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title	WELCOME

Welcome to the CCSQ Community! As an Application Development Organization (ADO) with CMS, your expertise is critical to delivering value to the American taxpayer. In alignment with the agile values and principles, CCSQ uses the Scrum and Scaled Agile Frameworks (SAFe) as a guide for standardized processes. The information provided in this Onboarding Guide highlights CCSQ's standards and expectations for operating within these frameworks. More comprehensive information is found in the Scrum Guide and the Scaled Agile Framework websites. Rely on your program leadership, Agile coaches, and Release Train Engineers to provide guidance and training when needed.

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title	ORGANIZATION

ORGANIZATION

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	Organization
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title	WORK

WORK STRUCTURE

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title	Managing Work
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title	Managing Work

Work Item Management Basics

Ownership is taken, not given

Scaled Agile, Lean, and Agile development models leverage KanBan’s operating model to provide transparency, visibility, and shared understanding of work preparation and delivery progress.

Owners of responsibility for a process step pull work from the upstream step as throughput allows. For example, a Product Owner pulls the highest priority feature from the program backlog as they become available to investigate the desired functionality and define requirements for the product backlog. Work is then pulled from the prioritized product backlog in priority order into the sprint backlog by the development team. Within the iteration, a developer pulls the highest priority story in the sprint backlog when they become available. Since we can’t predict who will be the first available to pull the highest priority item from appropriate backlog, the onus of changing ownership is on the person beginning the next phase of work. The exception to this rule is that work is pushed into the "Ready" states to support procedural communications and visibility.

Social Contracts regulate quality

The Definition of Ready and theDefinition of Done regulate the quality of work throughout the process. Each business and product delivery team should develop their own definitions of what constitutes done and ready, holding themselves and others accountable to these contracts. The Definition of Ready defines what is acceptable for work to begin, and theDefinition of Done defines when the work is done, and therefore ready, for the next phase of the process.

Whoever is working it owns it

At any level of requirements, whoever is responsible for a phase of delivery of work retains ownership until the phase is complete. At the higher levels of requirements, ownership my never be transferred, For example, a solution manager owns one or more epics, and its associated draft features. When the feature drafts are done, it is also ready for a Product Owner to take ownership and begin more thorough requirements definition and refinement.

Whoever owns it manages the status

Because work item status management is the responsibility of the owner, the transfer of ownership throughout the process is key for both communications and visibility. As a result, the statuses that a specific owner can manage are limited to those within their domain authority. For example, a developer has authority to say a work item is in “development” or “ready for testing”, but may not change a Feature’s status to complete, as it is outside the developer's domain authority, and should only be closed by the Product Manager.

The Requirements Hierarchy

***Work break* *down moves from large and goal oriented to small and deliberate.***

The 4 levels of requirements from largest to smallest:

Epics
Features
Stories
Tasks

Requirements that can exist at multiple levels of the hierarchy:

Objectives
Enablers

Use the menu at the top to see the CCSQ Standards for defining and managing each work item type

References used in this article:

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1 - Scaled Agile Framework - Epic <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/epic/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/epic/</a>
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2 - Scaled Agile Framework - Feature <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/features-and-capabilities/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/features-and-capabilities/</a>
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3 - Scaled Agile Framework - Story <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/story/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/story/</a>
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4 - Definition of Done <a href="https://qnetconfluence.cms.gov/display/LACE/Definition+of+Done" target="_blank">https://qnetconfluence.cms.gov/display/LACE/Definition+of+Done</a>
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5 - Scaled Agile Framework - Strategic Themes <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/strategic-themes/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/strategic-themes/</a>
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6 - Scaled Agile Framework - Continuous Delivery Pipeline <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/continuous-delivery-pipeline/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/continuous-delivery-pipeline/</a>
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7 - Scaled Agile Framework <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/</a>
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8 - Scaled Agile Framework - Portfolio Kanban <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/portfolio-kanban/" target="_blank">https://www.scaledagileframework.com/portfolio-kanban/</a>

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title	Objectives

Objectives

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<img class="learning" alt="OKR Workshop" title="OKR Clinic" onclick="showTrainingPopup('okrs-training');"/>

"Objectives are strategic and tactical requirements used to associate value with the work being delivered, rather than describe the work itself".

