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The Agile Mind Set – The Key For Lasting Agile Implementations

Scrum Gathering® India Regional 2013Dr. Ronen Bar-Nahor (ronen@agilesparks.com)Senior Lead CoachAgileSparks

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Who are we?

• We help companies improve by Adopting lean and agile principles and practices

• We provide training and coaching to all organizational levels, from high management to developers

• Our team consists of Agile professionals with diverse expertise

• Successfully completed hundreds of projects• www.agilesparks.com

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If everybody is doing Agile, maybe nobody is doing Agile ?

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Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence (DOI)• Written in 2005 as an adjunct to the Agile Manifesto

Business

DeliveryProcess

• Customer collaboration

• Flow of value• Context specific strategy

• Constant adaption • Individuals

who make different

• Group accountability

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Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence

We increase return on investment by making

continuous flow of value our focus.

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Flow Of Value

Small batches/stories Done is Done (e.g. Zero defects)

Progress based on “Done stories”

Over

Progress based on tasks, Stabilization & packaging period

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Flow Of Value

Stop starting start finishing, Swarming Pull mode, Just In Time (Kanban)

Over

Everything is important we must start (push) Context switch Waste

Hardening

R D C T

Time

R D C TR D C T

R D C TR D C T

R D C TDONE

Coding Done

Feature Freeze

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Flow Of ValueOptimize the whole Focus on bottlenecks

Over

Full utilization, Local optimization

Inspired by henrik kniberg

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Flow Of Value

Constantly working system Stop & fix

Over

Late check-in, Pure automation, “Integration hell” Surprises, Late value

Inspired by henrik kniberg

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Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence

We deliver reliable results by engaging customers in frequent interactions and shared ownership.

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Customer Collaboration

Product Owner partnership Early feedback,

Endorse changes

Over

“You do not meet your commitments”, “You can’t change the requirements”,

Following the plan

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All collaborate on the “why” Minimal Marketable Features (MMF) 1-2 sprints ahead (team sniffing)

Over

Implementation driven (focus on the “how”) Technical stories Team lead as a PO

Customer Collaboration

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Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence

We expect

uncertainty and manage for

it through iterations,

anticipation, and adaptation. 

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Manage UncertaintyRequirements

Postpone decisions to the last responsible moment Risk driven – validate assumptions

Over

Comprehensive documentation Too detailed backlog

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Manage UncertaintyPlan

Fast estimations (relative story sizing) Provide forecasting

Predictability based on velocity

Over

Waste time on “accurate” estimation Focus on meeting “commitments”

Detailed execution plans

Worst

Average

10*30sp

10*40sp

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Manage UncertaintyTechnology

HL architecture Spike Re-factor /”clean code” Continuous Integration

Over No “big picture”/system view Fear of making a code change Late check-in (sprint, story)

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We unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing that

individuals are the ultimate source of value, and creating an environment where they can make a difference. 

Guiding values of Agile/Flow Declaration of Interdependence

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Respect People

Motivate people by providing Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose (AMP) Sustainable pace

Over

Command & control Scrum as a tool to increase “productivity” Forced estimates

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Respect People

Tolerance for errors encourage experiments

Over

“Cover your behind” culture

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Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence

We boost performance through group accountability for results and shared responsibility for

team effectiveness. 

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Agile Team

Team owns the process Team owns the way they work (self-organized )

Over

Top-down implementation Processes & tools over people & communication Team Lead is the master of the solution

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Agile Team

Cross functional Shared code ownership

Leveraging knowledge

Over

Specialization silos, Component teams Territory defense/Job security

GUI

Client

Server

DB

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Agile Team

“QA is dead – long live the new QA” Approve we're building the right thing, “Whole team approach” Executable spec., ATDD

Over

Validating that the software works as specified Comprehensive test documentation “Bug hunters”, last defender of quality Defensive organizational boundaries

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We improve effectiveness and reliability through situationally specific strategies, processes and practices.

Guiding values of Agile Declaration of Interdependence

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Continuous Improvement

Managers focus on the “way we operate”

Over

Managers focus mainly on end results

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Continuous Improvement

Retrospectives in all levels, Managing improvement initiatives and technical debt

Over

Retrospective just at team level, Recommendations without actions

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The Improvement Journey

• Agile is not a silver bullet, it surfaces pains• Agile is a mindset with a toolbox not a goal• Agile is a continuous improvement framework –

inspect and adapt

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THANKS !