Is “Distributed” and “Agile”
a contradiction?
Distributed projects actuallybenefit the most from Agile
…because they have the most room for improvement
2007 Study of software projectsof similar size and complexity
Average time required to complete:
Colocated teamsDistributed teams
48.3 days97.3 days
Espinosa, Slaughter, Kraut, and HerbslebOrganization Science, Jul-Aug 2007
Why?!
So how does Scrum help us?
Working software early and often
Inspection and Retrospection
Visibility about the “leaks”
Adaptation: Action to improve
+
The Big 4 “Leaks”:
CommunicationCollaborationRelationshipTechniques
• ScrumMaster should be located with Dev Team• Short Sprints – 2 weeks or less• Dev Team does Daily Scrum during local business
hours• Real-time meetings between Dev Team and Product
Owner must be visual, not just audio
Product Owner in Location ADev Team in Location B
• ScrumMaster should be located with Dev Team• Short Sprints – 2 weeks or less• Dev Team does Daily Scrum during local business
hours• Real-time meetings between Dev Team and Product
Owner must be visual, not just audio• Standing weekly call for Product Owner and Dev
Team (in addition to lots of other interactions)• Product Owner to Dev Team location for project
kickoff• Product Owner visits Dev Team location regularly
Product Owner in Location ADev Team in Location B
• To be effective, Dev Team bonding must occur• Dev Team members colocated for first Sprint• Ongoing “ambassadorship”• Multiple forms of continuous live communication• Daily Scrum live via webcam
Dev Team split between two (or more) separate locations
• To be effective, Dev Team bonding must occur• Dev Team members colocated for first Sprint• Ongoing “ambassadorship”• Multiple forms of continuous live communication• Daily Scrum live via webcam• Scrum Artifacts maintained using electronic tool• Test-driven Development• Continuous Integration
Dev Team split between two (or more) separate locations
free download from distributedscrumprimer.com