Objectives can be used to map value to any level of requirement, and can be used by every level of the enterprise. Objectives defined at any level should be evaluated for progress at a minimum once per PI.

Typically, you will see the Objective work item type used at the team level to show how the work in their PI Plan supports the program's business objectives, which should be introduced at the beginning of PI Planning. At this level, the Objective work item type should be linked as "Supports" to the corresponding PI Objective, rather than a Feature.

At the Program Level, you may see the Objective Work Items as the parent items for Epics or Features, and are typically expressed as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). To use objective at this level, you must manually add the Supports/Is Supported By or Parent/Child links in Jira.

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title	Epics

Epics

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"An <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/epic/" target="_blank">Epic </a><span class="sup">1</span> is a container for a significant Solution development initiative that captures the more substantial investments that occur within a portfolio." Epics are too large to fit into a single PI and may take multiple PIs to deliver.
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Below is the recommended Portfolio Kanban configuration, taken from the <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/" target="_blank">Scaled Agile Framework</a><span class="sup">7</span>. You can see that Epics move through the <a href="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/portfolio-kanban/" target="_blank">Portfolio Kanban </a><span class="sup">8</span> to bring visibility into the progress of the Epic work.
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<img src="https://www.scaledagileframework.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Portfolio-Kanban_F02_WEB-2.png" style="width:900px;height:546px"/>
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Enablers

"Enablers are work required to build business future functionality."

Enablers sit outside the hierarchy of work items and describe a specific type of work. Enablers can be defined at the Epics, Features, or User Story level. Programs use two primary enabler types: Feature and team enablers.

These work item management practices align the work with SAFe standards, support enterprise metrics, and reporting standardization across CCSQ.

Feature Enabler:

The Program Feature Backlog differentiates enabler work using labels tagged to

Enabler Type	Enabler Jira Label	Description
Exploration enablers	Exploration_Enabler	Support research, prototyping, and other activities needed to develop an understanding of customer needs, including the exploration of prospective solutions, and evaluating alternatives.
Architectural enablers	Architectural_Enabler	Define the Architectural Runway, which allows smoother and faster development.
Infrastructure enablers	Infrastructure_Enabler	Define enhancements to and automations for the development, testing, and deployment environments to ensure higher-quality, and increase the speed of development and deployment.
Compliance enablers	Compliance_Enabler	Facilitate managing specific compliance activities, including Verification and Validation (V&V), documentation and signoffs, and regulatory submissions and approvals.

Team Enablers:

Enablers at the team level should use the work item type.

(If unavailable, request this to be added to your Jira project by the Atlassian team)

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title	Research

Research

Since spikes do not directly deliver user value, use them sparingly

Spikes should be Quantifiable, Demonstrable, and Acceptable. Like other stories, spikes are put in the Team Backlog, estimated, and sized to fit in an iteration. Spike results are different from a story because spikes typically produce information rather than working code. They should develop only the necessary data to identify and size the stories that drive it confidently. The output of a spike is demonstrable, both to the team and to any other stakeholders, which brings visibility to the research and architectural efforts, and also helps build collective ownership and shared responsibility for decision-making. The Product Owner accepts spikes that have been demoed and meet its acceptance criteria.

Tracking research using

Spikes are typically Technical or Functional

Functional spikes – They are used to analyze overall solution behavior and determine:

How to break it down
How to organize the work
Where risk and complexity exist
How to use insights to influence implementation decisions

Technical spikes – They are used to research various approaches in the solution domain. For example:

Determine a build-versus-buy decision
Evaluate the potential performance or load impact of a new user story
Evaluate specific technical implementation approaches
Develop confidence about the desired solution path

Use Jira Labels: Functional_Spike or Technical_Spike

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title	Features

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Features
Features
Features

"A feature is a service that fulfills a stakeholder need."

Each Feature includes a benefit hypothesis and acceptance criteria, and is sized or split as necessary to be delivered by a single Agile Release Train (ART) in a Program Increment (PI). Features are working software that solve problems. Partial features can be released to the users, as long as it solves a user's problem or helps a user complete their work. Features move through different statuses as they are being refined, developed, and released. Below is the recommended Program Kanban configuration, taken from the Scaled Agile Framework. You can see that as Features move through the Continuous Delivery Pipeline there are corresponding statuses to bring visibility into the progress of Feature work.

