Ilan Goldstein @ilagile AxisAgile.com.au ilan@axisagile.com.au

About Ilan Agilist for over a decade Co-founder of AxisAgile Director of Scrum Australia Global Certified Scrum Trainer CSM, CSPO, CSP, PMP, PMI-ACP, PRINCE2 Practitioner Regular industry speaker & reviewer Author Cohn Signature Series Scrum tactics, tools & tips

What is Scrum? Scrum is An that allows us to focus on delivering the Mike Cohn Introduction to Scrum Methodology agile framework highest business value in the shortest time .

Agile Manifesto Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working product over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan Thanks to: Agile Alliance

Agile Cowboys!

Agile Manifesto Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working product over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the LEFT MORE. Thanks to: Agile Alliance

Our First Problem Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never Always + Often = 20% Seldom + Never = 64% 45% 19% 16% 13% 7% Source: CHAOS Report, Standish Group

How does this occur & what effect does it have on our products?

Traditional sequential development Job Function A Requirements Gathering Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Job Function B Design Job Function C Development Job Function D Testing Job Function E Documentation Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Time

Reducing feature bloat Are changes requirements possible likely? to or

Reducing feature bloat Not all Requirements created equal... are

Configurations TemplatesReports Exports Integrations User Types

Reducing feature bloat Can initial usage and benefit obtained with a subset final endstate features? be of the

Reducing feature bloat Can high-priority items delivered independently low-priority items? be of

Reducing feature bloat Is the lead time on low-priority items high-priority items being delivered? blocking from

Our other problem... Why are so many projects delivered late?

Traditional sequential development Job Function A Requirements Gathering Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Job Function B Design Job Function C Development Job Function D Testing Job Function E Documentation Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Documentation, Signoffs, Handoff Time

Why the change? Huge value in traditional PM No right way or wrong way Projects Ive worked with are high volatility, rapid fundamental change Agile developed to deal specifically with volatility maybe experiment graphic, highly volitile? Potential problems Assumes perfect knowledge Technical risk User experience risk Lead time

Waterfall cake

Requirements Waterfall cake

Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Waterfall Cake Development Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Testing Development Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Waterfall CakeWaterfall cake

Waterfall cake

Waterfall Cake Requirements Waterfall cake

Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Development Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Testing Development Design Requirements Waterfall cake

Requested Actual Waterfall cake

Potential problems Assumes perfect knowledge Technical risk User experience risk Competitor risk

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 UncertaintyandRisk% Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Time Risk & Uncertainty

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 BusinessValue% Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Business Value Delivery

Teams are cross-functional

Time Project Start Project End Incremental & iterative development Feature A Design Develop Test Rework Feature B Design Develop Test Rework Feature C Design Develop Test Rework Feature D Design Develop Test Rework Feature E Design Develop Test Rework Cross-Functional Development Team (Designers, Programmers, Testers)

Scrum characteristics Utilizes iterative development constant inspection & adaptation Embraces Unifies change as opportunity rather than as a hindrance The business with the development team

Scrum CakeScrum cake

Feature A Scrum cake

Feature B Scrum cake

Scrum Cake Feature C Scrum cake

Scrum Cake Feature D Scrum cake

Scrum CakeScrum cake

Ideal Scrum cake

Scrum cake

Feature A Scrum cake

Feature B Scrum cake

Scrum Cake Feature C Scrum cake

Feature D Scrum cake

FeatureC FeatureB FeatureA Scrum cake

Requested Actual Scrum cake

Remember Paretos Law Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never Always + Often = 20% Seldom + Never = 64% 45% 19% 16% 13% 7% Source: CHAOS Report, Standish Group

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 UncertaintyandRisk% Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Time Uncertainty and Risk

Business Value Delivery 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 BusinessValue% Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Time What if we had to or want to release here??? Cost of Delay

Big Benefits Risk mitigation Early delivery of business value Reduction of the cost of delay

Essence of Scrum Close feedback loops as soon as possible Continuously improve both product & process

Some reasons why Increase sales / profit Risk mitigation Improve employee satisfaction Ensure regulatory compliance

Upfront work Adaptive (just-in-time) Predictive (upfront) Guessing Chaos Degree of end uncertainty Degree of means uncertainty Constraints on development Compliance / regulatory requirements

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Lean Startup - Eric Ries Brought Agile principles to the boardroom J Popularised terms: - MVP - Pivot

Guidelines for Economically Sensible Scrum Guidelines for Economically Sensible Envisioning Focus on a short horizon Act quickly Validate learning Use incremental / provisional funding Learn fast and pivot

If you want to make enemies, try to change something. -Woodrow Wilson (American President 1913-1921)

A lot to implementing Scrum Many active moving parts May require restructuring to occur Change across many levels

BIG CHANGES Working Functional Cross Teams Iterative ReleasesIn Slices

This is tough! Not every organisation is ready for this level of change

Lets get real Some teams able to make the leap But others have constraints Dont throw baby out with bathwater Are there other options?

So what are Agile Entry Points? that can be safely Independent elements overlaid on any project irrespective of methodology or industry

Retrospective Review Task Board Agile Entry Points Sprint time-box Task board Daily Scrum (standup) Sprint retro & review Standup

Sprint Time-Box

2-4 week work cycle Can superimpose over your existing phases Plenty of closure and fresh-starts Helps put focus on immediate goals Regular reviews of work and process Sprint

Task Board

Retrospective Review Task Board Project centrepiece Tracks sprint progress Visual snapshot of progress and blocks Allows for passive observation Encourages discussion Task Board Standup

Daily Standups

Retrospective Review Task Board For daily synchronization Disciplined start time and time-box to 15mins Each team member answers 3 simple questions Real-time identification of impediments Daily Standups Standup

Retrospectives & Reviews

Retrospective Review Task Board Inspect and adapt events Regular inspection of the process and product Review = demo of new work Retro = assessment of the processStandup Retrospectives & Reviews

Your first 12 Scrum steps 3 Identify a pilot project. Perhaps one that is currently struggling or close to starting.

Your first 12 Scrum steps Identify roles for the pilot. Ensure that the team members are receptive and a Product Owner is appointed. 4

Your first 12 Scrum steps Educate your Product Owner and Developers on the role changes. 5

Your first 12 Scrum steps Educate your Scrum Team on the Scrum processes Run several workshops - e.g. Roles, Estimation, Workflow, Requirements 6

Your first 12 Scrum steps Adjust the physical environment if required. 7

Your first 12 Scrum steps Identify skillset improvement areas and schedule training. E.g. Test automation 8

Your first 12 Scrum steps Work with your Product Owner to establish an initial Sprint-Ready Product Backlog. Aim to be two Sprints ahead. 9

Your first 12 Scrum steps Start Sprinting and maintain discipline! 10

Your first 12 Scrum steps Present any change as an experiment 11

Your first 12 Scrum steps Start identifying systemic impediments. Capture your wins and include senior management on the journey! 12

Most importantly Aim for transparency Regularly inspect Adapt accordingly You cant lose