Virtual Verde
Desk-friendly plants for home offices
Context
Office Green, LLC, a commercial landscaping company specializing in interior plants and greenery for office buildings and other businesses, has identified a significant shift in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With more people setting up home offices, there is a growing demand for products that enhance the work-from-home experience. Recognizing this trend, Office Green has developed a new service called “Virtual Verde” to cater to home office workers by delivering desk-friendly plants to their doorsteps.
As the Scrum Master of a dedicated Agile team, my role is to ensure the successful development and launch of this new service. The mission of Virtual Verde is to transform the home office environment into a more enjoyable and productive space by offering carefully selected desk plants. These plants not only contribute to improved air quality but also bring the calming and refreshing presence of nature into the home office setting. The introduction of Virtual Verde aligns with the company’s commitment to enhancing indoor environments, promoting well-being, and bringing the beauty of nature into everyday work experiences.
Methodology
Office Green recognized the challenges posed by an unpredictable and rapidly changing business environment, prompting them to adopt an Agile approach to project management. By embracing Agile principles, Office Green remained flexible in their project execution, allowing them to effectively address the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) factors impacting their business.
Instead of passively reacting to market forces, Office Green proactively embraced the changing landscape and adapted their approach accordingly. The project team fully embraced an Agile mindset and leveraged the Scrum framework as their project management methodology. This approach enabled them to effectively navigate the complexities of the Virtual Verde project and deliver optimal results.
Through Agile and Scrum, Office Green maintained a collaborative and iterative approach, fostering regular communication, adaptability, and continuous improvement. The Scrum framework provided a structured framework for organizing and prioritizing work, facilitating effective teamwork, and ensuring that the project remained on track amidst changing requirements and priorities. By embracing flexibility and iterative development, Office Green maximized their ability to meet the evolving needs of home office workers and deliver a product that exceeded customer expectations.
Process
The market research team of Office Green conducted a thorough analysis of the market and noticed a significant trend towards remote work and home offices. They found that more workers were transitioning away from traditional office environments and embracing the flexibility and convenience of working from home. In response to this trend, Office Green decided to create a new service that would cater to this growing market.
The new service, called “Virtual Verde,” was designed to deliver desk-friendly plants to people’s home offices. Its mission is to enhance users’ health and happiness by bringing their at-home workspace to life. With this service, Office Green aims to capture a new market of workers who are setting up their home offices and looking for ways to improve their workspace environment. By capturing this new market, Office Green hopes to grow its customer base and strengthen its position as a leader in the office services industry.
That is, the shift to working from home led to a significant change in demand for Office Green services, and they had to find a way to adapt to this new reality. They faced Volatility due to the sudden and unpredictable nature of the market shift, Uncertainty about the future demand for their services, Complexity in adapting their existing business model to meet the needs of the new market, and Ambiguity in understanding the needs and preferences of this new customer base.
To overcome these challenges, Office Green adopted an Agile approach and formed a Scrum Team that consisted of a Scrum Master, a Product Owner, and a Development Team. They conducted a test run, created a Sprint Plan, and mitigated project issues, which allowed them to complete the first release of Virtual Verde. As the second and third project releases approached, the team received emails from the Content Manager and Vendor Manager that required changes to the release plan.
The team evaluated each email and proposed possible solutions, and any necessary changes were made to the release plan. By adhering to the Definition of Done and using a rigorous Scrum process, the team was able to deliver Virtual Verde successfully, meeting the needs of the market and the expectations of the stakeholders.
Artifacts
The Virtual Verde project involved the creation of several key artifacts that played a crucial role in its successful execution and delivery. These artifacts enabled effective planning, coordination, and communication within the Agile project team, ensuring alignment and maximizing productivity.
The project kicked off with the development of a product backlog, which served as a comprehensive inventory of user stories and their corresponding acceptance criteria and effort estimates. This backlog provided a clear roadmap of the project’s requirements and features, enabling the team to prioritize and plan their work effectively.
Another important artifact was the sprint backlog, which outlined the team’s plan for the upcoming sprint. It captured the specific user stories and associated effort estimates that would be addressed during the sprint. This artifact helped the team maintain focus, track progress, and ensure that the sprint goals were achieved within the defined timeframe.
Following the first sprint, a sprint retrospective meeting took place to reflect on the team’s performance and identify areas for improvement. During this meeting, the team created notes on whiteboards to capture valuable insights and action items. An email recapping the sprint retrospective was then shared, highlighting the key takeaways and action points for the next steps (sprint retrospective email). This artifact facilitated continuous improvement, allowed the team to reflect on their accomplishments, and adapt their processes and practices as needed.
Derived from the product backlog, a release plan was developed to outline the schedule and scope of each release. This plan served as a high-level roadmap for the project’s milestones and enabled effective coordination between different stakeholders. Email exchanges were also conducted to discuss necessary updates and refinements to the plan as the team approached the second and third releases (release plan emails). These artifacts ensured that all team members and stakeholders were aligned on the project’s progress and upcoming deliverables.
Featured Image by Freepik. Used for display purposes.