SCALING AGILE IN A RAPIDLY GROWING BUSINESS: Lessons from HealthTrust
Jessica Katz
Nashville PMI Symposium 2015
April 30, 2015
2
About Your Speaker
• The bio stuff – Program Manager at HealthTrust for the Business Solutions Program
– Project Management work for over 11 years, of that over 4 have been focused on Agile
– Collector of Certifications: PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, SPC, ICP-ACC
– Linked In Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jeskatz
• The other stuff – Moved to TN to be a country singer … just like everyone else
– Found a passion for project management fueled by control issues
– As I let go of control, traditional project management became ill fitting and my passions changed
– Absolutely the best part of Agile Project Management (for me) is coaching teams and individuals to grow … being an agent of change when change is needed.
More than just my bio
3
About HealthTrust
• The business side – Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) that was spun out of HCA
– Servicing over 1400 member facilities
– ~$22 Billion in spend under management
– Offering savings of 7 to 12 percent in supply spend
– Learn More here: http://healthtrustpg.com
• The technical side – HealthTrust Technology Innovation is a Department within HCA IT&S
– Largely a greenfield organization within the larger IT&S group
– Providing tools to manage and understand facility spend and to encourage contract compliance
– Over a 5 year period we’ve grown from 30 to ~200 employees
– An Agile shop with a culture of driving change through team collaboration and ground up initiatives
4
Intentions
• Focus – Going from team level Agile to program level agile
• Objectives – Possible Benefits of Scaling your Agile approach
– The structure of teams and programs
– Agile practices at scale
– A brief look at what comes after the program
OR … What I hope you get out of this presentation
5
How are we going to make this fun …
6
Why? Because Everything is Cool When You’re Part of a Team
• Well … because the CIO said so
• And … Agile is working so well at the team, surely we can capitalize on that at scale
• Underlying motivations – Better alignment with the business
– Bringing disparate creative solutions together
– Improving technical standards
– Improving our ability at every level to see the big picture
– Centralizing issues that needed a broader focus
7
Microcosm / Macrocosm
8
Stepping Stones
• The first thing we did, was mess up – Top down directive approach
– Full day kick off event in the Marriott hotel with over 100 employees
– Little team level / employee level input reducing overall buy-in
• We recovered – Leadership listened
– Paused and reset
– Sent people to SAFe training
– Had an Agile Coach from Rally at regular intervals
• The high-level steps – One product focused program (March 2013)
– Reorganized into component based programs (2014)
– Reorganized into business aligned programs (2015)
“Stepping Stone” ~Lari White
9
Stepping Stones
10
We are Family
• Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology – 5 to 7 people = Family
– 30 to 35 people = Camp
– ~150 people = Clan
– ~500 people = Mega Band
– 1500 to 2000 people = Tribe
• Scaled Scrum – 5 to 9 people = Team
– 25 to 135 people = Program (roughly 5 to 15 teams)
• My Program – 11 to 12 people per Team
– 3 teams plus 7 program folks
– 41 people in the program
“We Are Family” ~Sister Sledge
11
What is a Team?
12
Component Teams
13
Feature Teams
14
Blended Teams
15
Spotify’s Model
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1018963/Articles/SpotifyScaling.pdf
16
HealthTrust Model
Contracting Sales & Marketing
Supply Chain
Business Solutions
Platform & Services
BI Team x (n)
Portal Team x (n)
App Team x (n)
Development Capability Management with the ability to scale & flex teams
based on business priority and strategy
IT Shared Services
• Service Development •Data Integration •Analytics Data Integration • Platform Delivery • Systems Engineering
BI Team x (n)
Portal Team x (n)
App Team x (n)
BI Team x (n)
Portal Team x (n)
App Team x (n)
BI Team x (n)
Portal Team x (n)
App Team x (n)
Business Group Alignment and Corresponding Delivery Management with dedicated capacity for increased Clarity and Ownership
Program teams will form a bridge and establish central subject matter expertise
which allows for individuals to focus
17
HealthTrust’s SAFe®
Inspect & Adapt
Pro
gram
Bac
klo
g
Feature Feature
Rev
iew
, Ret
ro, &
Pla
n
Team
Bac
klo
g Te
am B
ackl
og
Qu
arterly Plan
nin
g & R
etro
Architectural Feature
Feature
Feature
Pla
n
Pla
n
PR
OG
RA
M
TEA
MS
Inspect & Adapt
ARCHITECTURAL RUNWAY
PPMO (Product Portfolio
Management Organization)
Corporate
Architectural Runway
Defining – Scoping – Planning - Prioritizing
Portfolio Discovery & Management Idea Kanban
Ideas Discovering Defining
Po
rtfo
lio B
ackl
og
Qu
arterly Plan
nin
g (Execu
tive Steering)
PO
RTF
OLI
O
Solution Architect
Systems Engineer
Lead
QA Software Engineer Lead
Product Manager
(PdM)
Program Scrum Master (PsM)
Program Delivery
Lead
Developer(s)
Business Analyst
Scrum Master (PM)
Application Architect
Systems Engineer QA Software
Engineer(s)
Delivery Manager
Developer(s) Business Analyst
Scrum Master (PM)
Application Architect
Systems Engineer QA Software
Engineer(s)
Delivery Manager
Pla
n
18
A Team at HealthTrust
BA / Product Owner
Delivery Manager
Cross Functional
Team
PM / Scrum Master
• Identifies Business Backlog • Prioritizes Backlog • Business Liaison • One voice of the customer
• Removes Obstacles • Manages Team Health • Stewards the process • Facilitates Cross team dependencies
• Manages Development Resources • Manages Technical Standards
Compliance • Identifies Technical Backlog
Balances Team Health and HR needs
19
Program Team
Product Manager
Program Delivery Manager
Program Scrum Master
