Craig D. Wilson, MS, PMP, CSM - PMI California Inland ...pmicie.org/images/meeting/062513/when_agile_fails___causes_and... · Craig D. Wilson, MS, PMP, CSM ... Include non-functional

Craig D. Wilson, MS, PMP, CSM

Matincor, Inc.

IT Management Consulting

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� IT Management Consultant

� 10+ years of service as an independent consultant preceded by 10+ years of senior and executive management experience in several Fortune 500 companies

� Graduate degree in Management Science, additional post-graduate studies at UCLA’s Anderson School, Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

� Specializing in program / large project management, project turn-around, and team and organizational development

Copyright Matincor, Inc. 2013

Slide 3 of 39Copyright Matincor, Inc. 2013

Presentation assumption:

Audience is familiar with Agile concepts and perhaps a specific Agile methodology such as Scrum or Kanban

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� Practice & precepts based on “lessons learned” from 60+ years of software development experience

� Most key concepts in use for decades (e.g.; time boxes, iterative development, self-managed teams, co-location, rapid delivery)

� Now packaged in several popular frameworks and methodologies (e.g.; Scrum, Extreme Programming, Kanban, FDD, Crystal, UP lite, Disciplined Agile Delivery)

� No single Agile methodology addresses everything!

� Past experience can help with successful implementation of Agile


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While strongly supporting Agile…

� Let’s not turn a blind eye to the fact that many light weight Agile methodologies cover only a handful of the practices necessary for effective software development projects

� Nor ignore the fact that some companies do a poor job of introducing and executing Agile concepts and precepts



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� Project management and software development, Agile or otherwise, are huge topics – impossible to cover in one brief presentation

� This presentation is intended only to provide a few examples to get the audience to think about their experience and use it to supplement the often “light weight” Agile methodologies

� My observations are based upon personal experience and may differ from other Agile proponents. You must use your own experience to determine what will work best for your situation.

(Don’t follow the GPS instructions over a cliff!)


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� Key benefits of Agile include opportunities to quickly achieve “high value” features and discover problems early

� A focus on delivering working solutions as rapidly as possible with minimal re-work

� However, we can have problems with a project using an Agile methodology just as we can have problems with any project approach

“But, if you did it correctly, you wouldn’t have problems!”



Project results we want Project results we get

exercise

slothdiscipline

lazy

hard work silver bullet

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�The Beginning

�The Middle

�The End


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�Inception

�Construction

�Transition


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� Most Agile methodologies and literature focus on the “middle” of the project

� There are preliminary and follow-on activities that are required to effectively execute an Agile project or program

� Other areas of the organization are impacted by adoption of Agile



Scrum image used by permissionMountain Goat Software

Copyright 2005

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Inception Construction Transition

Management

Team

Stakeholders


Scrum image used by permissionMountain Goat Software

Copyright 2005


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� Enterprise strategic goals, PPM, ROI targets, cost-benefit analysis, feasibility studies – all still exist

� Approach (e.g.; all Agile, combination Agile & traditional, distributed teams, shared teams)

� How will teams be monitored, motivated & rewarded?

� How will projects be terminated?� Product Owner has achieved sufficient value

� Early results indicate potential product/project failure


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� Build cross-functional team with shared responsibility for project success� Must provide training if team new to methodology� Identify Product Owner – and ensure they understand their role & responsibility

� Define “done” – very specifically� Identify & define leader/coach role depending upon

team needs� Scrum Master / Agile PM role will evolve as team matures and experience is gained

� Scope the project� Prepare project scope and initial requirements backlog � Include non-functional requirements (design is emergent but architectural boundaries are “up front”)

� Initial effort estimates



ScrumZiv’s Law

Uncertainty is inherent and inevitable in software

development processes and

products“

Hadar Ziv and Debra Richardson, "The Uncertainty Principle in Software Engineering," 1997

• Sufficient up-front analysis for understanding & risk reduction but not so much as to create rework.

• Beware false certainty!

