© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Ship it, Don’t WIP it!

How to Optimize Flow in Software Development

Alex Kanaan

About Me

Connect With Me

More about Me http://www.alexkanaan.com

Read My Blog http://www.alexkanaan.com/#latestnews

Contact Me http://www.alexkanaan.com/#contact

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© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Ever Face This?

• Sprint deadline approaching fast • Coding took too long • Testing is behind • We are approaching a gridlock • Sprint Review at risk

How do I avoid this in the future?

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Today’s Goals

• Focus on improving your flow • Introduce WIP limits • Agile Game to understand the effect of WIP

limits • Avoiding the gridlock • Overcome common mistakes

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

To Multi-Task or Not?At any given time, on how many tasks are you working?

a) One Task? b) Two Tasks? c) Three or more?

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Cost of Context-SwitchingAccording to Gerald Weinburg: • Up to to 20% lost productivity for every additional task • By the time you add your 3rd task, 40% of your time is

wasted in task switching!

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Real Life Cost!If a Scrum Team costs $1M a year

That’s $400,000 of WASTE!!!

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan 9

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Remember this?

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

What’s Wrong with This?

Design Code Test

Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 4

Code

Sprint 3

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

What about This?

Code TestDesign Code TestDesign Code TestDesign

Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3

Design Code Test

Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3

Vs.

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Don’t do Mini Waterfall

Define Code Test

Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3

6 wks To deliver

2 wks Low risk ☺

Pull testing early

Code TestDefine Code TestDefine Code TestDefine

C TDC TD

C TDC TD

C TDC TD

C TDC TD

C TDC TD

C TDC TD

2 wks But high risk!

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Starting

Finishing&

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan 15

Agile Game

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Agile Game!

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Make Paper Airplanes Within Timebox

• Two Sprints, first is a control without WIP limits • Group average for first sprint can be reference • 2nd Sprint each team gets a different WIP limit • Perform your task then handover • Must reach WIP limit before you can handover • Only planes completing entire line considered • Single defect disqualifies entire batch • Goal: Plane must fly 10 ft. to be accepted

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

How to Fold Paper Airplanes!

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1 52 3You may not handover until you hit your WIP limit

4

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Agile Game!

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First Pass, NO WIP Limits

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Agile Game!

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2nd Pass, Team WIP Limits

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Results

TeamWIP

Limit# Airplanes Completed Defects

Average of all None xxx12345

20

Not counting defects since goal is working product

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan 21

Agile Game “What did we learn?”

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

When do you get acceptance?From the Product Owner

a) At the Sprint Review (Demo)?b) At the Retrospective?c) At deployment?d) Other?

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

When do you get acceptance?a) At the Sprint Review (Demo)?b) At the Retrospective?c) At deployment?d) Other?

C TDC TD

C TD

C TD

Accept throughout the Sprint!

Sprint n

DEMO

Demo already accepted Stories

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Why? Why accept throughout the sprint, and demo already accepted stories?

C TDC TD

C TD

C TD

Sprint n

DEMO

Demo already accepted Stories

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Your Sprint Does Not Have to End Like This!

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Instead of This…

Blame Testing…

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Credit for Incomplete work?

Partial Credit

No

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

What Does This Imply About PO Engagement?

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Aim for This!

Demo as a Celebration

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Overcome Common Mistakes

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© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Recommendations• Break work into small manageable

batches• Break all stories – 1 to 3 days per story• Open one thing at a time & finish it!• Introduce WIP limits to improve work

flow to reduce or avoid the gridlock at the end

• Get Acceptance throughout the sprint• Demos are a time to Celebrate

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© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Remember the Scrum Values?

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© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

Which Scrum Values?

33

© 2015 - Alex Kanaan

THANK YOU!

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Questions?

Connect With Me

More about Me http://www.alexkanaan.com

Read My Blog http://www.alexkanaan.com/#latestnews

Contact Me http://www.alexkanaan.com/#contact

Follow my Tweets @AlexKanDu

Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arkanaan