Chapter2WhereistheBA?SoWhereistheBAinAgileMethodologies?.................................................................................2DevelopmentisMuchMorethanJustSlammingoutCode...........................................................3WhatisBusinessAnalysisandWhoistheBA?..............................................................................4Agility,ValueManagement,andInertia.........................................................................................5JustWhereDoestheBAFitintheAgileWorld?............................................................................6....................................................................................................................................................6First:TheBAisNOTJustaStoryWriter.....................................................................................6Also:Can’tReallyPinDowntheBAbecauseEveryoneandAnyoneCanPlaytheBA................7TheProductOwner(orCustomerRepresentative)astheBA....................................................7TheTeamMember(s)astheBA.................................................................................................9TheScrumMasterastheBA....................................................................................................10An“Outsider”providestheteamwithBAservices..................................................................11TheBAisoutsidetheteam“Upstream”..................................................................................12

HowDoestheBA(s)CollaboratewithTeamsorHowDoTeamsDoAnalysis?............................14WaterScrumming....................................................................................................................15Whatitis..............................................................................................................................15Waste...................................................................................................................................16Inertia...................................................................................................................................16WhereSeen..........................................................................................................................17

SashimiorMiniWaterfalls.......................................................................................................17Whatitis..............................................................................................................................17Waste...................................................................................................................................18Inertia...................................................................................................................................19Whereseen..........................................................................................................................19

Flow..........................................................................................................................................20Whatisit..............................................................................................................................20Waste...................................................................................................................................20Inertia...................................................................................................................................21Whereseen..........................................................................................................................21

ModelSummary...........................................................................................................................22

SoWhereistheBAinAgileMethodologies?Agilemethodsareoftenpresentedinaverydeveloper-centricmannerthatseeminglyignoresotherimportantrolesintheorganizationsuchasbusinessanalyst.So,whenanorganizationbeginstotalk“Agile”,manyBAsbecomeconcernedabouthowtheywillfitintothatnewreality.WehaveevenseenorganizationsenthusiasticallyprofesstheyareadoptingagilebecausetheycangetridofthesesuperfluousrolesBA1.Rolesinagilearenotjobdescriptionsandarefluidbecausemostagilemethodologiesassumeateamhasalltheskillsnecessarytoturnabacklogitemintoafinishproduct.Agileteammemberssimplyjumpinanddowhatisnecessarytogetthejobdone.Nooneshouldeversay“that’snotmyjob”onanagileteam.

Anotherchallenge,istheimplicitassumptiontheefforttocreateandrefinebacklogitemsisnotinthescopeoftheagileteam.Thereisanimplicitassumptioninthewaymanyagilemethodologiesarepresentedthatcreationandrefinementofbacklogitemsis“free”becauseitistheresponsibilityofthebusiness,togetbacklogitems“ready”fortheteam.Theteamsimplybecomesa“consumer”ofuserstoriesratherthanaco-creator.Theresultisthereisno“story”

1Thesearefirmstheconfusetheconceptofajobtitlewithajobrole.Mostofusdonotlikerolespecificjobtitles.

anymoreinuserstory.Theuserstoriessimplybecomereformatteddetailedrequirementsthatarestill“thrownoverthewall”totheteam2.

DevelopmentisMuchMorethanJustSlammingoutCodeOneofthechallengeswehaveisagilemethodologiesarefrequentlypresentedfromaverydevelopercentricpointofview,asthelaststepinaworkflowwhereuserstoriesareturnedintocode.Afterallthemanifestodoesdeclare“workingsoftwareovercomprehensivedocumentation”soonlytheprocessesthatdirectlycreatecodeseemstomatter.Thisstrategywillworkwellforteamsworkingdirectlywithanexpertandavailableproductownerandwherethedeliveredincrementisdirectlyreceivedbytheproductowner.Unfortunately,thepointofviewthatonlycodingmattersrisksdiminishingtheworknecessarytobuildtherightthing.Codingandimplementationareofcourseimportant,weneedtobuildthingsrightafterall,butengineeringjunkyardsarefullofproductsthatwerebuiltrightbutjustwerenottherightproduct(AppleNewtonanyone?).FredrickBrookswrotethe“…mostdifficultpartofbuildinganysoftwaresystemisdeterminingexactlywhatitissupposetodo”.

Agilemethodologies:whathappensbeyondtheteam?Theimplicitagileassumptionisofcoursethisistheresponsibilityoftheproductowner.Butotherthantheproductownerbeingomniscient,whatprocessesexistbeyondtheproduct

2Theironyisthisanti-patternisdemandedbytheteamwhosimplywanttheirworkdeliveredunambiguouslytothemratherthancollaborativelyworkingwiththebusinesstocreateasharedunderstandingoftheneed.Thisisacompletemis-understandingofagilityasamindset

ownertohelpusdiscover“whattherightthingis?Inthelast5yearssocalled“scaling”methodologies(e.g.SAFe,LeSS,DAD,Nexus,etc)havebeguntopeerbehindthetraditionalproductownermodeltoseehowdowecomeupwithallthosestoriesinaleanandagilewahy?

