The Matrix Dave Whalen Technologies Overview Quick Review

Overview Quick Review: Triage Severity vs. Priority What is the “Matrix”? Why do we

Quick Review – Triage French – “sorting” A system used by software development teams

Severity vs. Priority Often use interchangeably NOT THE SAME THING! Severity – defines the

Determining Severity & Priority Initially defined during defect discovery Validated during “Triage” Ordinal data

Priority Defects should be resolved based on Priority NOT Severity! Answers 2 Questions: ◦

The “Matrix” Visual tool or … “Mental” process Assists in evaluating and prioritizing defect

The “Matrix” – What To Fix? Assess defects in terms of: ◦ Difficulty –

The “Matrix” – What To Fix? Assign Priority based on Quadrant (Q-Score) Q-Score =

The “Matrix” – When To Fix It? QI - Priority 1 ◦ Low Difficulty,

The “Matrix” – When To Fix It? QIII – Priority 3 ◦ Low Difficulty,

Summary Quick Review: Triage Severity vs. Priority What is the “Matrix”? Why do we

Questions? Contact Information ◦ Email david. whalen@comcast. net ◦ Instant Messenger MSN: david. whalen@comcast.

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The “Matrix” Dave Whalen Technologies

Overview Quick Review: Triage Severity vs. Priority What is the “Matrix”? Why do we need the Matrix? Using the Matrix

Quick Review – Triage French – “sorting” A system used by software development teams to ration limited technical resources when the number of defects needing resolution exceeds the resources available to correct and verify them so as to resolve the greatest number of defects possible. (My definition)

Severity vs. Priority Often use interchangeably NOT THE SAME THING! Severity – defines the impact the defect has on the customer and likelihood of occurrence ◦ Obscure Fatal System Error vs. Spelling Error Priority – determines the order in which defects will be fixed/resolved and retested

Determining Severity & Priority Initially defined during defect discovery Validated during “Triage” Ordinal data ◦ Not numeric, relative ranking only ◦ Highly subjective! How many levels? ◦ Between 4 & 5 ◦ Odd vs. Even ◦ Order (1 -4, 4 -1)

Priority Defects should be resolved based on Priority NOT Severity! Answers 2 Questions: ◦ What do we fix? ◦ When do we fix it? Based on: ◦ Impact on the Customer (Impact or Severity) ◦ Resolution Difficulty (Difficulty) Time Resources

The “Matrix” Visual tool or … “Mental” process Assists in evaluating and prioritizing defect resolution Ranking 2 Factors: ◦ Difficulty (x-axis) ◦ Severity/Impact (yaxis)

The “Matrix” – What To Fix? Assess defects in terms of: ◦ Difficulty – 4 levels ◦ Severity/Impact – 4 levels Plot results ◦ 16 possible points ◦ Note: no fencesitting

The “Matrix” – What To Fix? Assign Priority based on Quadrant (Q-Score) Q-Score = Priority ◦ ◦ QI = Priority 1 QII = Priority 2 QIII = Priority 3 QIV = Priority 4 Additional ranking within a Quadrant

The “Matrix” – When To Fix It? QI - Priority 1 ◦ Low Difficulty, High Impact ◦ Fix it Now! QII – Priority 2 ◦ High Difficulty, High Impact, ◦ Prior to next build

The “Matrix” – When To Fix It? QIII – Priority 3 ◦ Low Difficulty, Low Impact ◦ Defer to next minor release (dot release – 1. 1, 1. 2, 1. 3, etc. ) QIV – Priority 4 ◦ Low Difficulty, High Impact ◦ Defer to next major release (2. 0, 3. 0, 4. 0, etc. )

Summary Quick Review: Triage Severity vs. Priority What is the “Matrix”? Why do we need the Matrix? Using the Matrix

Questions? Contact Information ◦ Email david. whalen@comcast. net ◦ Instant Messenger MSN: david. whalen@comcast. net Yahoo: dave_whalen 14@yahoo. com More Stuff ◦ www. stickyminds. com ◦ Search on “whalen”