What is Agile ALM?The Value of  Agile Application Lifecycle Management Defined

Matt Klassen

Strategic Solutions Manager, MKS Inc.

Overview

• The State of Software

• What is Agile ALM?

• Defining Value

• How Agile ALM Creates Business Value

• Designing the Right Agile ALM Solution

• Conclusion

The Industrialization of Software Development

Yesterday Today Tomorrow

Software as InnovatorSoftware as Innovator

Quality  Inherent Contained InterdependentProductivity  Low Diminishing GlobalTraceability  None Simple ComplexVariants One A Handful Thousands

Cycle Time Whenever Shortening InstantaneousInnovation Craftsmen Factory Driver

What is the Solution?

• Some say ALM is the answer• Gartner and Forrester and many vendors are touting ALM

• Some say Agile is the answer• The Agile wave cannot be ignored…too much evidence exists

• If ALM is good and Agile is good is Agile ALM better?

First we should define ALM, then we can define Agile ALM and the value of Agile ALM.

What is ALM?

• Application Lifecycle Management is about improving the way in which we build and manage applications such that better software is delivered more predictably to drive increasing levels of business value.

• Forrester suggests that ALM is really about:• Relationships of assets

• Workflow

• Visibility into progress 

• Gartner says it is about:• Sharing information about artifacts

• Workflow system that describes the sequence of activities

• Data warehouse to capture information

• What is clear is that it is much MORE than simply managing requirements or testing or change.

ChangeManagement

Requirements Tests

Specifications Source

Application Lifecycle Management

Development Process

Project Management

Metrics and Dashboards

Compliance & cross-domain

Reports

From Development Tools to an ALM Platform

Competence

(software domain specific capabilities)

Coherence

(relationship across softw

are do

mains)

Adaptability(implementable)

7

ALM Products

Integrated Suites

Development Tools

Engineering Platforms

Refresher on Agile

• 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

• Agile Processes• Scrum seems to have the momentum for the enterprise

• Kanban and lean are important as Agile scales and evolves

• XP is still used significantly

Agile ALM

• A hybrid ALM solution based on Agile and ALM principles and common Agile processes that is tailored for your enterprise needs.

• It should represent just enough process and tooling to satisfy critical needs of the enterprise such as:• Geographically distributed teams

• Large teams of teams

• Support for other processes

• Complex product needs

• Compliance and regulatory requirements

• Integrations with existing tools deemed mandatory

• Enterprise grade change management

Defining Value

• Gartner defines the value of ALM in the following dimensions:

• Agility

• Predictability

• Auditability

• Quality

• Productivity

• These still apply to Agile ALM“These benefits result in better control of costs and risks in development projects across the spectrum of applications that run the business, grow the business or transform the business. Savings also stem from the reduction of unnecessary rework and better alignment of projects with business needs.” Gartner MarketScope for Application Life Cycle Management, 2008

Agile ALM  Agility

Agile Process

Agile Process

Dynamic Reuse Dynamic Reuse

Reduce Defect Cycle TimeReduce Defect Cycle Time

Agile Traditional ALM

Agile Principle: Short iterations, each

delivering tangible value.

Agile Principle: Short iterations, each

delivering tangible value.

Agile ALM  Auditability

End to End TraceabilityEnd to End Traceability

Automated Change Management

Automated Change Management

Regulatory ComplianceRegulatory

Compliance

Agile Traditional ALM

Agile Principle(s): Responding to change, Team defined process

Agile Principle(s): Responding to change, Team defined process

Agile ALM  Predictability

Workflow Automation

Workflow Automation

Collaboration Platform

Collaboration Platform

Real-time IndicatorsReal-time Indicators

Agile Traditional ALM

Agile Principle(s): Time-boxed iterations,

Fixed resources, Disciplined process

Agile Principle(s): Time-boxed iterations,

Fixed resources, Disciplined process

Agile ALM  Quality

Asset ReuseAsset

ReuseIntegrated Requirements

& Test ManagementIntegrated Requirements

& Test Management

Process Enforcement

Process Enforcement

Please return to the highlighted route!

Agile Traditional ALM

Agile Principle(s): Customer collaboration,Emphasis on working

software, Continuous validation

and integration

Agile Principle(s): Customer collaboration,Emphasis on working

software, Continuous validation

and integration

Agile ALM  Productivity

Task AutomationTask Automation

Traditional, Agile and Hybrid

Support

Traditional, Agile and Hybrid

Support

Project and Resource Management

Project and Resource Management

Agile Traditional ALM

Agile Principle(s):Prioritized backlog,

Daily progress,Impediment mgmt

Agile Principle(s):Prioritized backlog,

Daily progress,Impediment mgmt

Designing the Right ALM Solution

Quality Predictability Auditability Agility Productivity

Quality Predictability Auditability Agility Productivity

Quality Predictability Auditability Agility Productivity

IT

Aerospace

ISV

Adaptability – How Implementable is a Solution

• Integrations with other software systems• i.e. HP Quality Center, Subversion

• Integrations with other business processes and platforms• i.e. ITSM and PLM

• Scalability• i.e. Large worldwide organization

• Openness• i.e. Windows, Linux, Unix, .NET, Java, RTOS

Forrester Wave™: Agile Development Management Tools, Q2 2010

The Forrester Wave is copyrighted by Forrester Research, Inc. Forrester and Forrester Wave are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. The Forrester Wave is a graphical representation of Forrester's call on a market and is plotted using a detailed spreadsheet with exposed scores, weightings, and comments. Forrester does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in the Forrester Wave. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change.

MKS•Best overall current features•Highest Scores in:

•‘Security’•‘Running a Project’ and•‘Process Configuration

•The MKS offering is “…very attractive for industries where compliance and audit are high priorities for developers.”’

Summary

• Agile ALM provides value across many dimensions

• Agile ALM is not one size fits all

• Competence, coherence, and adaptability are still characteristics to look for

• Dial‐in your needs based on desired outcomes

For More Information

• MKS – “MKS Integrity”• Find more on our Website • http://www.mks.com/agile 

http://www.mks.com/solutions/discipline/application‐lifecycle‐management

• Get the Forrester Wave report: http://www.mks.com/agile‐wave‐report

• Contact Us • Phone:  +1 800 613‐7535 (USA),  +44 (0) 1483 733919 (UK) or 

+49 711 351775 0 (Germany), +(1) 519 884‐2251 (other regions) 

• info@mks.com

Thank you

www.mks.com