Pragmatic agility

©2016 Binary Star [email protected]

Pragmatic Agility

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Kevin Matheny, Binary Star Consulting


Agenda

What Agile is (and isn’t)

Why you want to use it

Advice on how to succeed with it

Q&A

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Who is this guy?Kevin Matheny

16 years in ecommerce, 10 years in advertising

Agile since 2002, full-time since 2008

Anthropologist, not an engineer

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What is Agile?

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What it isn’tA silver bullet

A magic formula

Anti-planning

Anti-documentation

A goal

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What it is“Agile Software Development is an umbrella term for a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto.

Solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams utilizing the appropriate practices for their context."

https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/what-is-agile/

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Many methodsScrum

XP

Lean

Kanban

And many more

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The Agile Manifesto

www.agilemanifesto.org

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http://www.agilemanifesto.org/


A closer look

www.agilemanifesto.org

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http://www.agilemanifesto.org/


12 Principles• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer

through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.

• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

• Working software is the primary measure of progress.

• Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

• Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.

• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.


Universal* agile practices• Daily communication inside the team• Short planning cycles• Frequent delivery and feedback• Documentation focused on why and who

(rather than how and what)• Commitment to getting better over time• Retrospectives

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Common agile practices

• Direct engagement with customers• Physical co-location• Shared ownership of code• Automated testing• Test Driven Development• Continuous Integration

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That's all well and good, but why would I

want to use these methods?

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Because it’s not 1911• Shift from artisanship to

industrial production• Scientific Management

separates planning from execution to gain efficiency

• Managers from Workers• Design from Production• Still informs how we work today

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Do we know enough to make good plans?

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Estimating is hard

From “Day 73 - CY365 - Mark The Spot” © 2041 Makia Minich, CC BY-SA 2.0,https://flic.kr/p/m3eNVR

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https://flic.kr/p/m3eNVR


Predictions are hard

© Copyright N Chadwick CC BY-SA 2.0, http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2684629

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http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2684629


Delivery has an impact

© Copyright Eren Eris, CC BY 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/e3G6MJ

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Things change

“Netscape Navigator 1.1 Diskette” © 2009 Robert Occhialini, CC BY-NC 2.0, https://flic.kr/p/6L8FEv

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https://flic.kr/p/6L8FEv


How much certainty do we have about the

future?

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Use the right tools

• High certainty: plan up front• Low certainty: iterate and experiment

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How to succeed with Agile

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Be careful with words

Original image ©1987 Twentieth Century Fox

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Words are complex things

Denotations (direct meanings)

Connotations (implied meanings)Image © User:SuHoGo / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

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The meaning of words is contextual and social

The meaning of words is not fixed

Words are given meaning by the listener, not the speaker

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An example would be handy right about now

I’m shopping for a pickup

I want to replace the one I have now

I’m open to either new or used

Quality and reliability are key considerations

Can you recommend a brand?

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Probably not this

• Image ©Vonvon / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

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Seek to understand• Sit together – maximize opportunities for

learning• Treasure your new people• Ask for definitions• Restate for understanding• Capture everything!


Maximize communication

• http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/communication.htm

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http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/communication.htm


Plan for change• The further out something is, the higher

the chance it will change

• Don’t make detailed plans more than 2-3 months out

• Key events are worth planning for (Black Friday for retail, for example)

• Regard old requirements with deep suspicion

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Book utilization at no more than 70%…

©2012 Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2012/05/six-myths-of-product-development/ar/1

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https://hbr.org/2012/05/six-myths-of-product-development/ar/1


… because this is 95%

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© Copyright 2008 Lingaraj G J, https://flic.kr/p/4FpWpn

https://flic.kr/p/4FpWpn


Thank you!

@kevinmatheny

[email protected]

kevinmatheny.com/wordpress

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Q&A

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Date post:	12-Apr-2017
Category:	Software
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