WhatisBusinessAnalysisandWhoistheBA?RegardlessofwhetherweexplicitlycallouttheBArole,orwrapitupintoacontinuousintellectualleapfromideatocode,weneedtoknowwhattheBAroleisandwhoplaysthatrole.AccordingtotheBABookofKnowledge,

“businessanalysisisasetoftasksandtechniquesusedtoworkasaliaisonamongstakeholdersinordertounderstandthestructure,policiesandoperationsofanorganizationandtorecommendsolutionsthatenabletheorganizationtoachieveitsgoals.”

Specifically,thequestionswe’retryingtoanswerinbusinessanalysisis:

“Howdoweasabusinessoperate,orshouldoperate,todelivervalue;howdooursystemssupportthat;whatsystemsdoweneed;howdowecommunicateandsharethis?”

So,ifunderstandinghowabusinessdoesbusinessiswhatbusinessanalysisallabout,thenwhatisthedefinitionofabusinessanalysisOnceagain,weturntotheBABookofKnowledge.

“BusinessAnalysispractitionersincludenotonlypeoplewithjobtitlesofBusinessAnalyst,butalsomayincludebusinesssystemsanalysts,systemsanalysts,requirementsengineers,processanalysts,productmanagers,productowners,enterpriseanalysts,businessarchitects,managementconsultants,…or…anyotherpersonwhoperformsthetasksdescribedintheBABookofKnowledgeguide,includingthosewhoalsoperformrelateddisciplinessuchasprojectmanagement,softwaredevelopment,qualityassuranceandinteractiondesign”

Ourinterpretationofthisisabusinessanalystisanyonewhodoesataskofbusinessanalysis3.

So,abusinessanalystisanypersonwhotakesresponsibilityforcreatingasharedclearvisionforhowweasabusinesscreatevaluesoeveryoneknowsandagreeshowweworkandwhatsystemsweneedtosupportthat.Really,thisissuggestingthatabusinessanalystanyonewhoplaysthebusinessanalystrole,sosubscribingaskillsetandaroleapersonhavingthoseskillsplays.ABAisnotajobdescription,it’sarolethatanindividualplays.Itisnotjustwritinguserstories,ratheritisansweringthebusinessanalysisquestions:

• “Howdoweasabusinessoperate,orshouldoperate,todelivervalue;

3Asoneoftheauthorshascommented,“I’veneverhadthejobtitleBA,butmostofmydevelopmentexperienceisconductinganalysis”

• howdooursystemssupportthat;• whatsystemsdoweneed;howdowecommunicateandsharethis?”

Weshouldalsobeclearherebecausetheterms“businessanalyst”andbusinessanalysisareoftenassociatedwithInformationTechnologyandnotproductdevelopment.Whilethenameoftherolesmaybedifferent(e.g.requirementsengineer,productmanager,orevensystemsengineer)andourfocusisonaproductratherthanbusinessoperations,theskillsandtheneedfortheskillsisstillthesame,wehavetoanswerthequestion“arewebuildingtherightthing?”AsShakespeareoncewrote“…arosebyanyothernamewouldsmellassweet”–RomeoandJuliet

Agility,ValueManagement,andInertiaKentBeckiscreditedwithcoining“EmbraceChange”astheagilemantra.Thisislikelyoneofthesimplestandmostaccuratedefinitionsofagilitybecauseitexplainsagilityineconomicterms.Changehappensandourabilitytolearnandexploitchangecreatesvalue.Byembracingchange,abusinessanalyst,oraproductowner,oraproductmanageroranyindividualisworkingasavaluemanagerbecausetheyareactivelymanagingtherequirementstocreatethegreatestbusinessvalue.

Agilemethodologiesprovidefeedbackthatenablethebusinesstoquicklylearnwhatfeatures

trulycreatevalueValuemanagementisaboutsteeringaprojecttolearnwhatisreallyvaluableandwhatisreallyneeded,totrulylearnwhatis“therightthing”.Moreimportantlyitisabouteducatingourstakeholderstohelpthemlearnwhattheyreallyneedversuswhattheythinktheywant.To

accomplishthisweneedtocreatefeedbackfromimplementationquicklysuchthatwedonotcreatetheinertiatochangewhenwebuildupalargebacklogoffinegrainrequirements.Ifagilityisourwillingnesstoembracechange,theninertiaisourresistancetochange,toremaininourpresentstate.Whatthismeansforbusinessanalysisisareflectionofourabilitytoexploitlearninginthesoftwaredevelopmentprocess.Valuemanagementisembracingchange.Valuemanagement,islearningwhatistrulyvaluabletoourstakeholders,versuswhattheytoldustheneedandadapting.WhatdifferentiatestheBAroleintheagileworld,istheabilityoftheBAtomanagevaluebasedonlearning.Inertiainhibitsvaluemanagement.

JustWhereDoestheBAFitintheAgileWorld?So,weknowwhatbusinessanalysisisandwhatitmeanstobeabusinessanalystandwehavealsosuggestedthebusinessanalystintheagileworldisavaluemanager.ButintheAgileworld,whereisthebusinessanalystandhowdotheyengagewiththeAgileteam?Foralotofpeople,Agile/Leantransitionsarearealsourceofconcern,becauseit’snotalwayscleartothemwherebusinessanalysisandbusinessanalystfitin.So,wearegoingtouseScrumasanexampletoseehowabusinessanalystcanengagewithateam.

