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Posts tagged ‘agile’

Apr 5

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What does “Delivering Results” mean in an Agile context?

A few days ago, I broke down the key dimensions associated with an Agile Project team in an attempt to explain Agile to managers but I purposely excluded the concept of RESULTS in order to remain focus on the key dimensions. As such, the main reasons why an organization would choose to go Agile haven’t been specifically addressed in my previous post.

Image from dullhunk

Working software over comprehensive documentation - Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Yes, working software is the goal of the project team but the ultimate goal of the organization remains to maximize return on investment (ROI). The next logical question should be “What does maximizing return on investment (ROI) mean in an Agile context?”

In my opinion, maximizing ROI in an agile context means:

  • Paying the right price for the developed software while getting the most business value – the right price means the cost associated with the labor without significant overhead costs;
  • Developing a competitive advantage by adapting to changes in the environment while quickly and incrementally developing the results in order to capture the market opportunities;
  • Increasing customer satisfaction by giving them the product they need, when they need it;
  • Allowing project team members to develop their skills while having fun.

Too many times, maximizing ROI simply means increasing throughput and/or decreasing cost – no matter what. Delivering results in an agile context should not limit its focus on the very short term but also take into consideration a longer term investment in the capabilities of the team members.

Mar 29

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The 7 Dimensions of an Agile Project Team

In my quest to better define what Agile Leadership is and in an attempt to help managers, leaders, and stakeholders understand which behavior to modify in order to achieve a successful Agile transition within their organization, I broke down the key dimensions associated with an Agile Project team - an upcoming post will present the Agile Leadership dimensions. Based on experience and relying on numerous books and blogs published on the topic, I have extracted seven key dimensions in an attempt to generalize the concept.

My goal is to help teams and organizations going through an Agile transition understand which dimensions to modify to change the status quo. I will define at length and provide reference material in an upcoming post.

Picture by Yukon White Light

Agile Leadership - The Project Team

The Project Team

A project team is a team whose members usually belong to different groups, functions and are assigned to activities for the same project. A team can be divided into sub-teams according to need. Usually project teams are only used for a defined period of time. They are disbanded after the project is deemed complete. Due to the nature of the specific formation and disbandment, project teams are usually in organisations. A team is defined as “an interdependent collection of individuals who work together towards a common goal and who share responsibility for specific outcomes of their organisations”. An additional requirement to the original definition is that “the team is identified as such by those within and outside of the team” – wikipedia

Out of the roles defined in Scrum, the project team is a key area impacted by an Agile transition. Many changes are required in order to take full advantage of the transition – from a motivational and a performance perspective. In this context, the project team encompasses the members of the core project team that are working toward the same end goal, which is to deliver results.

The 7 Dimensions of an Agile Project Team

There are tens of variables that have been identified as key success factors for a successful agile transition. My objective is to group them under 7 dimensions. This does not mean that other dimensions aren’t important or that I offer an exhaustive list. My goal is simply to summarize the success factors under a handful of dimensions.

Autonomy

Autonomy refers to the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision – wikipedia

The concept of self-organised team is one of the pillars of Scrum. In his recent book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Dan Pink presents the differences between empowerment and autonomy (more on his book in an upcoming post) with such compelling arguments that I felt “autonomy” is a much better description of what we aim to achieve with the implementation of Scrum. As such, the team needs to have the ability to determine the sequence of the tasks to be executed, the assignment of each task, the method used to complete their work and other rules required to allow the team to achieve performance while enjoying their work.

A few questions to assess the Autonomy dimension of the project team:

  • Are people on the team able to make decisions themselves and accordingly adapt to changing situations?
  • Does the team determine “how” to solve their issues?
  • Can the teams select the standards and practices that better allow them to produce the right solution?
  • Can the team divide the work as it chooses?
  • Do training, holiday, and vacation time get cancelled when the project falls behind schedule?
  • Can the team members determine who is on or off the team?
  • Does the team maintain a high rate of productivity without being overworked?

Competences

Competence is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to improve performance. More generally, competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role – wikipedia

As with other expertise, project team members must possess and/or develop certain competences in order to take advantage of the new approach. Although some of the new skills are technical in nature, many are softer interpersonal skills.

