becoming agile an introduction and tips for getting started

BECOMING AGILEAN INTRODUCTION AND TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED

Bob Schommer, CSP, CSPO, PMPAgile Coach

September 17, 2013

ABOUT SKYLINE TECHNOLOGIES• Microsoft Gold Certified Partner supporting five practice areas including: Business

Intelligence, Custom Software Solutions, Enterprise Portals, Online Marketing and IT Business Consulting.

• Skyline’s IT Business Consulting group:– Builds IT strategies that transform IT from a cost center into a strategic asset;

– Integrates IT into official business processes so companies can exploit technology to drive profitable growth, control costs and improve customer service;

– Guides and mentors people in best of breed development methodologies, business analysis techniques and quality assurance programs;

– Provides certified (PMI and Scrum) program and project managers, senior quality assurance professionals and experienced business analysts.

• Proud sponsors of PMI-NEW and the Northeast Wisconsin Agile Users Group

Credible People, Credible Solutions, Incredible Results!

AGENDA• Agile Principles• The Scrum Framework• Slicing the Cake• Visualizing Progress (or the lack thereof)• Becoming a ScrumMaster• Final Thoughts and Questions

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AGILE?• Iterative and incremental development (IID)

– Working software in each iteration• Evolutionary and adaptive

– Inspect and adapt– Visibility

• Iterative and adaptive planning– Risk driven– Value driven

• Self managed and self organized teams• Time boxed

HISTORY• 1957: IID was used on NASA’s Project Mercury• 1970’s: Successful use on numerous large, life-critical systems

(e.g. space, avionic, defense)• 1992: Canadian ATC system• 1994: DoD adopts new standard that prefers iterative and

evolutionary methods• 1995: Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber first formalized Scrum• 2001: Agile Manifesto emerged during a weekend meeting of

seventeen “agilites” in Utah

AGILE MANIFESTO“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping

others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.”www.agilemanifesto.org

Individuals and interactions over … processes and tools.Working software over … comprehensive documentation.Customer collaboration over … contract negotiation.Responding to change over … following a plan.

AGILE PRINCIPLES• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous

delivery of valuable software. • Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes

harness change for the customer's competitive advantage. • Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of

months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. • Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the

project. • Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and

support they need, and trust them to get the job done. • The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within

a development team is face-to-face conversation.

AGILE PRINCIPLES• Working software is the primary measure of progress. • Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors,

developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

• Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done – is essential.

• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

TRIPLE CONSTRAINT DOES NOT GO AWAY

Scope

Cost Time

Traditional MethodsScope

Cost Time

Scope drives

budget and schedule

Agile Approach

Budget and schedule

drives scope

Prioritized by business value

It is impossible to fully define requirements until the client actually begins to use the product.

SCRUM TERMSScrum Not an acronym. Sometimes used to refer to the daily

stand up meetingSprint An iteration – typically 2-4 weeks in durationProduct Backlog A prioritized list of product features with estimated

effortSprint Backlog Detailed list of tasks that the Scrum Team has

committed to deliver during a sprintScrum Board Used by Scrum Teams to track sprint progress –

typically a white board with post-it notesBurn Down Publicly displayed chart showing work remaining –

either for the sprint or a release

SCRUM ROLES

Product Owner

Product vision

Prioritizes work to maximize ROI

Determines when to deploy

Keeps team “fed” with high value work

Scrum Team

Self organizing

Cross functional skills

Creates and enforces own ground rules

Responsible for commitments

Scrum Master

Works for the team

Coach, Leader, Facilitator, Change Agent

Removes impediments

Has no authority

Potential Deployment

Sprint Review

Scrum Planning

Sprint Planning 2 Parts: Selection and Decomp

Daily Scrum

Sprint 2-4 Weeks

Team Retrospective

Product Backlog & Team Formation

THE SCRUM FRAMEWORK

BECOMING AGILESKELETON

• Fairly easy to implement• Within weeks for many• Customers begin seeing

improvement

HEART• Can be more difficult• Can take months or years• Change in culture,

behavior and organization• Opportunities are

exciting!

