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This page describes the development process used in the Incubator. During the course of the GÉANT 4.3 project, the incubator runs a number of sequential cycles called "Activities". An activity cycle typically lasts 6 months. During such an activity cycle, an incubator activity team, or A-team, engages with a number of different topics, typically 2 to or 3, in parallel. The incubator has 2 A-teams working in parallel. As such, the Incubator can work on 4 to 6 topics in parallel during a 6 month activity cycle. The development process used for this engagement is a loose implementation of the Scrum development methodology, and roles and also some terminology used in this document are borrowed from this Agile methodology.
During the activity cycle the A-team uses Sprints too work on the topic. A sprint runs for 4 weeks in which the A-team focuses on a specific subset of tasks. The Principe Investigator, or Magnum P.I., defines the work for a specific sprintan activity, and its priorities. While the team membership of the A-team itself is as stable as possible, a Mentor is Mentor, a senior A-team member with specific expertise, is being brought in on a per activity basis to support the A-team as a subject matter expert. The A-team supports the PI by providing feedback to the work items defined. The team also makes estimates of how much work specific workitems work-items are so the PI can decide priorities accordingly. In the spirit of the scrum methodology the A-team itself is responsible for planning of the work in a sprint, based on the prioritized list of the PI.
During the activity, various artifacts are used to collect and report on the work being done. The Backlog holds all items the PI wants to work on. The PI may updated, change and (re)prioritize the Backlog items at any given time, according to newly gained insights and priorities. The Sprint Backlog holds a selected set of Backlog items the A-team is working on for a specific sprint. The Sprint Backlog does not change over the course of a Sprint.
The Scrum methodology also includes a number of so called ceremonies, meetings who all have with a specific function.
Below we describe the roles we use in the activity in more details, the structure of an activity, the artifacts we have in the activity and which ceremonies are part of the activity.
Roles and responsibilities
The Backlog planning is done by the PI in collaboration with the A-team and makes sur ethe items on the backlog are well described and understood. During the Sprint planning the A-Team discusses the top items on the Backlog and decides which ones to engage with in the upcoming sprint. A sprint demo showcases the work done by the A-team in the past sprint and allows for the P.I and possibly other stake holders to learn about the result and ask questions. A Sprint review is done by the A-team to evaluate the processes of the past sprint and to discuss improvements.
Figure 1 displays the various actors, artifacts and ceremonies in the Trust and Identity Incubator development process
Figure 1: Actors, artifacts and ceremonies in the Trust and Identity Incubator development process
Figure 1 also already shows the role of the Incubator advisery board or MIBs. These are normally not part of the development process and thier engagement is described in the
Roles and responsibilities
This section describes the roles and responsibilities of various actors in more detail
Principal Investigator / Product Owner (Magnum P.I.)
The Magnum is the person mainly responsible for defining the work and then prioritizing those tasks. The PI is clear on the goals of the activity and represents the stakeholders,e.g. the customer, market and organizations. The PI is responsible for the Backlog and makes sure it is filled and the items are understood.
Main Incubator Board (MIB)
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