TheScrum“Machine”

First:TheBAisNOTJustaStoryWriterOneantipatternwehaveseeninmanyorganizationsistheassumptiontheBAismerelyastorywriter.WhilestorywritingmaybepartofsomethingtheBAmayneedtodo,thevalueaddaBAbringsistheirknowledgeandskilltounderstandingtheproblemspace(ordomain).Diminishing

theBAroletothatofastorywriterissimplyawasteoftalentandissomethingthatanymemberoftheteamcando.Thereisnothinginanyagilemethodologythatstatesonlyaproductownerorcustomerrepresentativecanputbacklogitemsinthebacklog.However,onlythePOorcustomerrepresentativewilldetermineiftheyeverseethelightofday.

Butworse,assumingtheBA“writesthestory”meanstheteamisabdicatingtheirresponsibilitytoparticipateintheuserstoryconversation.Mostagilistinsistauserstoryisnota“requirement”andforgoodreason,auserstorydescribessomethingofvaluetothestakeholderofthesystembutitdoesnotdescribethefulldetailsofthat“something”orhowthat“something”maywork.Thedetailscomesfromtheconversationbetweentheproductownerandteam.Thisconversation,thequestionandanswerishowunderstandingiscreatedandtheteamlearnswhatthetruerequirementsare.ExpectingtheBAto“write”theuserstoriesisrevertingtothetraditional“throwitoverthewall”waterfallstyleprocesses.Our“agileteam”degradestosimplybeingateamof“coders”ratherthandevelopers.

Also:Can’tReallyPinDowntheBAbecauseEveryoneandAnyoneCanPlaytheBAWewillwalkthroughthevariousScrumrolestoexplorehowapersoninthatrolemayalsoplaytheBArole,orapplyaBAskillset.JustbecausewechosetopresentbyScrumroledoesnotimplytheserolesaremutuallyexclusive.Forexample,whilethePOmayhaveBAskillstogroomthebacklog,thatdoesnotmeanotherteammemberscannotworkwiththePOtogroomthebacklogorcreateuserstoriesaswell.ThissectionispresentedtoshowhowapersonplayingtheserolesmayexploittheBAskillsetaswellassomeofthetrade-offs.TheProductOwner(orCustomerRepresentative)astheBA

TheProductOwner(orcustomerrepresentative)servingastheBA

SomeorganizationsseetheproductownerroleasthenaturalfitfortheBA,afterallmanyBAsarewiththe“business”.Inmostagilemethodologies,theresponsibilitiesoftheproductownerismaximizingthevaluedeliveredbytheteam.ThePOdoesthisbytakingresponsibilityforensuringtheteamhasasupplyof“ready”stories,thatareprioritizedand,acceptingtheworkproductscreatedbytheteam.Theyserveasasubjectmatterexperttotheteam,abletohaveaconversationwiththeteamthatexplainsandclarifiesthenuancesofeverystory.Certainly,aProductOwnerwithBAskillcanbeeffectiveinthisrole.

WhatdifferentiatestheproductownerroleandtheBAroleisresponsibilityforprioritizingthebacklogtomaximizebusinessvalueandacceptingworkproducts.Theimportanceofthisresponsibilityissometimesexpressedintheterm,‘theproductowneristhesinglewringableneck.IngeneralapersonwiththejobtitleBAisnotadecisionmaker,rathertheyareatrustedadvisortothedecisionmaker.ThisiswhatwebelieveisthedistinguishingcharacteristicbetweentheproductownerandaBA(oranyrole),thePOisaccountablefordeliveringvalue.SoaBAmaybeanadvisortothePO,workingcloselywiththePO,mayserveasaSMEtotheteam,butunlesstheyhaveauthorityandaccountabilityfortheresultstheyarenotthePOthemselves.

WherethisreallygettrickyisinorganizationswherethepersontappedtobethePOhaslittletimefortheirPOroleandeitherdelegatestheresponsibilitytotheBA(orevenjustabdicatesit).OurargumentremainsthatwhilethePOandBArolesaredistinctroles,thesameindividualmayneedtoplaybothroles.AnumberofstudieshavesuggestedthePOasenvisionedbytext

booksisanimpossiblerolebecauseouridealproductownerissomeonefromthebusinesswhofullyunderstandsthedomain,isempowered,andabletoworkwithdevteam24/7.Wehavebeentryingforyearstogetthispersononourteams.KarlWiegerswroteabouttheCustomerRepresentativein“InSearchofExcellentRequirements”wherehelamentedthatfewbusinesswouldgivetoITapersonofthiscaliber.