• Identifies Business Feature / Epic Backlog • Provides Business Vision and Road Map • Leads and Manages Product Owners
• Removes Program Obstacles • Manages Program Health • Stewards the process • Facilitates Cross program dependencies • Leads and Manages Scrum Masters
• Manages Development Resources • Manages Technical Standards Compliance • Provides technical vision and road map
Balances Program Health and HR needs
Team
Team Team
Team
20
Supporting Roles
• Team Level
– Systems Engineer
• Deployments
• Trouble shooting job failures
• Application Security
– Application Architect
• Consults on team to provide architectural direction
• Guides logical architecture
• Provides necessary architectural documentation
– The Program Manager
– The Product Manager
– The Program Delivery Lead
– And
• Program Level
– Systems Engineering Lead
• Deployments
• Trouble shooting job failures
• Application Security
– Solutions Architecture
• Drives Architectural Vision and Runway
• Ensures architecture fits into the broader architectural direction
• Communicates architectural direction to the teams
– QA Software Engineer Lead
• Drives integrated testing cross team and cross program
• Leads and Manages Team QA Software Engineers
– User Interface Design Engineer
• Drives Consistent application look and feel across teams
• Works with business to understand user-system interaction
21
Moving in Rhythm
“Movin’ Right Along” Muppets
Develop on Cadence, Deliver on Demand
22
The Rhythm of a Program Sp
rin
t P
lan
nin
g
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
Spri
nt
Pla
nn
ing
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
Spri
nt
Pla
nn
ing
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
Qu
arte
rly
Pla
n
Feature (Epic) Execution
Pro
gram
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Quarter
Spri
nt
Pla
nn
ing
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
Spri
nt
Pla
nn
ing
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
Spri
nt
Pla
nn
ing
User Story Execution
Spri
nt
Rev
iew
/
Ret
ro
Two Weeks
23
Quarterly Planning
• First day of the Quarter
• Minimum of 1 full Day – Some do this in two days
– SAFe® recommends two days
• Attendees – Program Leadership
– All Teams
– Other Program leadership
– Optional: Business
• Purpose – Communicate Business Context
– Review Road Maps and Vision for the Quarter
– Forecast Quarter Deliverables
24
Feature (Epic) Execution
• Investments and Goals • Created and
Prioritized by the Portfolio
• Tied to budget
• Features are • Created and
Prioritized by the Product Manager with Product Owners and Business
• Forecasted for Delivery in a quarter
• Put on a Release plan • Fit in a Quarter
Investment: Build a Subdivision
Goal: Build a House
Feature / Epic: Kitchen Facilities
• User Story:
As a resident I want to have a place I can store food so that it will stay fresh
25
Inspect and Adapt
• Program Retrospective – Twice in a quarter for an hour and a half
– Attendees • Program Leadership
• Team Leadership
– Purpose: Inspect and Adapt on program process and program cohesion
26
A few other things
• Program Reviews – Part of the Quarterly planning to share with other teams what’s been
accomplished
– Presented to Stakeholder group to communicate delivered value
• Stakeholder meeting – Review known backlog with stakeholders
– Acquire agreement on prioritization
• Scrum of Scrums – Discuss progress on dependencies across teams
– Elevate new risks to the program
– Internal to a program or cross-program depending on the work
– As Needed
27
A few other things
• Program Backlog Grooming – Prepare backlog for upcoming quarter(s)
– Attain definition of ready on features
– Adjust release plan
• Technical Leadership Meetings – To collaborate on formation and execution to technical vision for the
Program
– Ensure alignment with product vision and business goals
– Spread knowledge about current and emerging capabilities in the Program
• Managers Meeting – To discuss HR related items within reporting hierarchy affecting the
program
28
On up to the Portfolio
• Led by the Product Portfolio Management Office (PPMO) – Product Managers
– Portfolio Manager
– Enterprise Architects
• Process is largely Kanban / Lean in nature
• Hinges on a well formed Executive Steering Committee
• The Decisions about Financial Investments and Strategic direction live here
• Investments and Goals are mid to long term investments, 6 months or longer
“Moving on up” The Jefferson's Theme Song
29
Contact
Questions?
Jessica Katz
Program Manager, HealthTrust
Linked In
www.linkedin.com/in/jeskatz
30
References and recommended reading
• Ken S. Rubin – Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process – http://www.innolution.com/
• Dean Leffingwell – Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams,
Programs, and the Enterprise – http://www.scaledagileframework.com/
• Lyssa Adkins – Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and
Project Managers in Transition – http://www.agilecoachinginstitute.com/
• Henrik Kniberg & Anders Ivarsson – Scaling Agile @ Spotify with Tribes, Squads, Chapters, & Guilds – https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1018963/Articles/SpotifyScaling.pdf – https://www.crisp.se/konsulter/henrik-kniberg
• Robin Dunbar – Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language
Visual AGILExicon®
• Slides in this presentation contain items from the Visual AGILExicon®, which is a trademark of Innolution, LLC and Kenneth S. Rubin.
• The Visual AGILExicon is used and described in the book: “Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process”
• You can learn more about the Visual AGILExicon and permitted uses at: http://innolution.com/resources/val-home-page
Copyright © 2007 - 2014, Innolution, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Connect with Innolution:
Facebook.com/InnolutionLL
C
Twitter.com/krubinagile