We can officially confirm a couple of crucial tasks were undersized this sprint.  The most significant one is the port of our source from Open Design Engine to the development builds of the Sliderule CLI.  We are clearly going to have to re-scope this sprint.

Backlog – See Sprint 2 tab for current sprint plan and Backlog tab for full backlog.

Reports

J.

Did

• Ported parts, tools, and precautions for sensor to Sliderule, missing the assembly instructions

Will Do

• Add assembly instructions for Sensor to Sliderule port

Blocks?

• Sliderule needed more time to prep for Holoseat than anticipated; dividing development time between the two projects

Bryan

Did

• Still preparing materials for lawyer
• Mostly complete with bank things

Will Do

• Reply to lawyer
• Finish bank things

Blocks?

• Missing some required materials

The post PY19 Sprint 2 Stand Up 4 appeared first on Model B.

Two things show up this week in our burn down chart.  One, its total size changed because we found an error in our sprint sizing.  Two, we are moving more slowly than we would like.  Some of our tasks appear undersized, so we will just have to see how much we can actually get done.

Backlog – See Sprint 2 tab for current sprint plan and Backlog tab for full backlog.

Reports

J.

Did

• Started laying out sensor source in Sliderule

Will Do

• Finish porting sensor to Sliderule
• Publish belated sprint kick off blog post

Blocks?

• none

Bryan

Did

• Published blog post
• Made contact with lawyer
• Reached out to Evil Mad Scientist Labs

Will Do

• Reply to lawyer
• Deal with bank things
• Start work on COGS calculations

Blocks?

• none

The post PY19 Sprint 2 Stand Up 3 appeared first on Model B.

It has been a while since we posted, but we are back now (and back in sprint mode).  This sprint is primarily focused on moving from our Alpha design to our Beta design and some new marketing initiatives.  The first step in the redesign work is to update our project hosting to make it easier to track modifications to the design.

Backlog – See Sprint 2 tab for current sprint plan and Backlog tab for full backlog.

Reports

J.

Did

• Edited blog post for Bryan
• Finished sorting out new project documentation process

Will Do

• Move sensor module to sliderule

Blocks?

• none

Bryan

Did

• Worked on moving banks
• Pinged lawyer about TM
• Started reaching out to marketing contacts
• Drafted blog post (have a few more edits)

Will Do

• Finish moving banks
• Get a hold of lawyer
• Publish blog post

Blocks?

• none

The post PY19 Sprint 2 Stand Up 2 appeared first on Model B.

We are doing some mid-iteration inspection and adaptation, which closes our burn down better than last week, but also represents a little backing up to try a different course where social media is concerned.  In other news, the business structure work is coming along at a reasonable pace.

Backlog – See Kanban 1.1 tab for current sprint plan and Backlog tab for full backlog.

Reports

J.

Did

• Sent last remaining Alpha agreement out over email and queued up counter-signature of one agreement with Bryan
• Created VA Articles of Organization
• Created VA Domestication request

Note, planned to reach out more to Alpha Testers, and did not really do a good job of that outside last week’s stand up.  Changing gears starting this week.

Will Do

• Work to close out last items on Alpha agreement list (should be able to close at least 1 of the 2)
• Solicit photos and comments about Holoseat setups from at least 2 Alpha Testers to start a series of mini-blog posts
• Research how to best utilize Facebook pages

Blocks?

• Not being versed in social media

Bryan

Did

• Tried to tag Alpha Testers, but could not figure it out; turns out Pages have limited tagging powers

Will Do

• File VA paperwork
• Solicit photos and comments about Holoseat setups from at least 2 Alpha Testers to start a series of mini-blog posts

Blocks?

• none

The post PY19 Kanban 1.1 Stand Up 3 appeared first on Model B.

Planning is done, so it is time to get PY19 started.  Our iterations are going to be shorter than normal during the Alpha Test (hence the 4 week cadence on the burn down chart).  Look for more, smaller tasks geared toward running the test and becoming even more active on social media.

Backlog – See Kanban 1.1 tab for current sprint plan and Backlog tab for full backlog.

Reports

J.

Did

• n/a

Will Do

• Get required social media account set up
• Publish first Alpha Test Guest Blog Post
• Communicate with Alpha Testers about starting up the official Alpha Test (play testing and social media)
• Schedule new stand ups on Holoseat Calendar

Blocks?

• none

Bryan

Did

• n/a

Will Do

• Work with J on required social media account
• Post first FB prompt to Alpha Testers
• Business research

Blocks?

• none

The post PY19 Kanban 1.1 Stand Up 0 appeared first on Model B.

