Agile Beyond Software

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Julianna Atkins
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1 Agile Beyond Software Using Agile practices to manage any complex project Laura Howley Agile

2 Who am I, Who is CollabNet? Laura Howley I coach organizations through Agile transformations Background in Startups, Project Management and Sales CollabNet World-leading Certified Scrum Training provider Provide Agile Certified PMI Class CollabNet also builds software for people who build software The CollabNet Platform is the most widely used platform for distributed software development. CollabNet simplifies distributed development and enables organizations to leverage global development talents to deliver better products and innovate faster. CollabNet ScrumWorks offers a lightweight tool to plan and deliver Agile projects, whether connected to the CollabNet Platform or independent. 2 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3 Agile the Buzzword Hey, are you doing agile? We ve been agile for the past year! We re so agile! We have daily meetings! We re totally agile! We have a ScrumMaster, who does stuff! 3 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5 Let s Clear up some Misconceptions Agile is a set of values. Not a process Agile Practices allow you to work in a healthy environment that supports Agile values Agility requires a dramatic shift from traditional project management practices and measurements Agility demands a constant quest for improvement 5 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

7 Excellent Goal! Name an organization that strives to be heavy and slow-moving. Do YOU want to tell shareholders your company looks like this guy? 7 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Agile exposes organizational dysfunctions But requires YOU to

outcome is a healthier organization both internally and

9 Committing to Agile requires hard, potentially painful work Reality check + Grunt Work Customer satisfaction The outcome is a healthier organization both internally and externally 9 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

10 Agile Manifesto Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools Working Software over comprehensive documentation Customer Collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to Change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

14 Show of Hands Who has worked on a project with shifting priorities, changing requirements, a difficult delivery schedule and limited or distributed resources? 14 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

16 Agile Concepts Defined Framework Agile methods are commonly called frameworks rather than processes. Frameworks expect knowns, unknowns and change. Processes futilely seek answers for everything. Value Delivery / Risk Mitigation deliver highest value requirements first; expect requirements of lower value to change over the course of the project. Iterations inspect and adapt cycles allow the right choices to emerge and prevent over-committing to a plan that ultimately does not deliver significant business value. Sustainable Pace over-worked teams sacrifice quality; high stress organizations have high turnover; resource management eliminates focus, resulting in further reduction in quality. Working Product Working product is the only way to measure delivery of business value. Often people realize what they want by seeing what they don t want first. In Agile we like to say, Fail Fast! 16 Copyright 2010 CollabNet, Inc. Portions used with permission. All Rights Reserved.

17 Delivering business value early requires participation The Standish Group reports traditional software teams spend 45% of their efforts building features no one ever uses. Agile delivers the highest value requirements first, and stops developing upon reaching a point of diminishing returns. Delivering this way requires business engagement in the development process.

20 Most People Start with Scrum The management piece of Agile. A simple framework that allows teams to work in an inspect and adapt environment that delivers higher value A collaborative effort involving project teams and customers in an ongoing dialogue. Iterative cycles allow teams to adapt to change as it inevitably occurs in the project Scrum is not a methodology it is a pathway. (Ken Schwaber, co-founder of Scrum) 20 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

21 Scrum has THREE ROLES The Scrum Team MAKES and MEETS Commitments The ScrumMaster Enforces the process and removes team impediments The Product Owner Delivers Business Value. Works with Stakeholders and Scrum Team to define and prioritize requirements, focusing on HIGHEST VALUE features first. 21 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

23 Team Commits to Work in Sprint Planning Meeting We commit to delivering the top 4 Stories on the Backlog for the next Sprint. I ensured the Team had the right information to be able to make a Sprint commitment. Great, we agreed on Acceptance Criteria, what else do you need from me? 23 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

24 What does Done Mean? Backlog Items have Acceptance Criteria defined by Product Owner and clarified by Team and Stakeholders Teams make commitments to delivering Backlog Items according to Acceptance Criteria in a defined Timebox. 24 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

25 Critical Point I trust my Scrum team understands their commitments so I can focus on healthy process for organizational success I love that I can trust my Scrum teams to deliver commitments so I can focus on business objectives! The ScrumMaster and Product Owner DO NOT MANAGE the Team 25 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

26 So who manages? Those teams need managing! We committed to a lot this Sprint. Let s get to work! The Scrum Team self-manages around the commitments they make at the start of a sprint. 26 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measuring Progress At the end of every Sprint, the Team delivers by demonstrating the Team s commitments to the Product Owner for acceptance in the Sprint Review Meeting If the PO accepts the work

27 Measuring Progress At the end of every Sprint, the Team delivers by demonstrating the Team s commitments to the Product Owner for acceptance in the Sprint Review Meeting If the PO accepts the work (according to Acceptance Criteria), the team gets velocity credits which we use to measure progress. If the PO rejects the work, the team does not. There is no such thing as partial credit in Scrum. 27 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

28 Agile measures progress on completed work Agile does not care how much time was spent working on tasks, ONLY that we deliver working increments of product 28 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

But I Can t Commit to an Uninterrupted Sprint!

30 When Scrum is Too Much, Try Kanban Kanban = an Agile Practice with just Three Rules 1. Visualize Your Work 2. Limit Your Work In Progress (WIP) 3. Only Start New Work when Work In Progress is Complete 30 Copyright 2010 CollabNet, Inc. Portions used with permission. All Rights Reserved.

KanBan is Great for More Reactive Work 31

Manage Work In Progress Without a Timebox 32

prioritized backlog Most Importantly, do NOT adopt Kanban because Scrum is Too hard.

33 Warning! Kanban does not have a framework for inspect and adapt Kanban does not require a flat, prioritized backlog Most Importantly, do NOT adopt Kanban because Scrum is Too hard. Adopt Kanban within your Scrum, or as a jumpstart to Agile, knowing inspect and adapt is required 33 Copyright 2010 CollabNet, Inc. Portions used with permission. All Rights Reserved.

34 To Summarize Knowing what you want often requires seeing what you don t want first Consistent teams, working in consistent timeframes produce consistent results that provide realistic metrics Changing requirements are a welcome necessity in delivering the right products Changing resources aka people reduce focus and consistency, resulting in knowledge loss and poor quality People gain deeper knowledge of their project and their team s abilities if they can work together from start to finish Consistency across the board, enhances overall quality and customer satisfaction 34 Copyright 2008 CollabNet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

AGILE methodology- Scrum

AGILE methodology- Scrum What is Agile? This is one of the biggest buzzwords in the IT industry these days. But, what exactly is agile? The Agile model provides alternatives to traditional project management.