Successfully bootstrapping a large scalable Scrum practice ...€¦ · Rules of scrum help tremendously S. Orrell, J. Lambert, Applying the Dreyfus Learning Model to Focus your Coaching

Copyright of Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.

SUCCESSFULLY BOOTSTRAPPING A LARGE SCALABLE SCRUM PRACTICE AT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Saga of a successful transformation from a struggling software development group to a scalable Scrum practice

David Segonds ([email protected]) GeoSigns Software Development Manager

1 July 2012


CHALLENGES

Develop an integrated and comprehensive subsurface interpretation system

Port an existing interpretation system to Windows

Productize innovative and competitive research

Satisfy a more demanding user population

Meet expectations for predictability

2 July 2012

Circa 2006


JANUARY 2010 TO APRIL 2010

January 2010

April 2010 2.0

November 2010 3.0

April 2011 3.1

December 2011 4.0

3 July 2012

GeoSigns v2.0


THE GROUND TRUTH

GeoSigns 1.0 is incomplete per the 2007 plan

A new management team

Bungled Scrum implementation

Few software engineering best practices

4 July 2012

GeoSigns v2.0


THE NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM

GENERAL MANAGER

PRODUCT MANAGER

SW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

DEPLOYMENT MANAGER

PLANNING MANAGER

July 2011 5

GeoSigns v2.0


THE NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM

GENERAL MANAGER

PRODUCT MANAGER

SW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

DEPLOYMENT MANAGER

PLANNING MANAGER

July 2011 6

GeoSigns v2.0


February 2010: Departmental workshop

Define Version 2.0 release backlog

Agree upon a quality criterion based on number of defects

February 2010 to May 2010:

Implement the limited scope

Fix defects

Deliver 2.0

Celebrate

In preparation for things to come:

LT decides that schedule will be fixed for subsequent releases

Teams and SMEs start developing a definition of done

SMALL BEGINNINGS

7 July 2012

GeoSigns v2.0


Project Management Triangle

LESSONS LEARNED

Definition of Done

8 July 2012

GeoSigns v2.0


APRIL 2010 TO NOVEMBER 2010

January 2010

April 2010 2.0

November 2010 3.0

April 2011 3.1

December 2011 4.0

9 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


ON THE STARTING BLOCKS

To do:

Consistent Team Size

Cross-Functional Teams

Implement Retrospectives

Implement Review Meetings

Completed:

Implement daily Scrums

Monthly iterations

Hire one ScrumMaster

10 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


THE LAY OF THE LAND

Team A

Conflict with their SME, had

Trouble with acceptance tests

Unsustainable implementation

Team B

risky (but necessary) low-level change in SCM mainline

Team C

Overreaching change in a separate branch

Team D and Team E

Doing just fine 11 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


THE STRUGGLE

October 2010:

Team A and B are not done

Team C postpone scope and fix defects

Team D and E fix defects

November 2010:

Many defects were remaining

Team A and B still not done

LT declares victory

LT asks teams C, D and E to fix defects while Team A and B continue to develop

12 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


OTHER EFFORTS

Beginning of a UI automated testing effort

One dedicated individual

Two consultants

The Squish Framework

Software Engineering Excellence Group

Trainings

Standards

Health Checks

13 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


LESSONS LEARNED

Collecting Metrics is not easy

Recruiting a ScrumMaster helps

Index cards do not work with five teams and one application

One rule does not fit all

Managing the balancing act between common processes and the need for autonomy

14 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.0


NOVEMBER 2010 TO APRIL 2011

January 2010

April 2010 2.0

November 2010 3.0

April 2011 3.1

December 2011 4.0

15 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.1


SPRING CLEANING

Fix actionable defects

Remove non‐actionable defects

Defect classification by severity

Add Gate keeper to reject non‐actionable defects

16 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.1


GETTING SERIOUS

Team Reorganization

Backlog management and metrics

Planning

Four-week Sprints

Rules of Scrum

17 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.1


LESSONS LEARNED

Invest in a proper planning tool

Clean-up your defect database and keep it clean

Invest in estimation training

End-users favor quality and predictability over scope

18 July 2012

GeoSigns v3.1


APRIL 2011 TO DECEMBER 2011

January 2010

April 2010 2.0

November 2010 3.0

April 2011 3.1

December 2011 4.0

19 July 2012

GeoSigns v4.0


FULL STEAM AHEAD

Teams have a proper backlog, clear goals

Metrics are now in place to help the teams

The newly minted QA team catches defects via automated testing

Product is used by 700 users worldwide

20 July 2012

GeoSigns v4.0


A COUPLE OF ISSUES

In two occasions we had to intervene on site to fix defects created by Team B during version 3.0 development cycle

The total number of defects went from about 300 to 450 during the version 4.0 development cycle

Overall stress was quite elevated

21 July 2012

GeoSigns v4.0


LESSONS LEARNED

It takes time, and efforts to implement change

Change is stressful

It is difficult to maintain a low defect count

You can be haunted by ghosts from the past

Dedicating a team to QA works

Rules of scrum help tremendously

S. Orrell, J. Lambert, Applying the Dreyfus Learning Model to Focus your Coaching Approach, Agile 2011

22 July 2012

GeoSigns v4.0

Documents

Successfully bootstrapping a large scalable Scrum practice ...€¦ · Rules of scrum help tremendously S. Orrell, J. Lambert, Applying the Dreyfus Learning Model to Focus your Coaching