Use the Power of Agile and Plan Your Epic Summer in Under 60 Minutes!

It's Memorial Weekend in America, and that means it's the start of Summer! You're probably excited about the endless possibilities that lie ahead. From vacations to personal projects, there's so much you want to accomplish.

However, without proper planning, your summer can quickly slip away, leaving you with a list of unfulfilled dreams. But fear not! In this article, I'll walk you through how to harness the power of Agile techniques to plan your entire summer with ease, giving you the freedom to make the most of every moment.

For my family, Memorial weekend has always been the weekend we get down to business and do?ALL?of our summer planning! That’s right, we plan the entire summer and we do it in less than an hour!?

How is that even possible??

After working in Agile consulting and coaching for over a decade I’ve learned a few tricks on how we can break down an overwhelming event, like our summer, into small attainable activities and I want to share that with you!

I started using these tricks with my family a few years ago to plan our summers. It quickly became a tradition and this year marks the 5th year we've been doin this! It was slow at first, but they got the hang of it. Eventually, we started to treat our summers like we would treat a product launch into the market.?Nothing is sacred, everyone’s voices are heard, feedback is quick, and you can adapt almost immediately! So here's how we did it!

Embrace the Agile Mindset: Be Open to Change

When it comes to planning your summer, adopting an Agile mindset is key. Agile is all about being flexible and adapting to change. Embrace the idea that your plans might evolve as summer progresses, and that's okay! By being open to new opportunities and adjusting your goals along the way, you'll ensure a dynamic and fulfilling summer experience.

Set Clear Objectives: Be Prepared & Set the Ground Rules

Start by outlining your objectives for the summer planning session. Remember, the attention span will be short, so coming prepared will let you focus on facilitating and driving the conversation rather than looking for materials. Be confident and patient as your family is likely agile newbies and you are guiding them through this workshop.

Here's what you’ll need:

• Post-its – unique color and short stack for each person
• Markers – one per person
• Wall, Window, or a Poster Board that you can use all summer
• Timer

Set the ground rules:

• Everyone will get their own color of Post-its and a marker
• Activities will be time-boxed
• When someone is explaining their post-it (user story), we are not to interrupt
• No idea is a bad idea (keep the reactions and the eye-rolling to a minimum)

If your family has not been part of an Agile Delivery Team before, they will likely throw you off course.?That’s a common reaction, I see this from my clients all the time.?However, once they go through it, they will appreciate the ease at which they were able to break down such a large event, like the summer, into digestible chunks of activities.

1. Backlog Creation (10 min)

Here’s where the magic happens!?This is the time to think green-field, where anything is possible.?Everyone will get 10 min to brainstorm answers to one and only one question.

“What is an activity you want to do this summer?”

Each answer should be written down on its own Post-it. There are?no wrong answers?and?quantity is key. Now that we have been doing this for a few years, my kids have been coming to this session prepared with a list of things they want to get done. If you are coming in cold, come up with as many answers as possible and don’t overthink it!?The ideas can range in size from something that takes a few hours to do (i.e. Get ice cream as a family) to something that would take weeks to do (i.e. Take a trip to Florida).

2. Grooming (20 min)

Here is where each person will present their answers to the rest of the group. The concept is to explain what is meant by what you wrote on the Post-it.?

Everyone is encouraged to ask questions about the idea until they get a thorough understanding of what is required to do this activity.?Each group member should feel heard so be careful not to criticize the idea or say "we're not doing that!"

3.?Sizing (15 min)

As each idea is being presented and all the questions are answered the entire group will?vote?on the?size of the activity. When I say size, I mean the relative size of effort needed to complete the Post-it. In my family, we use a simple T-shirt Sizing technique (XS, S, M, L, XL) they can ask everyone to vote on the size. The general rule is, size with the most votes wins! Lastly, write that size on the Post-it.

4. Prioritizing (10 min)

At this point, all the Post-its should be placed on a Wall, Window, or Poster Board under the “To Do” category in no specific order. We use a window in our kitchen, so it’s front and center the whole summer! If someone comes up with a new item during this process or even days later, just add it to the bottom of the column.

Once all Post-its are up, each person will get 3 votes on what is?most important for them to do this summer These?votes can be designated with a star.?They are welcome to only vote for their items or even put all three of their votes on the same Post-it.?

The goal is to know what is most important to everyone.?Once everyone has voted,?rearrange the “To Do” column with the items having the most votes first.

5.?Planning (5 min)

The hard part is over!?Now that we have sized and prioritized a backlog of activities we can start to pick items for each week.?Keep in mind the priority and the size with what else you have going on that week.?As a group, pick a few activities each week and move them to the “IN PROGRESS” section of the board.?That way everyone knows what the actual summer activities will be happening in the current week.

As you complete each activity, move it to the "DONE" column! It’s really exciting to see how fast the done column fills up and how much you were able to get done this summer! For my family, this activity is not only fun but a good reminder of how we need to make time to do things we really want to do with each other.

I'd love to hear from you if you do end up doing this activity and how it went for your family!

Mona brings over 20 years of experience working in digital strategy, user experience, design, technology, sales and client management across multiple industries and primarily in a consulting capacity. You can find Mona on LinkedIn at:?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/mona-champaneri/