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� Ensure that all stakeholders are identified and understand their needs / responsibilities

� Necessary in order to define “done”

� May help to categorize stakeholders – including those external to the organization

� Set expectations - primary stakeholders will be more intimately and frequently involved than in traditional projects

� Determine how to coordinate feature and iteration planning with other teams



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� Must support progress tracking based on feature delivery

� May require dropping or modifying traditional benchmarks and stage gates

� Earned Value becomes more effective

� Agile techniques call for more frequent refinements of estimates than traditional processes

� Death marches have always been disruptive but even more so for Agile teams

� Crashing & fast tracking destroy ability to project long-term forecasts and put product quality at risk


X

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� My hot buttons:

� Need continuous backlog grooming

� Beware technical debt (“done” violations)

� Continuous builds and effective regression testing are key to quality

� Maintain a sustainable pace

� Can’t build to a “story” – need to define & design

� Release planning & coordination are on-going


How much time for this

slide?

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� Rapid and easy access to stakeholders is critical to iteration progress & success

� Including up-stream and down-stream process owners

� Coordination with inter-dependent Agile teams is frequent (e.g.; Scrum of Scrums)

� Beware of delayed communications

� e.g.; monthly or quarterly coordination meetings

� Disciplines may coordinate

� e.g.; designers with designers, QA with QA

� Product Owners have an especially key role



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� Capture project metrics and results for final Cost Benefit retrospective

� Perform a project governance retrospective

� Are we getting the information we need?

� How can we improve in an Agile environment?

� What cross-enterprise process improvements are recommended?

� Beware overly prescriptive procedures



Agility at Scale:

Economic Governance, Measured Improvement, and Disciplined Delivery

By Alan Brown, Scott Ambler, Walker Royce

To be published: May 2013

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/c914709e-8097-4537-92ef-8982fc416138/entry/agility_at_scale_economic_governance_measured_improvement_and_disciplined_delivery?lang=ent

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� May require integrated QA test, UAT, beta testers, training, phased deployment, etc.

� Coordinated turn-over to “down-stream” stakeholders (e.g.; operations, support)

� “As built” documentation including architecture and design, technical debt, and known defects

� Project completion retrospective and team recognition


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The Land that Scrum ForgotBy Robert “Uncle Bob” Martin

December 14, 2010

http://www.scrumalliance.org/articles/300-the-land-that-scrum-forgot


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� Acceptance of product

� Feedback to team and Product Owner

� What product improvements are needed?

� What inception, construction, and transition processes improvements are needed?




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� Requirements hierarchy

� Communication structure

� Interaction coordination

� Integrated testing

� Release planning


Program

Product

Theme

Epic

Story Story

Epic

Theme

Product

Theme

Epic

Theme

Epic

Story Story

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� Quick time boxed iterations allow a team to adjust their feature priorities and iteration/release goals

� Changes to schedule or deliverables still need coordination with other teams and stakeholders


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� Most Agile methodologies focus only on team dynamics

� Software engineering is given short shrift

� Your product is likely developed using Object Oriented programming and Service Oriented Architecture

� A basic understanding of Object Oriented Analysis and Design will greatly improve communications between team members

� Especially between non-technical and technical staff


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� Team development – Communities of Practice

� Private “open source” code

� Anyone can contribute

� Monitored by responsible party


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Strictly speaking, it isn’t a failure of Agile

- Not a failure of the Agile Manifesto

- Not a failure of lessons learned from 60+ years of software development

But more often……


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Cause CorrectionLimitations of individual methodologies.

For example, limited span of project lifecycle (looking only at “development” and not “inception, development, transition”) or lack of comprehensive requirements engineering techniques.

Evaluate your organization’s needs and perform a gap analysis between those needs and the scope of the chosen methodology. Using your experience, knowledge, and other sources, supplement the methodology keeping Agile principles in mind.

Failure to apply discipline to the application of the methodology and processes.

For example, failure to groom the project backlog or allowing technical debt to build up.

Enforce team discipline in the application of Agile concepts and the selected methodology.


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� Management of software development is constantly evolving and improving

� Never stop learning (& un-learning!), never stop pushing the envelope


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� E-mail to:

[email protected]

� Visit website at:

www.matincor.com

� Connect on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/matincor


Documents

Craig D. Wilson, MS, PMP, CSM - PMI California Inland ...pmicie.org/images/meeting/062513/when_agile_fails___causes_and... · Craig D. Wilson, MS, PMP, CSM ... Include non-functional