Debunking the AGILE MYTH series. Agile Documentation: Dispelling the Myth & Ensuring Compliance

Some people believe that Agile projects do not require documentation. This comes from misunderstanding of the Agile Manifesto. It says that "working software is more important than extensive documentation", however it doesn't mean no documentation at all. Agile projects should have sufficient documentation to support the development without slowing it down.

The documentation necessary for an Agile project are as follows. However, instead of developing this post exclusively for Agile Development, I laid down all the paperwork required so that you "awesome Product Manager like me *wink" would not be scrutinized by your internal auditor due to a lack of documentation.

Before starting:

(Depending on your role, you may not need to do this.)

• Get the budget approved and document results.
• Create an appointment letter for external resources (if you are using external resources).

Design Thinking phase:

(If you start with Design Thinking, here are the list of documents needed; otherwise, skip this.)

• Write a Customer Value Proposition (CVP), a brief statement of the unique benefits your product offers.
• Create a Product Roadmap, a high-level plan of the product's development.
• Make a Product Backlog, a list of tasks to be done for the product.
• Visualize the product idea with sketches, wireframes, or prototypes. I prefer Figma since it integrates well with Atlassian Confluence.

Agile Development Phase:

• Project kick-off, record a video of the team discussing roles, expectations, and plans for the sprint as proof of the kick-off process. (Skip this if it’s not required.)
• Create Sprint Backlogs, lists of tasks to be done in each sprint.
• Write User Stories, descriptions of features from a user's perspective and its acceptance criteria.
• Make a Task or Kanban Board to show the team's progress.
• Agree on a Definition of Done, so everyone knows when a task is complete.
• Write Test Cases, steps for testing specific features.
• Make a Release Plan, a plan for delivering a specific version of the product.
• Document Retrospective Notes, the team's thoughts on the sprint, including what went well and what can be improved. I'm utilizing Reetro.io for better retrospective management.?

That's it! Having these documents will ensure that your Agile project adheres to corporate guidelines and can be easily audited. While it may seem like a lot of work, using the right tools can make it easier. For example, my team uses Atlassian for collaboration. There are also many free tools available online that can help.

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