Freedom to Build Methodology for Startup Product Development

Freedom to Build Methodology was created to empower startups, driven teams, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs to create deliverable driven technology, software, and products.

The essential goals from the inception of the Agile movement remain the same, however the freedom methodology helps teams unlock handcuffed value due to institutionalism that affects today's implementation of agile software development, especially for startups and small teams.

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Responding to change over following a plan

Vision Planning & Technical Strategy: “The War Plan”

It is paramount for every single team member (entry level Engineer, Senior Product Planner, DevOps member, etc.) to understand the overall product vision, the current translation to technical strategy, and how their current contribution plays into the larger War Plan.

With all team members bought into the plan, it creates harmony across goal driven cross-functional teams, nurtures idea generation, and minimizes risk of incorrect & off-base assumptions.

Joint Vision Planning

Business, Operations, Planning, Engineering, & Infrastructure must work together on the overall War Plan with joint accountability, responsibility, and execution.

Team Arrangements

Freedom Teams are arranged cross-functionally onto goals and building blocks they are trying to accomplish. This team formation remains fluid, and not bound to the corporate HR driven organizational structure for mentorship and management.

Resources can play on 1+ teams, and that could always change, as does the business itself.

Freedom Stand Ups

Freedom Stand Ups avoid common pitfalls of agile implementation. Instead, multiple cross-functional teams are assembled around common building blocks of the War Plan. The teams may meet every day, every 2 days, or at a frequency that makes sense. There is no hard requirement on frequency - as long as the meeting is being found to be productive, keeping everyone on track, and on the same page.

Format/Agenda of Meetings

The format is malleable and should fit around what is needed for your specific group of people, skill sets, personalities, and situations. However, a loose suggestion may be:

Goals/Deliverable 1 - Update from Engineer Molly Pitcher:

Here is what I accomplished yesterday as it relates to this goal
Here is how I did it
I am still on track
I have a question about X - it may or may not deserve a separate meeting
Here is what I hope to show tomorrow

Goals/Deliverable 2 - Update from George Washington and his Commanders:

Here is what we accomplished yesterday as it relates to this goal
Here is how we did it
We are still on track
We have a question about X - it may or may not deserve a separate meeting
Here is what we hope to show tomorrow

Requirement, Spec & Estimation

All 3 of these are significant - however Freedom to Build emphasizes not getting hung up on final estimation and accuracy prior to commencing work. The nature of new ideas, startups, and products is unplanned at its core. Requirements are highly volatile, and the only practical goal is to achieve a controlled chaos for a MVP launch or to sustain an always shippable product.

Freedom estimation allows you unshackle from Fibonacci scales and death by overestimation. What matters most are Business Days. Even when product vision and scale is large and seemingly overwhelming, initial tasks and foundational items can be established. Team members are expected to estimate high level business days it will take to accomplish a first cut deliverable. At each relevant stand up they must always give an update on the estimate with a deliverable to demonstrate progress, questions, and peer review.

Self Driven Resources

No process or methodology can outweigh the value of self driven team members. Those that are passionate about understanding the overall War Plan, and driven to deliverable completion so that they plan may advance forward.

Candidates that thrive in Freedom to Build methodology are:

Self Directed and Self Motivated with a proven ability to get things done (ESSENTIAL)

Experienced with and Comfortable working in Distributed Development Environment with remote colleagues

Good communicators who can summarize key deliverables and hit daily deadlines (ESSENTIAL)

Relentless pursuit in effort, work, and follow-up with peers to accomplish task completion and release to production

Reasons why candidate is NOT successful with Freedom to Build

Waiting on work because "no one told me to do _____" or "never heard back from ____" or "ball is in _____ court"

Doesn't check in frequently enough for questions and confirmation on direction

#1 Rule: Just Do the Work

3 Pillars of Freedom

Don’t ignore or skip important crucial meetings (vision planning, backlog grooming, code reviews, demo/deliverable driving)
Maximize the “Golden Hour” (Key windows for collaboration between globally distributed teams)
Recognize true progress requires performance that is Adaptive + Follow Through (creativity, thinking outside the box, questioning/deeper analysis) versus Purely Tactical (completing known tasks at hand quickly).

Links from Freedom Fighters