We’veseenmanysuccessfulsituationswhereabusinessanalystservedasateam'sdefactoproductownerwhileworkingcloselywithaproductmanageroraprojectsponsorwhocarrytherealprioritizationresponsibilitynormallyattributedtotheproductowner.TheseweresituationswheretheproductmanagerorofficiallydesignatedproductownerwherenotavailabletotheteamonaregularbasisandwheretheBAhadsignificantdomainknowledgeandexperience.Theproductmanagerorprojectsponsorprioritizeprogram-orsystem-levelfeatureswhilethebusinessanalyst,asaproductowner,tookresponsibilitytoprogressivelyelaboratethosefeaturesintosprintablestoriesandthenprioritizethestoriesusingtheirknowledgeofthewishesoftheproductmanagerorprojectsponsor.

TheTeamMember(s)astheBA

BAasateammember

Agilemethodsdon'texplicitlycallouttheBArolebecauseingeneraltheydonotcalloutanyrole.Theteamiscrossfunctionalhasalltheskillsthatarenecessarytodevelopvaluable

productincrements.OnanAgileteam,everyonedoeswhatisnecessarytotakeanitemfromtheproductbacklogandturnitintoapotentiallyshippableproductincrement.AndwhileaBAmaybedoingmorethings,likewritinguserstoriesorprogressivelyelaboratingthosestories,iftheteamneedshelponthetestingtogettheproductoutthen,andtheBAisavailable,thentheBAshouldbealsohelpingoutonwhateverneedstogetdone4.

TheBAasateammemberissubtlydifferentfromtheBAasPOintwoways

1) BAasateammemberratherthanthePOwhichmeanstheBAisnotdirectlymakingprioritizationsdecisions.ThoughtheymaybemakingprioritizationrecommendationstothePOasatrustedadvisor,justlikeanymemberoftheteamcan.

2) Atypicalagileteamiscrossfunctionalandteammembershavesocalled“T”shapedskills,meaningtheindividualswithBAskillsarealsoperformingotherroles(e.g.test,deployment,etc)

ThereareacoupleofvariantsoftheBAasateammember.ThefirstvariantistheBAskillisdiffusedamong,allteammembersandanyone(orclosetoanyone)isabletoperformtheBArole,theygrabastory,chatwiththePOtodoanalysis,theydesign,code,andtest.Thisofcourseistheagiletextbookideal.Orattheotherextreme,theskillismoreorlessconcentratedinoneindividualbecausetheyhaveconsiderabledomainexpertise,forexample,aseniordeveloperwhohasbeenworkinginthedomainforalongtime.Theycollaboratewiththeotherteammemberstoanalyzeandunderstandtheuserstoryandalsomentortheotherteammemberstogrowtheirskills.

TheScrumMasterastheBA

4AcommonpracticeistheBAhelpsoutontesting,butmanyBAscanalsodocodingandahostofotherwork.Theymaynotbeasgoodatcodingasothermembersoftheteambutifthatiswhatisneededtogetthejobdone,thenthatiswhattheydo.Agilityisneversaying“that’snotmyjob”

TheScrumMasterastheBA

ThisisaspecializedcaseoftheBAasateammember.MostAgilemethodshaveacoachingroleor,inthecaseofScrum,aScrummasterrolewhereapersonfacilitatestheprocessandremovestheimpediments.Foramatureteam,theScrummasterroleingeneralisnotafull-timejob.Mostorganizationsgivethepersonwho'splayingtheroleoftheScrummaster25to50percentreleasetime.Andso,aBAcouldpotentiallyalsoplaytheroleoftheScrummaster.Wewouldhavetomakesurethat,ofcourse,wearenotoverloadingthatpersonwhoistheBA.Ontheotherhand,somethingtoconsideristhatsomeonewiththeBA'scommunicationskillsandfacilitationskillscouldmakeaverygoodScrummaster.

TheriskinthismodelisiftheBAisalsothedefactoproductowner.MostagilemethodologiesargueagainstthesameindividualperformingboththeScrumMasterandtheProductOwnerrolebecauseitisconsideredapotentialconflictofinterest.Thereisadynamictensionbetweentheteamandproductowner,theproductownerprioritizesworktomaximizevalue,andtheteamsayshowmuchworktheycangetdone.Theoretically,nomatterhowmuchtheproductownerproteststheyneedmoreworkperformedbytheteam,theteamhasthefullrighttostatethattheycanonlygetsomuchdone.PartoftheScrumMaster’sroleisto“defend”theteam’scapacityestimate.Thisisanexampleofagilevaluesofcourageandopenness.ThereisaconcernthisdynamicbalancewillnotberespectedifthePOisalsotheSM.

An“Outsider”providestheteamwithBAservices

AnOutsideBusinessAnalystprovidinganalysistotheteamasanondemandservice

TheindividualwhohasthejobtitleofbusinessanalystorisworkingintheroleofabusinessanalystmayinfactbeoutsideoftheAgileteamaltogether.Thisiswhereanindividualisprovidinganalysis“asaservice”totheteam,muchlikeaconsultant,possiblyprovidinganalysisasaservicetomultipleteams.AcommonscenarioisteammembershavetheBAskillbutperiodicallyneedmorecapacityorskill.

