The Tanooki Process

At Tanooki Labs, we partner with entrepreneurs to build products. Over the years we’ve developed a process that has proven to result in happy partners and happy developers. Our process follows a general framework we like to stick to, but every project is different, so things may change.

Step 1: What do you want to build?

Before a project is started you’ll have an initial meeting to discuss the business with you to better understand what you want to build as your MVP (minimum viable product).

Once we have a handle on what you want to build we generate a list of high-level product-feature areas. Those features are then broken out into a general scope of work. We take the scope/features and create a series of user stories. That user story document is the heart of how we estimate the cost of a project.

Step 2: Let’s get started!

With the scope of work and a preliminary set of user stories in hand, Tanooki will work internally to get the project ready with the development and product management team. We hold an internal kick-off to ensure that all members of the Tanooki team are up to speed. Then it’s time for a formal project kick off with your team.

In addition to confirming the scope and user stories we will also give you an overview to the tools that we use on every Tanooki Labs project. The majority of work will take place in Pivotal Tracker — but we’ll also set up a Slack Channel devoted to your project. We believe in transparency at Tanooki Labs. With Pivotal and Slack you can always get a picture of just where you project is and ask any questions to developers and the PM steam.

Step 3: Welcome to Agile

You’ve probably heard of Agile already. Even though it’s a clearly defined methodology every practitioner has their own version. At Tanooki each week of the project is a Sprint. Within the Sprint, we have a few meetings each week that are critical to the project’s success. We know everyone hates meetings, but these are crucial to keeping your project on time and on budget.

The Daily Standup
Standups happen every day from the project kickoff through release. Quick, 15 minute check ins where the team aligns to ensure everyone knows what they are working on, along with an opportunity to clear out any “blocks” a developer might have on a user story.

The Iteration Planning Meeting (IPM)
The focus of this meeting is to specify requirements for the user stories the developers will be working on for the next week’s sprint. This is also an important meeting as it’s where we talk through each user story individually and ensure we have enough understanding to work on it, and then later deliver it as it is intended.

The Demo/Retro/RPM
The next meeting of the week is composed of 3 parts.

1. Demo
   A demonstration of the work done on the software in the previous sprint. The developer(s) show the work as it currently stands with a focus on new features.
2. Retrospective (Retro)
   The Retro is a time where all team members have the opportunity to talk openly about the project, identify positives and negatives, and build action items to enhance the team’s efficiency.
3. Release Planning Meeting (RPM)
   This is chance to look at the project from a higher level and see how the work is being completed against the timeline, as well as the expected speed of the development team, and how that tracks against timeline/milestones.

Step 4: Rinse and Repeat

Now the meetings are scheduled and the developers are working on the stories. The first week there likely won’t be a lot to look at in Pivotal Tracker. However, after Week 2 developers will have completed some stories, and the stories will ready for review on the testing server.

You’ll know a story is ready for review when the ticket in Pivotal Tracker is marked Accept/Reject. It’s your responsibility to review and test the feature to ensure we built it as defined in the ticket. If it’s not, you can reject the ticket and let us know what changes are required.

This is the process that repeats on a weekly basis for the duration of the project.

We’ve found this process invaluable in launching everything from large online communities like Fans.com to a targeted e-commerce site like Dogly. But every project and every engagement is unique. We can’t wait to hear about yours.