This past February we posted about our progress during 2016 and our plans for 2017. In that post we identified two key goals for 2017, to be completed by SyndCon in August. Those goals were:

1. Finalize the hardware design needed to address the key feedback from demos at SyndCon 2016.
2. Run a private beta test program for Holoseat to vet the design before releasing version 1.0.

So how did we do? We got back from SyndCon a few weeks ago and I am happy to report it was a complete success. But I must admit, the way we achieved that success and the Holoseat we took to SyndCon were quite different than what I envisioned when we wrote that post back in February. To understand why it is best we take a look at each goal one at a time.

Goal 1 – Finalize Hardware Design

Two pieces of feedback drove the hardware design work called for in the first goal. The first piece of feedback was an unanticipated need to tweak Holoseat’s settings every time we changed players or games. One setting in particular, trigger cadence – the pedaling speed required for Holoseat to recognize a player is walking, took half of the demo time to dial in during most demos. Our intended solution was to migrate from an Arduino controller board to a significantly more powerful one, the CHIP Pro.  This change would enable on board management of player specific profiles. These profiles would capture each individual player’s settings per game enabling players to switch out Holoseat settings as easily as they switched between games.

The second piece of feedback driving Goal 1 was a desire for faster response times from Holoseat.  Take a look at the video below to see the v0.3 response times for yourself.

While not captured in the February blog post, we had a line of research lined up to address this request.   But, we prioritized this research lower than incorporating the new controller board. The irony of this decision will become apparent in Part 2 of this series of blog posts.

Goal 2 – Run the Beta Test

How would you fund the development and manufacturing of a beta design for a new hardware project? If your answer is “KickStarter!” you are very close to where we were in our thinking last February.

Sadly, running a successful crowd source campaign takes more time, and a greater social media presence, than we had in 2017. Thankfully we came to this realization (through careful research) before we got too far into the year. At the time we thought we were completely blocked on this goal.  So, we spent most of 2017 assuming we would have to wait at least a year before we could engage outside players as testers.

But in agile projects like Holoseat, being blocked does not mean things are hopeless. Blocks are meant to be resolved and once they are you can get back to working on implementing your plan. Sometimes the trick to resolving blocks is to recognize how a completely different solution, one that is not blocked, can achieve the stated goals.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we share what actually happened in 2017 and Part 3 where we lay out the 2018 plan, which has us coming full circle in our quest to find the right controller board for Holoseat.

The post There and Back Again: An OSHW Project’s Tale – Part 1 appeared first on Model B.

The year is flying by. Sprint 2 is done and suddenly it is time to get everything ready for SyndCon 2017. Our last sprint was a roller coaster ride, full of mission critical Product Backlog Items (PBIs). On numerous occasions we asked ourselves “are going to get enough done before this year’s SyndCon?”  Fortunately, we applied all of the lessons learned from previous sprints and delivered exactly what we needed to lock in the v0.4 design. And I am happy to report we are ready to share our progress with our fellow guild members in August.

How We Did Last Sprint

Review

As we shared in our last sprint kick off post, the number one priority for Sprint 2 was to implement the HID keyboard interface through an Arduino based board. We worked hard in planning to ensure we would be successful. One key to our planning was breaking this PBI down into smaller bites.  Thanks to the smaller PBIs we made slow, steady progress.  We also more quickly identified when and where things were not working. Thanks to this planning, we have fully demonstrated the architecture and implementation we will be using for the v0.4 HID keyboard.

It is worth noting another key to this success was our willingness to adapt our implementation to suit the technology stacks the rest of the CHIP Pro community is adopting. It turns out our initial implementation plan had some hits and misses. For example, we correctly identified Docker as a useful technology for the CHIP Pro, but it is lacking in key documentation. On the other hand, our initial decision to go with Node.js was not sustainable. There is just not enough community support for the combined CHIP/CHIP Pro platform for Node.js related projects. So, we have moved to the language of CHIP IoT development, Python, for the v0.4 firmware.

Retrospective

Overall we had a very good sprint. We accomplished what we needed and demonstrated an improved level of teamwork. That does not mean the sprint was without its challenges. Both Bryan and I had outside blocks at the same time due to work and family demands. This led to our missing several stand up meetings in a row mid-sprint. And, despite how well the sprint ended, the implementation details for the HID keyboard interface looked like they would not be completed as late as week 6 of 8.

Yet, as we noted in our retrospective meeting the theme of Sprint 2 was recovery. Unlike past sprints, we recognized the pattern of missed stand up meetings and immediately resumed meeting. Further, our improved teamwork helped us identify the sticking points around the HID keyboard research.  We were then able to select the proper path forward, leading to a surge in productivity the last two weeks and the successful completion of the sprint.