TheBAisoutsidetheteam“Upstream”

An“upstream”individualoutsideoftheteamworksasaBA

Thismodeliseffectiveforsituationswheretheteamhassomeanalysisskillsbutneedsadditionalsupportbecausetheyareworkinginwithlargersystems.Inthismodelanoutsideanalystmay“crush”asystemintolargechunksandcollaboratewithateamtocrushthosebigchunksintorightsizeduserstories.Thismodelisprevalentinorganizationsusingmultiplelevelsofplanning.Thisisamodelcommontomostoftheagilescalingmethodologies.

ABAisoutsideoftheteamand“crushes”thebigrocksfortheteam

HowDoestheBA(s)CollaboratewithTeamsorHowDoTeamsDoAnalysis?Inmosttextbookpresentationofagilemethodologies5,thevaluestreambeginsandendswiththeproductowner(orcustomerrepresentative).Theproductownerisresponsibleforensuringthereisareadysupplyofprioritizedbacklogitemslikeuserstoriesinthebacklogandacceptsthework“done”bytheteam.Justwheredidthatproductownergetallthosebacklogitemsfrom,andjustwheredidthecompletedworkendup?Mostagilemethodologiesprovideminimalguidanceforhowanalysisintotheagilemodel.Worsemostagilemethodologiesleaveuswiththeideathatsomehowthecreationofallthoseuserstoriesissomeoneelseproblem-thebusiness.ThisunfortunatelycontributestotheperceptionthatagilityisjustanITscienceprojectandnotarealbusinesstransformation.Howweorganizeourworkflowdependsonhowlargeoursystemis(thatishowmanyteamsarecollaboratingtodeliverthesystem)andthedistributionoftheBAskill.Wepresentfourmodelsfororganizingbusinessanalysis:

1. Waterscrumming–developmentareorganizedasScrumteamsbutproductlifecycleisgovernedbyclassicalwaterfallmodel.

5Socalled“scaling”methodologiessuchasSAFe,andLeSScallouttheupstreamanddownstreamprocesses

2. Sashimior“mini”Waterfall–developmentteamsareorganizedasscrumteamandslicesoftheproductaredeliveredusingrepeatedapplicationofthewaterfalllifecycle

3. Flow–slicesoftheproductaredeliveredonashortcadenceEachmodelisevaluatedintermsofitsriskforcreatingwaste,andinertia.Wealsoprovideexamplesoftypicalinstanceswherewehaveseenthesemodels.WaterScrummingWhatitis

WaterScrumming

Thisisthenaiveapproachtoincorporatingagileintotheorganization’sproductdevelopmentsystembecausetheorganizationsimplycontinueswiththeirexistingphasegatewaterfallprocesses.Oncetherequirementsaresignedoff,onlythendothedevelopmentteamsbegin“sprinting”Inthismodel,theBAisoutsideandupstreamfromtheteam.Theywillbeoutsideoftheteambecauseallanalysisanddesignisdonebeforethedevelopmentteamisevencreatedorassignedtotheinitiative.TheBAsoutputwillbeatraditionalrequirementsspecification,nowpossiblyformattedasuserstories.Inthismodel,userstoryisamisnomer,becausethereisnostorytellingbetweentheBA/POandtheteam.Thisiswillbecomethecontentofthedevelopmentteam’sproductbacklog.Inotherwords,everythingcontinuesastheytraditionallyhave,withtheexceptionofcodingandtestingwhicharedoneby“agile”teams.Manyagilistscoinedthepejorative“BUFD”forBigUpFrontDesignforthisstyleof“agile”.

WasteWhilethedevelopmentorganizationmaybenefitfromimprovedtechnicalexecution,thismodelstillmaximizeswaste.InertiaThisisahighinertiamodelbecausemostoftheanalysisisdoneupfrontandthereislittleifanyopportunityforusingfeedbackandlearningfromthedevelopmentprocesstosteeranalysis.

OncetherequirementsareapprovedtheyarethrownoverthewalltotheteamsandcommunicationsandfeedbackgenerallydoesnotflowbackuptotheBA.Usually,anylearningislabelledscopecreepandsuppressed.Inawaterscrummingmodel,alltheclassicalchangecontrolmechanismsarestillinplacetopreventprojectkillingscopecreep.Evenifthe

Overproduction High-allrequirementscreatedupfrontandthereforenoopportunitytolearnifallthoserequirementswerereallynecessary.Feedbackfromthedevelopmentprocessisnotutilizedtolearnwhatisreallyrequiredandlimitrequirementstoonlythosenecessary

Overprocessing High-therequirementsarestill“thrownoverthewall”tothedevelopmentteamsandthefunctionalrequirements,orsoftwarerequirementsspecificationformthedevelopmentteam’sbacklog

Inventory High-Inventoryandthereforeworkinprogressismaximizedbecausealltherequirementsarecreatedupfrontasalargesinglebatch.

Delay High-Thelargebatchsizesmaximizesdelayandthereforeminimizeslearning

Defect LowtoModerate-Whiletheintentbehindthismodelmaybetominimizerequirementsdefectsslippingthroughintoproduction,thelongdelaysmayactuallycreaterequirementsdefectsbecauseofmis-alignmentbetweentheunderstandingoftherequirementsbythestakeholdersandthedevelopers

Movement High-Developmentorganizationsthatadoptthismodelareoftenmatrixbasedwithlittleorno“T”shapeskills.Teammembersareoftenonmultipleteamstomake“efficient”useoftheirskill.

