Information Radiators

Contents 1 Importance 2 PMI-ACP Exam Outline Reference 3 Body 4 History 5 Current practice 6 See also 7 Sources & Reference 8 External Links

An Information Radiator is a publicly posted display that shows people walking by information they care about without having to ask anyone a question. Typically information radiators are big, very easy to see, and change often enough to be worth revisiting. Online files and Web pages generally do not make good information radiators, because an information radiator needs to be visible without significant effort on the part of the viewer.

Importance

• More communication with fewer interruptions to the team
• Serves to inform people outside of the project team

PMI-ACP Exam Outline Reference

Tools and Techniques Communication

Body

Information radiators can be used on any project, large or small. A small team can use them very conveniently to maintain information that they otherwise would have to maintain on the computer (which is both slower and less visible). Information radiators are typically used to show status information, such as:

1. The current iteration’s work set (use cases or stories)
2. The current work assignments
3. The number of tests written (or passed)
4. The number of use cases (or stories) delivered
5. The status of key servers (up, down, in maintenance)
6. The core of the domain model
7. The results of the last reflection workshop
8. Velocity to date
9. Story points to date

Online files and web pages generally do not make good information radiators, as they need to be visible without significant effort on the part of the viewer.

Examples of Information radiators:

History

Coined by Alistair Cockburn around the year 2000 while he stood in a Thoughtworks office looking at all the paper on the walls around him.

Current practice

Typically on paper and posted in the team room or hallway. Unusual examples include a (real!) traffic light, a colored orb, and a computer monitor hung outside a cubicle's partition in the hallway.

See also

• Visual Management Blog
• Google Image Search: Information Radiator
• Community Guide of the PMI-ACP
• Stakeholder Engagement

Sources & Reference

Cockburn, A. (2004). Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams. Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN-10: 0201699478

External Links

More information Radiator