Executive Summary

Collabo, a start-up providing a collaborative tool for fully remote teams, has
shown promise with several successful Beta releases and positive feedback from
Beta customers. Despite these achievements, our analysis reveals significant
challenges within the Research and Development group that hinder our progress
towards the general release planned in six months. Key issues include a lack of
uniformity in product features leading to user confusion, an overwhelmed
support team due to non-intuitive features, a rapidly growing defect rate
outpacing resolutions, and an unsustainable workload resulting in employee
burnout. Additionally, inadequate review and prioritization of features have
caused disorganization and inefficient use of resources. Current development
practices lack a formalized methodology, and the absence of effective project
management software has led to poor sprint planning and unclear metrics. These
issues not only threaten the timely delivery of a stable product but also impact
overall team morale and customer satisfaction.

Introduction

Collabo, a burgeoning start-up, offers an innovative design sharing tool tailored

for enhancing collaboration among fully remote teams. This platform has gained
traction with several successful beta releases, drawing keen interest and active
participation from beta customers. These stakeholders are not just using the
product but are integral to its iterative development through their insightful
feedback. The venture's promise is shadowed by significant challenges faced by
the Research and Development (R&D) group, as noted by Thomas Jensen, the
CEO of Collabo. Despite a promising product backlog, there is a discernible
struggle with increasing defects, non-intuitive feature releases, and an
unsustainable workload that collectively threaten the company’s objectives and
employee well-being. These issues are further exacerbated by inefficient
processes and a lack of stringent control mechanisms across the development
lifecycle.
Analysis of the Current Situation

Collabo's current operational landscape reveals several critical issues impeding

its growth and performance.
1. Disorganized Feature Development and Management:
- Collabo's feature development is primarily managed by product owners who,
despite being somewhat technically inclined, often lack systematic review and
prioritization processes for new features. This has led to disorganization and
inconsistency, with features sometimes lacking the necessary details when
passed on to the development team. Furthermore, features and their
requirements are frequently changed without proper discussion or
documentation, leading to confusion and inefficiencies within the development
team.

2. Ineffective Agile Implementation:

- Although efforts have been made to implement the Scrum Agile framework,
Collabo has struggled to enforce a cohesive, organization-wide methodology.
The development teams gather to claim tasks and break them down, but the lack
of a stable team capacity and absence of historical data on sprint velocity
introduce significant uncertainty in sprint planning. The deficiency of effective
project management software further complicates tracking and managing
progress, leading to poor estimation and planning of workloads.

3. Variability in Development Practices:

- Within the development process, there is significant variation in practices
across different teams, including inconsistencies in code formatting, code
review processes, and testing requirements. Such variability not only
undermines the quality of the software but also complicates collaboration and
knowledge sharing among teams.

4. Late Integration and Ineffective Testing:

- Quality Engineering (QE) teams receive feature developments late in the
cycle, which delays testing phases and often leads to late discoveries of defects,
contributing to delayed releases. Additionally, the QE teams face challenges in
pushing for a development model that supports parallel testing and feature
development, hindered by a lack of leadership and support for necessary
automation, which would enhance efficiency and reduce errors.

5. Manual and Error-Prone Deployment Processes:

- Deployment processes are manually handled by lead developers, including
tasks such as bringing down deployments, uploading new builds, and initiating
services. This not only makes the deployment process prone to human error but
also results in downtime, affecting service availability and user satisfaction.

6. Deficient Defect Tracking and Management:

- The defect tracking process at Collabo, although functioning, is overwhelmed
by quickly filling backlogs, duplicate reports, and mischaracterized issues. The
existing logging systems are inadequate for effective debugging, and there is a
lack of proper procedures for setting defect attributes, classifying components,
and linking defects with ongoing feature development.