Transport High-Manyexplicithand-offs

opportunitypresenteditselftosteertheproject,thesunkeffortintocreatingtheworkproductsupfrontwillactasamassivedeterrenttochange.WhereSeenThismodelisprevalentinimmatureagileorganizationswhereagilityisjustseenasanITcostreductionstrategyandnotasabusinesssuccessstrategy.Thedevelopmentteamsareoftenmercenaryorcommodityteams,thatisteamsofhighlyskilledcoderswithlittleornounderstandingofthecontextordomain.Theteammembersoftenhavehighlysiloedskills(noTshapedskills),andworkperformedmostlythroughexplicithand-offsofintermediateworkproductsratherthroughcollaborativeefforts.Thesesituationsappearfrequentlywheretheorganizationmakeshighuseofexternalvendorsandneedscontractstoenforceagreements.SashimiorMiniWaterfallsWhatitis

SashimiDevelopmentModel

Sashimiormini-waterfallswerepopularizedbySteveMcConnell[citation].Thismodelimprovestheopportunityforvaluemanagementoverwaterscrummingbecauseitexecutesthefullwaterfalllifecycleiterativelyasaseriesofoverlappingminiwaterfallstherebyreducingworkinprogressandcreatingopportunitiesforfeedbackandlearning.Each“lifecycleslice”orminiwaterfallisanindependentlyplannedprojectsothisisopportunitytoincorporatelearningand“pivot”fromtheprevioussliceintothenext.

Justlikewaterscrumming,theBAwilltypicallybeoutsideoftheteam.Howeverunlikethewaterscrummingmodeltherearetwovariations.ThefirstissimilartothewaterscrummingmodelwhereanexternalBAcreatesalltheuserstories.ThesecondvariationistheexternalBAonlycrushesoutthe“bigchunks”ofwork–whatsomemayrefertoasthe10,000meterview-andlettheteamscrushandrefinethechunksintotheiruserstories.This“externalBAcreatesbigchunks”variantmeanstheteamsalsohaveananalysiscapability,andaremoreconnectedtothecontextanddomainthanteamsinthewaterscrummingmodel.Manyorganizationscangetthemselvesintoadangeroussituationwheretheyareexecutingwhatwerefertoas“stealthSashimi”.InstealthSashimi,theorganizationassertstheyare“agile”however,yettheyarereallyoperatinginminiwaterfalls.Backlogitemsarebrokendownbydevelopmentphaseanditmaytakeseveraliterationstodeliveranitem.Feedbackbecomesslowandinertiacreepsup.WasteThismodelisanimprovementonthewaterscrummingmodeliftheweareabletolimitworkinprogress.Wehaveseenorganizationsbelievetheyareusingthismodel,butinfactwhatistakingplaceistheyhaverelaxedtherequirementforastrictstagegatebetweenanalysisandimplementation.TheBAanddevteamareworkinginparallel,buttheBAmaynotlimittheirwork.ThisjustbecomesavariantofBUFDwithfasttracking.

Overproduction ModeratetoHigh–hasthepotentialtoreduceoverproductionwereachsliceorminiwaterfallcreatesareleaseandfeedbackissufficientlytimelytosteerdecisionmaking.Otherwiseoverproductioncanbesimilartothatofthewaterscrummingmodel.

Overprocessing ModeratetoHigh–thiswillbehighlikethewaterscrummingmodeliftheBAis“throwingtherequirementsoverthewall”tothedevelopmentteams.ItwillbemoremoderateifthewearefollowingtheexternalBAcreates“bigchunks”whichteamstakeresponsibilityfor.

Inventory ModeratetoHigh-InventoryisreducedifandonlyiftheexternalBAlimitsworkinprogressbyonlycreatingwhatis“immediatelyrequired”justittime.OtherwiseThiscandevolvebacktohighiftheBAsimplycontinuetocreaterequirementswithoutfeedbackfromtheteam.

Delay ModeratetoHigh–wasteresultingfromdelaycanbemoderateiftheBAlimitsworkinprogressandcreatesrequirementsmoreona

InertiaWhilethismodelmayappearasanimprovementoverthewaterscrummingmodelthereisstillanopportunityforsignificant“invisible”inertiabecausetherecanbealongdelaybetweenwhenauserstoryis“ready”tothetimeitisdeployed.Alotdependsonourabilitytolimitourworkinprogress.Thelongerthisdelaythegreatertheresistancetochange,thegreatertheinertia.WhereseenWiththeSashimimodewherewemaybelieveweareworkingiteratively,buttherealityisweareworkinginawaterfallduetotheinertiacreatedbylongfeedbackcycles.itiscommontohavetheBAworka“sprintortwoahead”oftheteam.ThiscreatestheopportunityfortheBAtogetfeedbackandworkasavaluemanager,howeverthisisaveryslowfeedbackcyclebecausepotentiallytheBAisoperatingtwotothreeiterationsbehindtheteam.ThatistheBAmaycreateareadystoryiniteration1,itisimplementediniteration2andnotdeployeduntiliteration3.Whilethedevelopmentteammaybelievetheyaredeliveringastoryeverysprint,itactuallytakesatleast3sprintstogofromconcepttocash.Thissituationisdangerousbecausethedevelopmentorganizationwillfirstbelievetheyaregettingthebenefitsofagilebuttheirrealityisclosertothatofwaterscrummingthanagile.Wehaveobservedthisstealthmodelinmanyorganizationswheretheywonderedwhyagilewasnotworkingoutforthem.