SLICING THE CAKE

SOFTWARE LAYERSWeb Application

Business Service

API

Back Office System

Sprin

t 1

Sprin

t 2

Sprin

t 3

Sprin

t 4

Sprin

t 5

CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SLICING THE CAKE

• Focus on high value features first• Code will be “touched” multiple times

– There will be re-work• There will be changes

– Plan for refactoring• Multiple test cycles should mean higher quality• Expect customer excitement• Stop at “good enough”

SPRINT BACKLOG – DAY ONEPlanned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

SPRINT BACKLOG – DAY FIVEPlanned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

SPRINT BACKLOG – DAY TENPlanned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

BOTTOM’S UPPlanned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

UNPLANNED WORK IS KILLING US!Planned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

EVERYONE’S BUSY BUT NOTHING IS GETTING DONEPlanned Checked Out DONE! Unplanned

GETTING TO “DONE”• Has “Done” been defined and is it understood?

– Checklist– Demonstrable value

• Three questions work well for co-located, disciplined teams– Focused on getting stories “done”

• Walk the board to keep focus on the story– Holds team members accountable– Impediments are obvious– Team should lead the discussion

• Mix it up

TECHNIQUES• Remember the team should be self managed

– Use the retrospective to problem solve– Stress ownership– Any team member can do any task

• Keep tasks small– No more than 2 days to complete a task

• Remove impediments• Ask questions• Coach

BEING A SCRUMMASTER REQUIRES …• A servant leadership attitude

– “I work for the team.”– Protector of team

• Maturity– Comfortable with conflict– Hold the team accountable

• Confidence– Let the team manage themselves– Work yourself out of a job

• Bravery– Challenge the status quo

HIGH-PERFORMING DEVELOPMENT “ENGINE”

Product Backlog

Feature 1

Feature 2

Feature 3

Feature 4

Feature “n”

Scrum TeamProduct Owner

Raw Materials High Performance Development Engine

High Business Value

SCRUMMASTER’S ROLE• Maintenance, repairs and clean up• Optimizes and tunes the “engine”• Ensures high quality “raw materials”

from the Product Owner• Drives organizational change• Facilitates• Resolves impediments

SOME COMMON IMPEDIMENTS• Interruptions• Environments– Physical– Technical

• Work space• Other team members

• Organizational– PMO– QA– Managers

• Product Owner

AGILE’S POPULARITY IS A REACTION BY TEAMS TO …

• Overbearing controls• Paperwork• Detailed estimates that

become reality• Project “death marches”

Developers want to develop. Testers want to test.

• Unproductive meetings• Forced deadlines• Long hours• Time not spent

developing

CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO• Agile is consistent with continuous improvement

– Lean for software development

• Anything that impedes the team should be challenged– Governance– PMO– Even regulatory (Do “just enough” to pass)

• Impetus for holistic organizational improvements

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ADDED A TOOL TO YOUR TOOLBOX?

• Your value to your organization increases when you can solve more and bigger problems– Not every problem is a nail so …– Your solution should not always be a hammer

• Agile and traditional methods are both viable approaches depending on …– The project– Your organization– Your skills

RESOURCES• Web Sites

– http://agile.vc.pmi.org– www.agilealliance.org– www.scrumalliance.org– www.mountaingoatsoftware.com

• Books– Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide by Craig Larman– Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn– Agile Project Management with Scrum by Ken Schwaber– Kanban and Scrum: Making the most of both by Henrick Kniberg and Mattias Skarin– Succeeding with Agile by Mike Cohn

• NEW Agile Users Group (www.newagile.org)

http://www.agilealliance.org/



http://www.scrumalliance.org/

http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/

THANK YOU!

Bob Schommer

[email protected]

www.skylinetechnologies.com

mailto:[email protected]

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