Bryan and I also identified a new lesson at the close of Sprint 2. The two of us have reached the limit on how much work we can take on in any given sprint. If we want (or need) to take on more work than we have been doing, we must bring in outside resources. These outside resources can include volunteers or contractors.

What We Are Doing This Sprint

The Sprint 3 plan can be summed up in one word, SyndCon. Every PBI is directly related to getting ready to demo and present our progress toward v0.4 at SyndCon. This includes:

• implementing the new sensors we have selected
• upgrading our demo hardware to showcase improved sensitivity and packaging
• creating a professional, scripted demo process (complete with signage and dedicated demonstration games)
• bringing Holoseat swag to give out at SyndCon
• creating our presentations for SyndCon

In case this looks like a lot of work for 7 weeks (yes we are running a truncated sprint), that is because it is. Based on our final lesson from Sprint 2, the Sprint 3 plan includes calling on outside resources to help us get the job done. And, the good news is they have all accepted.  You can see the full list of PBIs on our Sprint 3 plan (click the Sprint 3 tab) and our complete backlog (click the Backlog tab) in our 2017 planning document.

As always, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all things Holoseat.  And you can follow the week to week details of this, and future sprints, on the Holoseat project News page (Atom feed).

The post 2017 Sprint 3 Kickoff – Prep for SyndCon 2017 appeared first on Model B.

The Big Picture

Sprint 1 of 2017 is off and running.  Each sprint builds upon the work of the last to move Holoseat closer to our annual goals.  For 2017, the goals are to finalize the v0.4 hardware and to set up Holoseat’s beta testing (see the last blog post for more details about the 2017 goals).  Our previous sprint was Sprint 6 of 2016.  Leading up to Sprint 6 we had some scheduling setbacks.  We decided to work on a more focused set of objectives for Sprint 6, with the goal of completing all unfinished documentation for v0.3 in order to have a strong foundation for the development of v0.4.  Our yard stick for completing our documentation was submitting v0.3 for certification as Open Source Hardware (OSHW).

How We Did Last Sprint

So, how did we do?  I am happy to report we completed all Product Backlog Items (PBIs) for Sprint 6.  In even better news, the Sprint 6 work also resulted in v0.3 receiving its certification as OSHW.  Not only does the work publicly demonstrate our commitment to open source hardware, it also taught us invaluable lessons about the state of the project.  We learned what features are ready to go (e.g our cadence calculation algorithm).  We also identified the features which need some tweaking (like the logic voltage bug with our sensors).  Finally, we discovered which features need significant development for v0.4 (the most critical of which is the controller hardware).

Fix for Logic Voltage Bug – SparkFun Logic Level Converter (CHIP Pro for Scale)

And what lessons did we learn during Sprint 6?  One of the major lessons was that we got a little lucky.  Life finally settled down for both of us after the insanity that was Sprint 5, which was a significant part of why we were able to complete all of our PBIs.  But, we also recognize we planned well and that going forward, solid planning would be key to successful sprints.  That is why we took our time in developing the road map for 2017 and preparing the Sprint 1 plan.

What We Are Doing This Sprint

Speaking of 2017’s first sprint, let’s take a look at what is on the plan.  Sprint 1 started on Feb 22 and runs through April 19.  The sprint covers administrative items necessary to keep Model B running, development items to address the highest priority questions about v0.4, and planning items for the beta testing crowd source campaign.  That sounds like a lot, but we measured twice before committing to the sprint plan and we feel confident this list is just the right size.  You can see the full list of PBIs on our Sprint 1 plan (click the Sprint 1 tab) and our complete backlog (click the Backlog tab) in our 2017 planning document.

As always, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep up on all things Holoseat.  And you can follow the week to week details of this, and future sprints, on the Holoseat project News page (Atom feed).

The post 2017 Sprint 1 Kick Off – Finalizing v0.4 Hardware appeared first on Model B.

So now we’re on to the next sprint.  This one has a slightly different focus than others we’ve tried before. We are are preparing the project for submission to the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) for their newly announced open source hardware certification.  In fact, if you review their announcement, you’ll see Holoseat is on the list of companies that have said we will submit before the end of this year.

What does this mean for long term goals?  For starters, it means we’re committing to keeping this project as Open Source Hardware, something we both feel very strongly is important.  It also means we’re making a commitment to not let our documentation get quite so far behind as we have this past year.  This is particularly important for those that have offered to help us with development, testing, and other aspects of the product.  

Want to get involved?  Head on over to the project site and leave us a message on the forums.  Want to keep up with all things Holoseat?  Subscribe to our mailing list.  Stay tuned for more news at the end of this sprint.

The post An Overview of Sprint 6 and What Happened to Sprint 5 appeared first on Model B.