justintimebasisratherthancreatingthemlongbeforetheyareneeded.Frequentreleasesalsohelpreducedelay.Whatcanincreasedelayisiftheteamsarecreatingcomponentswhichmustintegratedtogethertorealizeavaluablefeature.

Defect LowtoModerate-Whiletheintentbehindthismodelmaybetominimizerequirementsdefectsslippingthroughintoproduction,thelongdelaysmayactuallycreaterequirementsdefectsbecauseofthelongfeedbacklagmayslowlearning

Movement ModeratetoHigh–Iftheteamisengagedintheanalysisprocess(externalBAcreateschunks)thenthiscanreducemovementwastebecausetheteammayhavemore“T”shapeskillsandworkcollaborativeintheirarea.Developmentorganizationsthatadoptthismodelareoftenmatrixbasedwithlittleorno“T”shapeskills.Teammembersareoftenonmultipleteamstomake“efficient”useoftheirskill

Transport ModeratetoHigh–maybemoderateiftherearenotmanymandatedhand-offs.

FlowWhatisit

KanbanasanexampleofflowwhereWorkinProgressislimited

DonaldReinertsenpopularizedtheexpression“productdevelopmentflow”wherethedevelopmentprocessminimizeswasteanddeliversaflowofvalue.Reinertsenlisttheattributesofflowin[citationhere].Forourpurposeswewillsimplysaythataflowbasedmethodologiestakeajustintimeapproachthatmakesfeedbackandlearningsufficientlytimelytheyarerelevanttodecisionmaking.Flowbasedprocessesarecharacterizedbytakinganeconomicview,workingwithsmallbatches,shortcycletimes,andlimitingworkinprogress.InaniterativemethodologylikeScrumorXP,theBAmaybegettingfeedbackwithinthesameiterationtheycreatedthebacklogitem.Theclassicalagilemodelofthestandaloneteamisanexampleofflow.Weminimizeinertiaandareabletoembracechangebecausewehavefastfeedbackcycles.Whilewehaveurgedcautionwiththismodelthatcautionisnotadismissalofthismodel.Infact,asurprisinglargerpercentageofsoftwaredevelopmentisdoneassmallprojectsbysmallteamsorshouldbedonebysmallteams.WasteBydefinition,theintentofflowbasedmodelsistominimizewaste.

InertiaThisisalowinertiamodelifplanningismostlyiterative.Shortcycletimesandlimitingworkinprogressreducesbuildingupalargebatchofdetailedrequirementsthatresistchange.WhereseenThismodelappearsinmorematureagileorganizationsthatrelymoreonlongstandingcollaborativeteamsthathavesignificantdomainknowledge.Thiskindofmodelsarefrequently

Overproduction Lowtomoderate–minimizesoverproductionbecausesystemis“pull”based,wecancreaterequirementsjustintimewhentheyareneeded.

Overprocessing Lowtomoderate–thismodeltendstoencouragecollaborationandthereforeminimizesoverprocessing.Overprocessingwillincreasedirectlywithanincreaseinimpedimentstocollaboration.

Inventory Lowtomoderate-Inventoryisreducedbecausesystemispullbased.

Delay Lowtomoderate–requirementsarenotcreateduntiltheyareneededthereforedelayisminimal

Defect Moderate–somemayperceiveanincreaseinrequirementsdefects,howeverfastfeedbackminimizestheimpactofthesedefects.Alsoconsiderthatmanyofthetraditionalmechanismsweputinplacetominimizedefects,increasestheprevalenceofotherwastes

Movement LowtoModerate–Iftheteamisengagedintheanalysisprocess(externalBAcreateschunks)thenthiscanreducemovementwastebecausetheteammayhavemore“T”shapeskillsandworkcollaborativeintheirarea.Developmentorganizationsthatadoptthismodelareoftenmatrixbasedwithlittleorno“T”shapeskills.Teammembersareoftenonmultipleteamstomake“efficient”useoftheirskill

Transport LowtoMode–maybemoderateiftherearenotmanymandatedhand-offs.

observedinproductdevelopmentorganizationswherethereseemstobeabetterunderstandingofthevalueofdomainknowledgeandexperiencethanotherindustrysegments.

