Challenging the traditional thinking

AgilIL2012

Yael Rabinovich

Mail: Yael@Agilesparks.com

Agile coach, AgileSparks

Software industry since 1998Agile coach @ AgileSparks since 2009

Challenging the traditional thinking

AgilIL2012

Scenario: Retesting

"Well, there's no point in testing now, If the code changes, I'll just need to re-test all this stuff anyway. Call me when things stop changing."

Traditional thinkingScenario: Retesting

• What's the assumption taken?– Things will stop changing– Testing time = tests execution time– Testing role certifying the product is ready for delivery

• The benefits – Test execution time potentially will be reduced– People motivation– Test coverage is easier to track

Agile thinking Scenario: Retesting

• The assumption– Things will keep changing– The role of the tester is

Improving the quality of the product before it's complete

• Benefits – Total delivery time potentially reduced– Fixes are simpler (risk\time)– Tester role is more relied on and critical – leading role– Progress is more reliable– Increase in quality

Agile thinking Scenario: Retesting

• Potential challenges:– More testing time– Doing the same again and again – low motivation– Effort on automation

Agile Thinking concepts Scenario: Retesting

Lean

Agile

Scrum

XP

Incremental development, Work as one Team,

Early feedback

Optimize the whole flowStop starting start finishing

Build Quality In – Automation, Continuous integration, Unit tests

Kanban\

Scenario: Utilization

“Should I start something new that is waiting for me ?”

?

Traditional thinkingScenario: Utilization

• The assumption taken– I’m measured as efficient by the pace I produce

• The benefits:– People’s skills are highly utilized

Agile thinking Scenario: Utilization

• The assumption– Effectiveness is measured by the time it takes us

to get things done – from concept to consumption– Optimize the whole vs. Local optimization– Work as one team

?Can I help directly?Do something in my domain that doesn’t create work down stream ?Or assist in making downstream faster ?Innovation ?Improvement backlog?

Scenario: Scope Driven

"We must include this new capability in this release, it’s strategic.It will result with postponing in 2 -3 months the release date"

Traditional thinking Scenario: Scope Driven

• What's the assumption taken?– Customer knows what they want

• Potential problems:– You may loose the window of opportunity– Time expands - Student syndrome, Parkinson’s law– Your team will run out of energy– You end up with “scope creep”

Agile thinking Scenario: Scope Driven

• The assumption– Early feedback – Continuous short delivery cycles – Customers discover what they want

• Benefits :– Incremental value & ROI– build customer trust– Easy to plan– Creates sense of urgency– 80/20 rule (less is more)

Agile thinking Scenario: Scope Driven

• Potential challenges:– Short term view– High investment in reduce

cost of release– Late adapters

“Timebox — don't scopebox” —Mary Poppendieck , Leading lean software development

Agile Thinking concepts Scenario: Scope driven

Lean

Agile

Scrum

XP

Project management framework: Incremental development, Work as one Team, Sprints - timeboxing, Product Owner

Customer collaborationEarly feedbackResponding to change

Optimize the whole flowStop starting start finishingDeliver fast

Engineering Practices: Build Quality In – Automation, Continuous integration, Unit tests

Kanban\

Scenario: Meetings

“All day we are in endless meetings, there is no time to do real work”

Traditional thinkingScenario: Meetings

• The assumption taken?– Work is what we do out of the meetings (code, test…)– Machine model: Each part can be built separately and be

assembled at the end

• Potential problems:– More documentation– More Process

Agile thinking Scenario: Meetings

• The assumption– Team face-to-face communication is most effective– Engineers discover how to build the product

• Benefits :– Focus– Tight feedback– Ownership– Team spirit– Transparency

Practices that can helpScenario: Meetings

• Collaborative games – Fun• Physical participation• Visualization• Repeated Structure• Small• Facilitator

• Own a meeting• Publish Agenda, goal, outcome• Time-boxing • Close the meeting explicitly

Optimize the whole flowStop starting start finishingDeliver fast

Agile Thinking concepts Scenario: Meetings

Lean

Agile

Scrum

XP

Incremental development, Work as one Team, Sprints - time boxing, Product Owner, Cross functional teams, ceremonies

Individuals & InteractionsCustomer collaborationEarly feedbackResponding to change

Build Quality In – Automation, Continuous integration, Unit tests,

Kanban\

Scenario: Planning

“We are bad at estimating, we never live up to our plans”

Traditional thinkingScenario: Planning

• The assumption taken– Engineers knows in advanced how to build the

product

Agile thinking Scenario: Planning

• The assumption– Engineers discover how to build the product– It’s an emerging process – complex system

– Empirical data = Velocity, Working software– Continuous planning = adapt the plan according to

the team's capability

Optimize the whole flowStop starting start finishingDeliver fast

Agile Thinking concepts Scenario: Scope driven

Lean

Agile

Scrum

XP

Incremental development, Work as one Team, Sprints - time boxing, Product Owner, Cross functional teams, ceremonies, PSP

Working softwareIndividuals & InteractionsCustomer collaborationEarly feedbackResponding to change

Build Quality In – Automation, Continuous integration, Unit tests,

Kanban\

Adaptability

Agile is a method to deliver value to the customers, not a dogma