Distributed Agile@cory_foy | Cory Foy | foyc@coryfoy.com

http://www.coryfoy.com

–Thomas Schranz

“We won’t see fewer distributed teams going forward”

Co-located agility

Distributed agility

Patter

ns

of

Distribu

tion

Dispersed

Dispersed

Distributed

Distributed

Distributed vs Dispersed

Patter

ns

of

Distribu

tion Product

OwnerFeature Team

Feature Team

Distributed Cross-Functional

Patter

ns

of

Distribu

tion Management Team

Offshore Team

Offshore with Local Management

Patter

ns

of

Distribu

tion

Fully Dispersed

Communication

Understanding

Team Growth

Principles of Agility

https://www.flickr.com/photos/equinoxefr/3934157442

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33695724@N07/3998201723

http://www.flickr.com/photos/97668927@N06/14744329878

Self Contained

Informal Container

Formal ContainerSm

all

Team

Med

ium

Te

amLa

rge

Te

am

Co-located agility

Distributed agility

The whole is different than the sum of its

parts

Distributed agility is about closing the gaps caused by

distributing the team !

Make sure the ROI is worth it

http://alistair.cockburn.us/ASD+book+extract%3A+%22Communicating,+cooperating+teams%22

Pairing

Office Mates

Same Floor

Different Floor

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=24486

–Alistair Cockburn

“Project costs increase in proportion to the time it takes for people to

understand each other”understand

understand Scrum

ScrumDistributed Patterns for

Name

Problem

Forces

Solution

3 Roles3 Meetings3 Artifacts

Problem

What Doesn’t Work

Stand ups, just via phone

Demos, just via Remote Desktop

Pairing, just via serialized code reviews

Distribution, just by offshoring testing

What Does Work

Rapid access to high impact communication methods

Whole team coming together

Close collaboration

Shared understanding

Standard Scrum

Standard Process

New Process

New Process

Inspect and Adapt

Standard Work

Inspect and Adapt

Expect Well Less Well Change

What we wanted to happen What went

well

What didn’t go so well

What we want to

try

Roles

Role

sUber Scrum Master

Product Owner

Team

Team

1

Feat A

Team

2

Team

3

Feat B

Feat C

Technical Vision

Busines

s Visio

n

Tech PO

Scrum Master

Meetings

Mee

ting

sName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Daily Stand UpTeam communication of WIP and blockersNeeds Trust, and clear communication- Over video - Over Chat w/Board - Asking Directly - Participant Board

Stand Ups build trust and camaraderie

Mee

ting

sName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Sprint PlanningUnderstand and commit to upcoming work & progress towards release

- Collaborate with PO - Learning about Stories - Estimation

- Fly Team In - Virtual Whiteboards - Video - Backlog Grooming

Mee

ting

sName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Estimation

Understand and estimate stories in backlog- Collaborate with PO - Learning about Stories - Honest Assessment- Video Estimation - Facilitator gets and

shows estimates for remote members

- Online Estimation

Mee

ting

sName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Sprint Demo

Demonstrate work done & get feedback from PO- PO Gets Understanding - No Powerpoint - High Impact Comms- Fly Team In - Fly PO In - Video

Mee

ting

sName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Retrospective

Explore what’s working and what can be improved- Need High Trust/Safety - People need to add

their own feedback- Fly Team In - Facilitator monitoring

chat - Everyone on Chat

Artifacts

Artifac

tsName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Product Backlog

Understand Business Value Proposition of work

- Used for forecasting - Needs grooming - Team should have a

line of sight- Check in regularly w/

team for understanding

- Product Vision - Visualize Product

Artifac

tsName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Sprint Backlog

Review work remaining based on team’s velocity

- Need velocity - All Work Visible - Commitments

- Information Radiator - Electronic Boards - Synchronized Physical

Boards

Artifac

tsName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Burn Down Chart

Project out progress to know when commitments and work at risk- Daily updates - Meaningful values - Ability to take action- Formally talk about

progress - Look at Cycle Time /

Queue Lengths

Artifac

tsName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Scrum BoardInformation Radiator to help the team quickly visualize work in process and bottlenecksNeeds to be able to radiate information - not have information reached for

- Sync’d Physical Boards - Extra Monitor for

showing board always

Tools

Tools

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Explore Ideas

Different people learn and explore in diff ways- Need Understanding - Looking for Solutions - Strong Opinions- Virtual Whiteboards - Smart Boards - Online Innovation

Games

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Visualize Team

Keeping team connected with each other- Personalities expressed

through body language - May not always work

together- Time Zone Bubble - Team Pictures - “Who’s Where When?” - Virtual Chairs for calls

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Short Iterations

We learn the most when we try to integrate- Working Software - Automated Builds - Automated Tests - Quality Mindset

- Shorter Iterations - Continuous Integration - Acceptance-Test Driven

Development

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Kanban

Work ends up pooled, & seems to take forever- Distributed By Role - Required workflow - Dependencies on other

teams or vendors

- Visualize Work / Make all work visible

- Track Cycle Time - Monitor Queues - Limit WIP

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Small Talk

Lots of knowledge happens through air flow- Not Co-located - Working on similar

things - Shared knowledge- Open Mic / Video - Dedicated “virtual

office” - Virtual workspaces - Dedicated Chat Room

Tools

Name:Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Hack Days

Increase collaboration and new ways of working- Requires slack - Needs Collab Tools - Needs Org Trust - Best for dist teams

- Challenge teams to split into virtual teams w/members from each diet team and build something - then demo

Artifac

tsName:

Problem:

Forces:

Try:

Focus Time

Too many meetings coordinating work between different parties

- Strong Leadership - Organizational Respect

- Set a time when there are no meetings allowed to be scheduled (10-noon)

- Try Work Sessions

Communication

Understanding

Team Growth

Principles of Agility

Rapid High Impact Incidental

Virtual Whiteboards Onsite Visits

Formalize Agreements

Team Events Fly In

Shared Vision

Product Owner

Feature Team

Feature Team

Thanks!@cory_foy | Cory Foy | foyc@coryfoy.com

http://www.coryfoy.com