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Agile Entrepreneurs- Part 2 of 3: Agile Requirements & Planning

Too often wannabe entrepreneurs fade out because they do not have the resources to put their ideas to the test. They may be able to talk to a customer or two, but there they often reach a dead end when the customer asks for a prototype or demo. It costs money - and takes time - to build one. And most aspiring entrepreneurs don't have a lot of money- or not enough - at least that's what they think.

If you're an aspiring software entrepreneur, without an infinite capacity for risk, your prayers have just been answered.

Imagine this scenario. The entrepreneur uses an online (web-based) agile project management tool to define the requirements. He then meets with potential customers, gets their feedback and refines the requirements, and prioritizes the features.

Next the entrepreneur defines a short Release that contains the bare minimum functionality needed to "validate the business model". In plain English, this means that there's a customer out there who is willing to pay for it if delivered as promised.

This is where it gets interesting. The entrepreneur and the potential customer(s) decide on and define together - quite possibly directly into the online project management tool- the highest priority features to be implemented in the first three Iterations.

Continued in "Agile Entrepreneurs, Part 3 of 3, Agile Software Development"
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