Feature Ownership

Features are owned by the Feature Owner for a specific Feature and the role is assigned when more explicit requirements are needed and the Feature is being implemented and developed. Feature Owner works closely with the Product Management Team (SMT) and Product Owner (PO) who is a member of the Agile Team. Feature Owner works in identifying benefit hypothesis and how this Feature will need to be developed and guides the Product Owner and Agile Team with visioning and goal of the scope of work needed. Product Owner author stories in advance of backlog refinement with the assistance of the team to ensure the Agile Team understands "What" needs to get done and Agile Teams focus on "How" it will get done and "How much" will get done based on capacity and velocity.

Ownership Role	Status	Status Change
Program / Team/ Anyone	New (Big Idea)	Funnel
Solution Management Team	New	Analyzing
PDM- Product Manager	New	Program Backlog
PDM/ Feature Owner	New	Implementing
PDM/ SMT	In progress/ ready	Validating on staging
PDM/ SMT	Deployment testing / prod environment	Deploying to Production
PDM/ Feature Owner	Definition of Done and meet acceptance criteria	Releasing
PDM/ SMT	Feature released to the customer	Done

*Only the Feature Owner and Product Manager have the authority to abandon or close a feature

Jira Board Configuration

Given that CCSQ has adopted the Scaled Agile Framework for Enterprise, ISG Programs should use the columns above to create transparency and allow enterprise measurement.

While all programs have different processes to manage their work, Jira offers some flexibility in its board configuration, allowing custom processes to be shown on the program

Most of the statuses your program needs are already created in Jira, but you may need to request the statuses be added to your project via a request in Atlassian Slack. When working with Atlassian to set up your project, request the core statuses from the Kanban board above and any other statuses you use in your workflow.

The Program Kanban Board configuration below illustrates the encouraged configuration. Labels can be added to support reporting or add visibility to issues on your board.

Click on image to enlarge

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title	User Stories

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User Stories
User Stories

User Story Management

"A User story is a short, informal, plain language description of what a user wants to do to gain something they find valuable."

The user stories are owned by the product owner, from the time created until a work begins, and re-assumes ownership after work is complete. For User stories where task assignment is split, ownership should be assumed by the first person taking a task, and can be updated to the person working the last open task.

User Story Issue Management Standard

Status	Status Definition/Description	Status Category	Jira User Story Workflow Setup
New:	Has been created and can be in any state of refinement by the Product Owner and/or team, but has not met the definition of ready	To-do
Ready:	Has met the team’s Definition of Ready but has not been taken into an iteration commitment	To-do
In Development:	A developer has become available, taken ownership of the story and begun working on a task associated with the story	In Progress
Ready for Review	The developer has completed the story and needs it reviewed by a fellow engineer	In Progress
In Peer Review	A fellow engineer is reviewing and discussing with the authoring engineer if/when changes need to be made	In Progress
Ready for Test:	All development tasks are complete, the code has been reviewed, integrated, and deployed to the test environment.	In Progress
Testing:	Testing of the story has begun, test cases are being run against all business, functional an non-functional requirements	In Progress
Ready For Acceptance:	Testing is complete, and the story is awaiting the product owner to begin validating the Business and Functional requirements defined in the Acceptance Criteria	In Progress
Done:	The Product Owner has validated the Acceptance Criteria and approves the story for deployment	Done
Abandoned:	The Product Owner has made the decision that the story is no longer necessary	Done

Ownership by Status and Transition

Ownership Role	Status	Status Change
Product Owner	New	Ready
Developer	Ready	In Development
Developer 1	Development	Ready for Peer Review
Developer 2	Peer Review	Ready for Test, Development
Tester	Testing	In Development, Ready for Acceptance
Product Owner	Ready for Acceptance	Done
Product Owner	<any state>	Abandoned*

Jira Scrum Board Configuration

The Scrum Board configuration below illustrates the encouraged configuration. Labels can be added to support reporting or add visibility to issues on your board.