ModelSummaryThewaterscrummingmodelandtheSashimimodeltoalesserextentcreateinertiatochange.Thatis,theseprocessesdelaylearningsuchthattheBAhasdonesignificantanalysiswithoutthebenefitoffeedbackfromimplementation.Inertiaiscreatedbecauseweinvestsomucheffortintocreatingourrequirements(andalsoourplansbasedonthoserequirements)thatweareloathedtodiscardthatworkinfaceofevidencethatwemaynotbepursuingthemostvaluablecourseofaction.Regardlessofourgoodintentionswearepeopleandwehaveingeniouswaysofignoringourobservationswhenwechooseto“lock”6howweseetheworld..Approach Descriptions,whois

theBAInertiaandWaste WhereObserved

WaterScrumming–ExternalBADoesItAll,

BAisajobdescriptionandanExternalBA(s)performallanalysisandcreatedetaileduserstorieswhichare“thrownoverthefence”toteams,teamsjustcode.Teamdoesnotreallyhaveanalysisskills.POandteammaydosomelocalizestorysplittingjusttogetchunkstofittheiriteration.

Inertiaisveryhighbecausethismodelmaximizesworkinprogress(WIP)becauseallrequirements–anintermediateworkproduct-createdupfront.Thereislittleornoopportunitytolearnasanalysisisdoneupfront.Evenifcodeisconstructediterativelylearningandchangesarelikelyseenas“scopecreep”Overproducesandoverprocessesrequirementsresultinginlargeinventoriesofrequirementsandlongdelaysinfeedback.

Immatureagileorganizationswhereagileisjustan“IT”thing,andcostminimizationhashighestpriorityHighlysiloedskills(noTshapedskills),andworkperformedmostlythroughexplicithand-offsofintermediateworkproductsratherthroughcollaborativeefforts.Typicaloforganizations,makingheavyuseofgenericexternalcontractors

6Thisisbasedonsignificantbodyofwork,includingUSAFColonelJohnBoyd’sworkinfastdecisioncycles

Sashimi-ExternalBAdoesitall

SameaswaterscrummingwhereanexternalBAdoesitall.Thedifferenceisratherthandoingallanalysisupfront(BUFD)someanalysisisdeferredtoleveragelearningafteranincrementisreleased.Teammayormaynothaveanalysisskillsbeyondwhatisnecessarytosplitstoriessuchthattheyfitintoaniteration

High.Whilethisprocessreducesworkinprogress(WIP)andenablesfeedback,thepotentiallylongdelayinthefeedbackcyclecanmakethefeedbackuselessforthepurposesmanagingvalue.DependinghowfaraheadtheBAgets–howmuchworkinprogresstheBAcreates-thismodelcanalsocreateaconsiderablebodyofintermediateworkproductsthatresistlearning.

Seeninorganizationssimilartothosethatmayfollowawaterscrummingmodel,highlysilo’edskills,littleinthewayof“T”shapedskillsandextensiveuseofexternalcontractors.Thisisoftenseenasavariantofcargocultagileorimmatureagile.Itcanbequitedangerousbecausewhilewemaybelieveweareagile,ourabilitytolearnfromfeedbackismorelikeawaterfallteamthananagileteam.

Sashimi–ExternalBADoesBigChunks

ExternalBAperformsanalysistocrushsystemintolargeabstractchunks.Thechunksarethencrushedintorightsizedconcreteuserstoriesbytheteam.BAisajobdescriptionandarole.Teamhasanalysisskillstodecomposelargechunksintorightsizedreadyuserstories.

Moderatetohigh.ThismodelcanpotentiallyreduceinertiadependingonhowmuchworkinprogressiscreatedbyboththeexternalBAandteamcreate.Ifworkinprogressisnotlimited–thatistheexternalBAchunksthesystemcompletelyupfront–theninertiacanbehigh.LikeotherSashimimodelswhilethereisanopportunitytolearnthedelayfromthetimetherequirementiscreatedtothetimeitisimplementedmayresultinsufficientinertiatopreventlearning

Thismaybeseeninlargesystemsdevelopmentwheretheteamisanexpertintheirdomainorcomponentandisgivenresponsibilityforimplementingtheirdomainorcomponent.Teamswillhavemore“T”shapeskillsandmayworkmorecollaborativelythanwaterscrummingmodelbecausetheyaregivencollectiveresponsibilityforimplementingtheirdomainorcomponentThereisstilltheriskalongdelayinfeedbackmaycreateinertiatochangingthescopeof

Potentiallyreduceswasteresultingfromoverproductionandoverprocessingasteamwillcreatetherequirementstheyneedfortheirdomain/component.

the“chunk”orthevalueofthechunk,especiallyifmostofourteamsarecomponentteams.

Flow–ExternalBAcreatesbigchunks

ExternalBAeitherworkscloselywithteam,orteamtakesresponsibilityforanalysisTeamalsohasanalysisskillsandworksclosewithexternalBA

Low-Minimizesinventoryandthereforedelay.Thisthereforereducesresistancetochangebecausethereislittleornoworkto“undo”

Thisisouridealworldbecausewehavefastfeedbackarecapableofquicklypivotingbecausewehavelittleinertia

Flow-Team TeamhasAnalysisskillsandworkstogethertochunksysteminto“rightsized”userstories

Low–inertiaisminimizedbecauseteamisdeliveringstartsandcompletesuserstorieseveryshortsprint.

Thisistheclassicalsmallteamagilemodel