Post on 31-Mar-2015
Distributed Agile: An oxymoron?
elizabeth.keogh@thoughtworks.com
patrick.kua@thoughtworks.com
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Agile = Co-located
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Agile Manifesto Principles
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Business people and developers must worktogether daily throughout the project.
The most efficient and effective method ofconveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation.
On-site customer
Collective CodeOwnership
XP Practices
Osmotic Communication
Easy access toexpert users
Crystal Clear(principles)
Active user involvement
DSDM (principles)
Unnecessary Movement
Lean Software Development
WaitingUnnecessary Transportation
Agile = Co-located
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Distributed = Different locations
Distributed Agile = An Oxymoron?
Enterprise Software
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Large
SometimesDistributed
ComplexHeavily dependent
Business critical
Our experience…
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Large
ComplexHeavily dependent
Business critical
SometimesDistributed
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Distributed development looks easy
(a slightly fictional story)
Once upon a time…
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there was a team…
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working together on the same project…
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…
… …
…
Same project at the same location
everyone understood each other…
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some people wanted the project distributed…
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= ££££££
+
= ££ + $$$$
= ½ £££
(of course, it might be more than just £££s)
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they started work with new people in another place...
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New
New New
New
life was great!
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they would talk over the phone...
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…
…
…
…
and send email...
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type type type…
sometimes things would take some time...
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I wonder what Jane meant by
that. I better send an email...
… what’s the gobbleflux about …
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That’s an easy one.
Here you go.
… Gobbleflux? Onthe left …
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On the left?
… on the left of what? …
something that should have been ten minutes
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stretches to several days...
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!!!
… To the left ofthe widget …
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There’s a widget?
… What widget are you talking about? …
She’s not even trying...
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Why doesn’t he understand?
… The breadcrumbswidget …
things continue like that for three months...
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until...
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I can’t wait to see...They’re going to be impressed by this...
A KEY LESSON
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every physical boundary increases noise
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http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/communication.htm
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cost of distributed development
(is more than just people)
A more realistic formula
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= ££££££+
= ££ + $$$$
½+ Cost of (timely response and shared understanding)
On-shore Distributed
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Challenges of Distributed Development
Look familiar?
Shared understanding
Timely decisions
Trust and rapport
Visibility into progress
Working in the same way
It’s (almost) the same as co-located development... just much harder.
Overcoming th
e
Division by role
Functional teams
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Analysts Developers Testers Infrastructure
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Cross functional teams
Division by feature, not by role
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Excellent relationship with the business
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Speedy Escalation Paths
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Shared Culture
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Example: Sharing culture
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Shared Environments
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Shared sense of 3 P’s (Purpose, Priority, Plan)
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Frequent software demos
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Continuous Reflection and Improvement
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Frequent visits
Must haves for successful distributed development
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Cross functional teams
Excellent relationship with the businessSpeedy Escalation Paths
Shared cultureShared environments Shared purpose, priority, plan
Frequent showcases Continue Reflection and improvement
Frequent visits
Good practices still hold
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Visibility and transparencyof informationFace to face time
Tools that support distributed teams
Agile development practices
Frequent rotationPrinciples ofgood teams
JIRA
Conclusion
Distributed Agile: An oxymoron?
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Questions and Comments?elizabeth.keogh@thoughtworks.com
patrick.kua@thoughtworks.com
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