Click on image to enlarge

Image RemovedImage Added

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title	Tasks

To do:	A task/story has been created and is in the backlog	To-Do	To-Do
In-Progress:	A task/story has been started by an engineer	In Progress	In Progress
Awaiting Review	A task/story is ready for review by another engineer	In In Progress	Progress
In Review	A task/story is being reviewed internally	In Progress	In Progress
Awaiting Awaiting Validation	The task/story is awaiting confirmation of completion	In Progress	In Progress
Done:	The task meets the release criteria defined in the team's definition of done	Done	Done
Abandoned:	The team has made the decision that the task is no longer necessary.	Done	Done

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title	COLLABORATION

COLLABORATION

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	Collaboration
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title	CONTRACTS

SOCIAL CONTRACTS

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	Social Contracts
	Social Contracts
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title	DELIVERY

VALUE DELIVERY

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	Value Delivery
	Value Delivery
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title	VALUES

FOUNDATIONAL VALUES

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	Foundational Values
	Foundational Values
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title	RECEIVE CMS

EXPECTATIONS OF CMS

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	Expectations of CMS
	Expectations of CMS
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title	GIVE CMS

PROVIDED TO CMS

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	Provided to CMS
	Provided to CMS
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title	TEAM READINESS

Team Readiness Checklist

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	Team Readiness Checklist
	Team Readiness Checklist
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	Agility Playbook LACE Request Form Insert
	Agility Playbook LACE Request Form Insert
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Key

ORGANIZATION

WORK STRUCTURE

Work Item Management Basics

Ownership is taken, not given

Social Contracts regulate quality

Whoever is working it owns it

Whoever owns it manages the status

The Requirements Hierarchy

Work break down moves from large and goal oriented to small and deliberate.

Epics

Features

Stories

Tasks

Objectives

Enablers

References used in this article:

Objectives

"Objectives are strategic and tactical requirements used to associate value with the work being delivered, rather than describe the work itself".

Objectives can be used to map value to any level of requirement, and can be used by every level of the enterprise. Objectives defined at any level should be evaluated for progress at a minimum once per PI.

At the Program Level, you may see the Objective Work Items as the parent items for Epics or Features, and are typically expressed as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). To use objective at this level, you must manually add the Supports/Is Supported By or Parent/Child links in Jira.

Epics

Enablers

"Enablers are work required to build business future functionality."

Enablers sit outside the hierarchy of work items and describe a specific type of work. Enablers can be defined at the Epics, Features, or User Story level. Programs use two primary enabler types: Feature and team enablers.

These work item management practices align the work with SAFe standards, support enterprise metrics, and reporting standardization across CCSQ.

Feature Enabler:

The Program Feature Backlog differentiates enabler work using labels tagged to

Enabler Type

Enabler Jira Label

Description

Exploration enablers

Exploration_Enabler

Support research, prototyping, and other activities needed to develop an understanding of customer needs, including the exploration of prospective solutions, and evaluating alternatives.

Architectural enablers

Architectural_Enabler

Define the Architectural Runway, which allows smoother and faster development.

Infrastructure enablers

Infrastructure_Enabler

Define enhancements to and automations for the development, testing, and deployment environments to ensure higher-quality, and increase the speed of development and deployment.

Compliance enablers

Compliance_Enabler

Facilitate managing specific compliance activities, including Verification and Validation (V&V), documentation and signoffs, and regulatory submissions and approvals.

Team Enablers:

Enablers at the team level should use the work item type.

(If unavailable, request this to be added to your Jira project by the Atlassian team)

Research

Since spikes do not directly deliver user value, use them sparingly

Tracking research using

Spikes are typically Technical or Functional

Functional spikes – They are used to analyze overall solution behavior and determine:

Technical spikes – They are used to research various approaches in the solution domain. For example:

Use Jira Labels: Functional_Spike or Technical_Spike

AnchorFeaturesFeaturesFeatures

"A feature is a service that fulfills a stakeholder need."

Feature Ownership

Jira Board Configuration

AnchorUser StoriesUser Stories

User Story Management

"A User story is a short, informal, plain language description of what a user wants to do to gain something they find valuable."

User Story Issue Management Standard

Status

Status Definition/Description

Status Category

Jira User Story Workflow Setup

Jira Scrum Board Configuration

COLLABORATION

SOCIAL CONTRACTS

VALUE DELIVERY

FOUNDATIONAL VALUES

EXPECTATIONS OF CMS

PROVIDED TO CMS

Team Readiness Checklist

***Work break* *down moves from large and goal oriented to small and deliberate.***

Anchor
Features
Features
Features

Anchor
User Stories
User Stories