The customers have the right to expect that builders tackle the most important work each cycle and deliver maximum usable business value. They choose the stories with the highest return on investment that fit the builders’ estimates during planning.
Customers also have the right to see progress in a running system, not just slide decks or status reports. They specify the acceptance criteria, and a suite of repeatable tests prove that the criteria is met.
This should be obvious: customers deserve incremental progress they can see, criteria they define, and quick, repeated proof that the work actually works.
Discussions for your team
- Are we focused on the highest-ROI stories each iteration?
- Can the customers easily verify that the acceptance criteria are met?
- How often can the customers see new versions of the running software?
- How do we use customer’s input to adjust priorities?