A few questions to assess the Competences dimension of the project team:

  • Does the product owner possess the right skills and abilities to successfully execute his role?
  • Are the employees always in an optimal role (matching the requirements with the capabilities and interest of the individual)?
  • Do the team members have the required knowledge and expertise to successfully deliver the expected solution?

Accountability

Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report explain and be answerable for resulting consequences – wikipedia

As an Agile team relies on its autonomy to complete its work, the concept of accountability becomes even more critical than it is in a traditional team structure. The lines between the responsibilities of each of the team members become more blurry as tasks and timelines get re-assigned in order to meet the expected results.

A few questions to assess the Accountability dimension of the project team:

  • Do the team members clearly understand their responsibilities?
  • Are the team members committed to the delivery dates?
  • Are all the delivery dates clearly communicated and known by all team members?
  • Does the team successfully deliver functional software at the end of each iteration?
  • Does the team know its velocity?

Collaboration

Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus – wikipedia

Collaboration is a central them in Agile and it is more than two people working side-by-side. In the context of Agile, strong collaboration is a critical quality the needs to be demonstrated by the project team and throughout the duration of the project.

A few questions to assess the Collaboration dimension of the project team:

  • Is the business representative an active member of the project team?
  • Is it accepted that the detail of both the requirements and the solution will emerge as the project progresses?
  • Does the project team accept changing business needs?
  • Do team members accept tasks outside their role and responsibility in order to successfully deliver?
  • Are developers included in the planning process?
  • Are the team members heavily involved in the decision making process?
  • Is the product owner willing to discuss trade-offs between scope and schedule?

Communication

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another - wikipedia

Just like collaboration, communication is an elusive concept that is fundamental to the success of the project team.

A few questions to assess the Communication dimension of the project team:

  • Are the right tools in place to facilitate the communication process between team members?
  • Is a wiki in place to centralize access to key project information?
  • Does the team have a collaborative space allocated to them?

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes. These efforts can seek “incremental” improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement all at once. Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility – wikipedia

The empirical nature of Scrum imposes continuous improvement to the project team. In order to implement the process for the team members to learn and develop their skills, certain aspects need to be established up front and improved throughout the project life cycle.

A few questions to assess the Continuous Improvement dimension of the project team:

  • Are the team members’ performance periodically evaluated and honestly communicated?
  • Are the best practices challenged on a regular basis?
  • Does the team use an empirical process to learn and improve their performance?
  • Does the team hold retrospection sessions to improve?
  • Does the team reserve time to implement improvements?

Processes and Tools

Process typically describes the act of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures to convert it from one form to another – wikipedia

A tool, broadly defined, is an entity that interfaces between two or more domains; that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other – wikipedia

Finally, to take advantage of the changes an Agile transition brings, the project team needs to use different tools and processes in order to avoid falling back to their old patterns.

A few questions to assess the Processes and Tools dimension of the project team:

  • Does the product owner understand that solving 20% of the problem delivers 80% of the value?
  • Is the team composed of a group of 5 to 9 people?
  • Is the team capable of starting the projects with incomplete requirements?
  • Are projects broken down into smaller components?
  • Are the iterations time-boxed?
  • Are the required processes clearly defined and communicated to all team members?

I am currently working on a more exhaustive questionnaire to help those going through a transition monitor their progress. I hope to share the questionnaire shortly.

Mar 22

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What consultants don’t tell you before you begin an agile transition – Part 4: Why a coach is useful

As a follow up to my previous posts (part 1, part 2, and part 3), this fourth and final article written in collaboration with my colleagues Stéphane Lécuyer, Jean-René Rousseau, Sylvie Trudel, Joël Grenon, and Eric Laramée, presents why the use of external coaches is a key success factor for an organizational transition to Agile.

Most people in organizations that initiate an Agile transition will tell you that, to be successful you need to do more than reading Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum and taking a ScrumMaster Certification. Some organizations succeed without external help while others prefer to follow Forrester’s recommendation and hire consultants to support them. In this context, there are three types of coach.

