. (5) 5 SOLR

Enable voice recognition interface. (3), (4) 20 HTML5

Capture tweets via voice recognition.

(3) 13 HTML5

Capture voice commands to navigate tweets.

(4) 5 HTML5

Enables better Enables better planning…planning…

Business demand for expertise Business demand for expertise will change over time.will change over time.

Enables conversations Enables conversations like…like…

• ““Maybe we should give story X to Maybe we should give story X to the team M to ramp them on the team M to ramp them on technology P, because we have a technology P, because we have a lot of the work coming.”lot of the work coming.”

Or…Or…

• ““Since we don’t have much need Since we don’t have much need for technology Z, let’s just re-for technology Z, let’s just re-sequence the work as not to hit the sequence the work as not to hit the learning curve on more than one learning curve on more than one team.”team.”

Controlling the Chaos: Controlling the Chaos: AccountabilityAccountability

Product 1

Product 1

Red TeamRed Team

Business DemandBusiness Demand

BlueTeamBlueTeam

GreenTeamGreenTeam

YellowTeam

YellowTeam

AccountabilityAccountability Product 2

Product 2

Product 3

Product 3

Product 4

Product 4

Like expertise, accountability differentiates the teams.But it does NOT define them. (or what they work on)

html5 1

C* 5

SOLR 9

html5 10

C* 1

SOLR 1

html5 5

C* 10

SOLR 3

html5 3

C* 2

SOLR 3

The Product Definition The Product Definition ForumForum

http://www.slideshare.net/dhaval.r.panchal/keeping-product-backlog-healthy

The Agile Platform The Agile Platform RecipeRecipe

Take your business demand.Take your business demand.

Pivot the demand to focus on Pivot the demand to focus on capabilities.capabilities.

Add in the requisite expertise.Add in the requisite expertise.

Sequence the work to optimize for Sequence the work to optimize for productivity and value.productivity and value.

Sit back and watch the platform Sit back and watch the platform emerge.emerge.

Advanced TopicsAdvanced Topics

The Architectural The Architectural ApproachApproach

http://www.rallydev.com/sites/default/files/principles_of_agile_architecture.pdf