Holiday Season 2020 – The Ultimate Agile BA Planning Exercise

The Approach

In years past, I was a Waterfall approach type of planner. Let me define EVERYTHING for the holiday season at least a month in advance. Who’s getting what presents, who’s getting a greeting card in the mail and when does it need to be posted, when are we decorating inside and outside, and what will we be feasting on.

And then…there was COVID-19. 2020 is going to be a year where we all will need to discover our inner AGILE sense of self.

If we assume we will approach holiday plans with that Agile sensibility, let’s start with a Visioning Statement.

Visioning – I can see clearly now

By creating a holiday season visioning statement, we can use this opportunity to practice our visioning skills. What is meant by “visioning”? The IIBA Agile Extension describes it as follows: “Visioning is used to determine the desired outcome for an initiative worded in a concise and approachable manner.”

Now, what does that mean, you might ask? One way is to continue looking at the IIBA guidance that states, “The vision consists of a simple statement represented visually with images or words which conveys the goal and scope for the initiative.”

Another way is to consider it this way. Let’s create a concise statement that can answer the following questions:

1. Who are the target audience for the experiences/gifts/products you want to produce for this holiday season?
2. What need or problem does this target audience have that your efforts (experiences/gifts/products) will address?
3. What are the critical components of the experiences/gifts/products that will deliver on this need or address this problem?
4. Who or what are the competitors? How will the experience/gifts/products compare to those already on the market, or those they have experienced in the past?
5. What is the timeline and budget for the development of your solution (experiences/gifts/products)?

Is this overkill – of course! But if the intention is to practice your BA skills, consider using this opportunity to stretch your own experience.

How to create a Visioning?

There are many different vision statement templates you can reference if you are unsure of where to start in creating a vision statement of your own. The key is to make it something that inspires you (and your team/ stakeholders) whenever you see it.

Consider saying: “For”, and whoever will benefit from your efforts; “who”, and what it is they need; “is” what you want to build/buy/make; “that”, with what the benefits or outcome is that you are hoping to achieve; “unlike” competitors – in this case, could be past years or could be what media has told us a holiday celebration should be; and “with” what is the value proposition you have to offer.

Start with a draft, include those who may be part of creating your holiday experience, revise it based on input from your own assessment and the input of those others you consulted with, and finally create your visioning statement. Be sure to put it somewhere you can see it – the family fridge, on your office whiteboard, a computer screen saver, or, if you are like me, in your planner/journal.

Holiday Vision 2020

Here is mine:

For my immediate family, who need to know that a global pandemic can not stop us from celebrating family, is the 2020 holiday season will be a unique and COVID-safe time to remember our many blessings, unlike past years, we will focus on giving of our time and support local businesses as well as creating our own handmade treasures, with the objective of possibly launching new traditions and at the very least, creating memories to cherish in the future.

I’d love to hear yours, should you choose to create a holiday vision of your own!