The Organizational Coaches

The Organizational Coach uses a support approach coupled with an advisory role to assist the various stakeholders in developing the required skills to maximize the benefits of their Agile transition. As a member of the project steering committees and working directly with the individual managers involved, the Organizational Coach helps transform the traditional management style used within the organization. Thus, the coach helps the various stakeholders assess the gap between the current situation (current management style) and the expected target (new leadership style). The coach then works with the stakeholders to define an appropriate plan of action and take concrete steps to address the obstacles encountered during their personal development. This coaching approach offers the following benefits:

  • Establishes a partnership between the Organizational Coach and the client with the intend to achieve a successful transition;
  • By working directly with the individuals and their team, the Organizational Coach helps them move from the current state to the desired situation;
  • Supports the stakeholders via discussions, suggestions and observations to help them change their management style and to ensure the development of the skills required to reach the desired level of management Agility;
  • By pushing the leaders outside their comfort zone, the Organizational Coach attempts to change the status quo.

The Organizational Coach typically plays the role of the Agile expert at the management level. In addition, the Organizational Coach works directly with managers from both the technology and the business side of the organization in order to help them assimilate and apply the Agile principles to their daily management activities. As such, the Organizational Coach support the management team in their development of an Agile Leadership better suited for the success of the transition.

The Team Coaches

Ultimately, the objective of the Team Coach is to develop the skills and competencies of the ScrumMasters to become quickly autonomous and derive the maximum benefits of the Agile approach. More specifically, the Team Coach supports the start of the projects, provides recommendations for improving the implementation of Scrum throughout the projects and disseminates the best practices. The Team Coach promotes and facilitates a cohesive adoption of Agile within the teams. In addition to supporting the execution of the project, the Team Coach works closely with the ScrumMasters to develop and implement activities to improve the team’s performance and to develop the skills of team members and the ScrumMaster. The coach’s role is to share his expertise and best practices with all team members in order to help accelerate the development of their skills and quickly make the team more efficient.

The Engineering Practice Coaches

The Engineering Practice Coach supports the Team Coaches by specifically addressing the engineering practices used within the software development process. As such, the Engineering Practice Coach reinforces software development best practices, helps the various teams identify and remove impediments, and foster team self-organization. As an expert on agile development and testing technologies and practices, the Engineering Practice Coach stays abreast of the latest industry tools, developments, and best practices, and broadly share and evangelizes those developments inside the organization. The Engineering Practice Coach brings a broad expertise of engineering practices in the Agile development team, including:

  • Test Driven Development (TDD),
  • Various Agile automation test frameworks (eg. GreenPepper),
  • Release planning techniques,
  • Story point estimation,
  • Integration of software engineering best practices (eg. code reviews, unit tests, etc.), and other techniques that enable teams to deliver high quality software products in an Agile structure.

For example, within each development team, the Engineering Practice Coach ensures that the engineering practices supporting the iterative and incremental development are known, understood, and properly implemented. In addition, the Engineering Practice Coach may also accompany the architecture team in the selection of tools and technology.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed these short articles and have found useful information to help you succeed with your organizational transition. Do not hesitate to send us an email if you would like additional information about a specific topic.

Mar 17

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What is Agile Leadership?

Agile Leadership is the application of the Agile principles (as defined in the Agile Manifesto) to the leadership of software development endeavours.

In addition to encompassing the processes, tools and rules of Agile Scrum, Agile Leadership extrapolates them to change how teams and projects are managed within the context of the work environment and new leadership paradigms to deliver better results.

Agile Leadership Model

Where Agile Scrum mostly focuses on the organization of the project team, the roles and responsibilities of the team members, the artifacts, and the rules under which the project team operates, Agile Leadership includes the work environment as well as the specific leadership abilities expected from the managers and stakeholders.

Agile Leadership is a fundamental paradigm shift with the objective of making the project team successful and the people within the team happier in order to deliver better results. The shift mostly comes from the leadership (aka management style) and the rules used to govern the actions, the behaviours and the outcome of the team.

Getting managers to become more Agile requires changing behaviors and to use a more democratic approach to management. More specifically, Agile Leadership requires to:

  • Transfer certain powers to the team members themselves to let them determine how best to accomplish their tasks;
  • Empower the project team through self-organization and commitment to results;
  • Transfer decision-making to individuals who are closest to the activities;
  • Demonstrate a greater openness to ideas and innovations emerging teams;
  • Clearly define the desired vision and to adapt to the context of each team to ensure alignment with the overall objective of the project and to ensure cohesion between the team members;
  • Provide the necessary support and resources to the project team so they successfully accomplish the expected results;
  • Become a change agent within the organization by accepting and publicly endorsing the idea that the status quo is not acceptable and that the old methods are no longer adapted to the new reality;
  • Systematically involve business people in the definition and execution of solutions;
  • Adapt the style of management so as to use an inclusive and democratic approach.

