Whole Agile

Version 1.0

Copyright © 2012 Peter Scheyen

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Peter Scheyen (pscheyen@gmail.com, @pscheyen)CTO, Richard Ivey School of BusinessFormerly with Comcast, TVWorks, Liberate, CableshareExperience includes Software Developer, Management, VP EngTraditional software development methodologiesIntroduced Agile methods in different contexts

Small team of 10 membersLarge organization of 10 teams of 5-10 members each

Whole Agile

Version 1.0

COMMON PERCEPTIONS OFAGILE METHODS

Quick Fix

Quick Fix?

Repackaged Waterfall

Repackaged Method X?

No More Project Managers

No PMs? No QA?

Change Orders for Free

Free Changes?

Cowboy CodingCowboy Coding?

For Elite Programmers Only

Requires Elite Programmers?

For Web Development Only

Web Programming Only?

For Small Teams Only

Small Teams Only?

It’s Hard!

It’s Hard

WHY BOTHER?

Deliver working software faster

and more frequently

Fewer quality issues

Self-managing, adaptive, learning teams

Less reliance on individual heroes

Greater reliance on high performing teams

More effective use of resources

Can create space for organic innovation

Higher visibility into the true state of projects

No place to hide

WHAT IS AGILE ANYWAY?

A BRIEF HISTORY

Iterative methods date back to the 1950sObject oriented programming from the 1960sAdaptive methodologies from the early 1970sLightweight methods developed in the 1990sAgile Manifesto signed in early 2001Scrum, XP, Crystal, Adaptive Software Development, FDD

AGILE MANIFESTO

We value:Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

http://agilemanifesto.org

IN A NUTSHELL

Working software product as the primary deliverableIterative and incremental product developmentClose collaboration between customer/business and technical roles

Dave Rooney, “An Organizational Structure for Agile Projects”

Sounds simple enough

WHAT IS “WHOLE AGILE”?

Successful agile is more than...working software delivered iteratively in collaboration with customersa set of processesa set of software development practices

Whole Agile looks at the organization as a system taking into account not only Process but also People, Culture, Communication, Physical Environment, Requirements, Organizational Roles

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF

WHOLE AGILE

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF WHOLE AGILE

Basic Agile PracticesSoftware Development PracticesCulturePeopleOrganization and RolesCommunicationFeedback and Adaptation

ASPECT: BASIC AGILE PRACTICES

Backlog of remaining workIteration planningShort, frequent meetings (daily standups)Available customer or customer representative (Product Owner)Burn down charts or similar progress trackingDeliverable software at the end of each iterationRetrospective

ASPECT: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

Out of scope for this discussionImportant to trust the technical team to decide

Requirements sidebar

ASPECT: CULTUREAgile Cultural Norms

Whole TeamCustomer Value-OrientedHonestyTransparencyTrustCommitmentExcellenceSustainable PaceHunger for feedbackContinuous LearningAdaptableAccountable

ASPECT: PEOPLE

Alistair Cockburn: “non-linear, first-order components of software development”People are:

sensitive to communication timing and modalityinconsistent over timevariable day to day and place to placegood citizens that want to do a good job

ASPECT: PEOPLE

Leadership - it takes courageFrequency and impact of decisions increasedEmpowerment and trustHolding people accountable

No place to hide

ASPECT: ORGANIZATION

Key Roles (Dave Rooney, “An Org. Structure for Agile Projects”)Customer or Customer ProxyCoachSubject Matter ExpertGeneralizing SpecialistQAComptroller

Organizational Structure pseudo-matrixedDual Career Paths

ASPECT: COMMUNICATION

High bandwidthOpen and honestDirectly with customerTransparent at all levelsReal-time as possibleMeetings

ASPECT: FEEDBACK AND ADAPTATION

Culture demands constant feedback and adaptationRelentless identification and elimination of wasteSelf-assessment through retrospectivesGuided by metrics (generated automatically)Peer feedbackExperimentation and feedback (failure is an option)Feedback isn’t enough alone -- adaptation

OTHER WHOLE AGILE ASPECTS

Physical EnvironmentToolsPortfolio managementSimplicityJust enough, just in time, just do it

LEAN THINKINGLean Software Development -- Mary and Tom PoppendieckBorrows heavily from Toyota Production System7 Principles

Optimize the wholeEliminate wasteBuild in qualityLearn constantlyDeliver as fast as possibleEngage everyoneKeep getting better

IN SUMMARY (10 min)

Software companies want to deliver more, fasterNon-software companies want to better leverage IT resourcesWhole Agile means:

Iteratively deliver working software in collaboration with the customerPLUSWhole TeamDeep commitment to delivering customer valueHealthy cultureOpen and honest communication and transparencyFeedback and adaptationRelentless elimination of waste

READING LIST

http://scheyeniam.blogspot.com/2012/01/agile-reading-list.html