In addition to bringing new concepts, Agile Leadership also revisits and adds to some of the concepts on which Agile Scrum relies. There is already much documentation (books, blogs, podcast, etc.) on the topic of Agile. In an upcoming blog post, I will add details to the areas of focus listed below and associate the underlying concepts with theories explained at length elsewhere in other areas of expertise such: as organizational behavior, organizational development, management science, and coaching.

Mar 15

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What consultants don’t tell you before you begin an agile transition – Part 3: Impact on the functional and people managers

As a follow up to my previous posts (part 1 and part 2), this third post in a series of 4 short articles written in collaboration with my colleagues Stéphane Lécuyer, Jean-René Rousseau, Sylvie Trudel, Joël Grenon, and Eric Laramée, addresses the impact of an Agile transition on the functional and people managers.

Transforming the Managers

In an Agile transition, it is necessary to work closely with the various people managers to help them truly understand and assimilate the principles related to Agile so they can integrate them into their actions. Based on our experience, in addition to team coaches we recommend the use of organizational coaches to help managers change some of their management approaches and use a leadership style that is more appropriate for the new Agile teams.

The transition to a new style of leadership is not limited to software development teams, it also applies to the interactions and relationships with the managers of the business groups – typically the product owners.

Getting managers to become more Agile requires changing behaviors and using a more democratic approach to management. More specifically, the people managers need to:

  • behave more Agilely by transferring certain power to the teams members themselves and to let them determine how best to accomplish their tasks;
  • empower their teams through self-organization and commitment to results;
  • transfer decision-making to individuals who are closest to the activities;
  • demonstrate greater receptivity to ideas and innovation emerging from their teams;
  • clearly define the desired vision;
  • adapt to the context of each team to ensure alignment with the overall objective;
  • ensure cohesion between the teams and their members;
  • capture the strategic objectives of the transition in order to demonstrate the importance of the project;
  • support the sense of urgency;
  • provide the necessary resources so they can position themselves as leaders in this transition;
  • accept and publicly endorse the idea that the status quo is not acceptable and that the old methods are no longer adapted to the new reality.

In this context, the managers themselves become change agents within their department and in the organization to;

  • integrate those who are convinced to take part in the center of expertise;
  • systematically involve business people in the transition;
  • adapt their style of management when necessary to use an inclusive and democratic approach.

In this perspective, the ‘command and control’ management style needs to evolve into a servant leadership so that contributors can take responsibility and demonstrate stewardship. The intend is to be supportive through tangible measures so the team members can quickly adopt new ways of doing things.

It is worth asking what approach will be used to achieve such a transition for managers. With the experience gained during our previous mandates, we recommend to use the following means to achieve the desired results:

  • awareness of the managers of the requirements related to an Agile transition through appropriate training;
  • creation of groups (communities) of interest to share learning, fear, reactions, etc.;
  • implementing individual meetings or group meetings with different stakeholders to understand the fears, their challenges, their resistance and provide the necessary support to help;
  • provide an organizational coach to individuals or groups who require special attention during the transition;
  • identification of committees where the presence of the coach is required to help move the transition forward;
  • establishing and defining the parameters required to support new objectives related to the transition;
  • preparation and dissemination of communications about the progress of the project.

In next week’s post, we will explain in Part 4: Why a coach is useful for a successful Agile transition.

Mar 8

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What consultants don’t tell you before you begin an agile transition – Part 2: Impact on some of the traditional roles

As a follow up to my previous post, this second post in a series of 4 short articles written in collaboration with my colleagues Stéphane Lécuyer, Jean-René Rousseau, Sylvie Trudel, Joël Grenon, and Eric Laramée, addresses the impact an Agile transition typically has on some of the traditional software development roles: the project manager, the architect, the business analyst, and the QA specialist.

One of the first obstacle we routinely encounter in coaching teams through their Agile transition is the mapping of the Scrum roles to the traditional roles. Since Scrum only has three roles (product owner, scrum master, and scrum team), what happens to the project manager, to the architect, to the business analyst, and to the QA specialist after the transition?

Based on our experience, here are possible strategies to properly map the traditional roles to the three roles defined by Scrum.

The Project Manager

Traditionally, the project manager is responsible for determining who, what, and when activities need to be performed and then to ensure the team complies with the plan that was prepared to meet the budget, time and scope constraints.

With the traditional approach, project management is based on compliance with the plan while Agile and Scrum propose a different approach where maximizing the business value is the main vector of project management. Under this new approach, the product manager needs to collaborate with the team members and delegate to them some of his traditional responsibilities since they will determine who does what, and when within the constraints of the project.

In this context, the role of the Scrum Master is to enforce the process and seeks to build an efficient self-organized team. To the question “do we still need a project manager in Agile?”, experience shows us that in most organizations, the answer is yes.

The need for accountability, regulatory compliance and alignment with the framework and IT governance are not covered by the role of the Scrum Master and as such remain the responsibility of the project manager.

However, the project manager needs to adapt its management style and use leadership rather than authority with the team to get things done. In the context of a multi-team organizational structure, the presence of a project manager is also valuable, where he is coordinating the teams and the synchrony between them and between entities external to the project teams.

From our experience, some project managers are more willing to become product owners while others will feel challenged by the role of Scrum Master. In the end, it will be the responsibility of the organization to determine how to redefine the roles and their associated responsibilities.

The Architect

Similar to the project manager, the architect is known to play a different role post-transition compared to that required in traditional development teams. He must act as a consultant to the teams and provide them with the necessary support instead of dictating the rules and guidelines to be followed. The architect should also be familiar with the concepts of emerging architecture, where just enough architecture is planned to allow the team to innovate and find the optimal solutions.

The architect then acts as a catalyst for sharing best practices within the organization. Here is a list of practices summarizing the changes of behavior for the architect:

  • Is an active member of the development teas, helping to build the right software and acting as consultant;
  • Does not attempt to predict the future, he provides a coherent vision but knows that tomorrow’s problems will be easier to solve tomorrow;
  • Is changing its architecture in an incremental way, leaving room for emergence;
  • Does not seek to document everything to perfection, he focuses on a few relevant diagrams and documents the best practices based on his audience;
  • Seeks to validate its concepts through concrete experiences.

Once again, although the role of the architect does change after an agile transition, it remains an important role to be filled.

The Business Analyst

The business analyst is another role that seems neglected by Scrum. To ensure close collaboration between the team and the Product Owner, Scrum ensures that the necessary elements are effectively communicated directly to the team without a formal and complex documentation. However, to ensure continuity of information, we know that functional documentation that is adequate and representative of the software to be developed is essential.

The business analyst becomes a valuable contributor to the Product Owner. The responsibilities of the business analyst are as follows:

  • Supports the Product Owner in gathering and writing the required stories;
  • Does just enough analysis for the functionality to be carried out during the next iteration;
  • Prepares and updates documentation used at the end of each iteration;
  • In collaboration with the QA Specialist, helps determine the quality assurance strategy.

In a multi-team context, the business analyst may be called upon to play the role of Product Owner. He then becomes responsible for core components of the product within the various sub-teams.

The Quality Assurance Specialist

Quality is a fundamental concern in Agile project management and each iteration should produce an increment of quality software. To do this, we recommend incorporating a quality assurance specialist within the Scrum teams, and right from the start of the project. A QA specialist assigned to a Scrum team has the following responsibilities:

  • Participates in planning sessions to raise issues relating to quality;
  • Helps clarify the definition of “Done”‘;
  • Prepares plans for acceptance testing;
  • Validates the increments of product delivered.

Other Roles

As will be presented next week in “Part 3: Impact on the functional and people managers”, managers also get impacted by an Agile transition.

Mar 1

4 Comments

What consultants don’t tell you before you begin an agile transition – Part 1: Impact on the organization

If you have been reading about Agile for a while and are interested in a transition or if you have already initiated a transformation, you have previously heard all the benefits that Agile can bring to your organization but …

Are you aware of the impacts such a transition will have on your organization? On your team? And on yourself? Would you know how to deal with these impacts?

If you believe that implementing Agile within a company simply means reducing documentation, standing up during daily meetings, using whiteboards and post-it notes, and getting rid of the project manager, you will certainly be shocked to see how profound the changes can be.

In a series of 4 short articles written in collaboration with my colleagues Stéphane Lécuyer, Jean-René Rousseau, Sylvie Trudel, Joël Grenon, and Eric Laramée, we aim to highlight some of the most common (and rarely described) impacts an Agile transition can have on an organization. The articles will be published weekly and will cover the following 4 impacts.

Adopting Agile practices is not a trivial change; it requires support and time to become effective. The use of external coaches, training materials, and internal support groups can greatly increase the speed and success of adoption. - Forrester Reports “Agile Development: Mainstream Adoption Has Changed Agility”.

Many organizations rely on external consultants to help them successfully transition to Agile. Others initiate a small transition after having researched the best practices. Having gained experience from the implementation of Agile within organizations over the last 8 years, we can attest that the impacts related to the establishment of an Agile development approach affect many areas in the organization. Through our experience, we have prepared a high level description of potential impacts you may want to anticipate before getting deep into your transition.

Impact Description
Organizational structure Most large organizations have a traditional hierarchical structure. When launching a new project, project managers must draft team members from various functional departments.

The Agile approach highly recommends restructuring project teams around a dedicated multidisciplinary team.
Decision making and governance The Agile approach seeks to create autonomous and self-organized teams. It invites people managers to apply a different style of leadership to their teams and pushes the decision-making authority to the level closest to the activity being performed.

Under such model, managers provide guidelines to support the decisions rather than act as the ultimate decision makers.
Compensation mechanisms To support the team concept advocated by Agile, compensation mechanisms should avoid individual rewards and foster a compensation model that takes into account the results of the entire team.

The compensation model must be aligned with the business objectives and the commitment to deliver value.
Relationship with customers At the heart of the Agile approach, is the concept of working closely with the customer (Product Owner). The relationship with the business customers will be strongly affected by the Agile transition.

The traditional form of contract and the expected availability of customers must be revised in order to ensure an effective transition.
Development processes The standard development process used within the organizations must be revised and typically “trimmed-down” to match Agile values, principles and practices.

The revision process should include the initial phases of implementation, deployment and operation.
Tools and technology The acquisition of new tools to support Agile project management and software engineering practices is inevitable.

Although the addition of new tools is not in the heart of an Agile transition, it is nevertheless important to maximize the effectiveness in implementing the new process.
Work space organization To foster collaboration within teams, organizations may need to rearrange the workspace in “war room” or remove office partitions to consolidate all the team members.

This in an attempt to improve communications and collaboration between stakeholders and develop a team spirit and strong collaboration.

In addition, easy access to certain items such as whiteboards, removable flip charts, Post-it notes is often recommended.
Behaviors In addition to practical project management and engineering approaches Agile also has a system of values and principles. In addition to ‘Do’ Agile development, individuals are asked to ‘Be Agile’, that is to say, to be collaborative and transparent, be committed and responsible and also to seek excellence.

As Agile approaches are based on greater accountability of individuals and the self-organization of teams, the leadership style of managers and the need to clearly define a shared vision change every day’s actions.
Roles and responsibilities All roles are affected by the arrival of an Agile approach. As will be presented in Part 2: Impact on some of the traditional roles, while some people might gain power, others will feel they are losing.

New skills will be acquired as motivation and engagement of stakeholders will also be affected.

Next week’s post will address more specifically to impact on the role of the project manager, the architect, the business analyst, and the QA analyst.

Feb 17

4 Comments

The “Best Agile Work Space” Contest (The BAWS Contest)

A few days ago, we invited representatives from a potential customer over to visit our office. They are seriously considering a transition to Agile but some of the managers had questions with regards to what an Agile work space could look like. The potential customer is a large insurance company and like most insurance companies, people working there are used to a traditional (very traditional) work space. We could see they had some reservations about the open-concept before coming for a visit.

Their visit lead me to wonder what other Agile work spaces could / should look like, so I came up with the idea of launching a friendly contest…

The “Best Agile Work Space” Contest

I invite you to email me a picture of your Agile work space (martin [at] analytical-mind.com). In the spirit of sharing best practices and getting ideas from each other, I will post your pictures and your company’s name for people to get inspired. You can also share with everyone what makes your work place the Best Agile Work Space. We’ll even ask people to vote!

Let the contest begin to determine the “Best Agile Work Space“. Tell your friends to email their pictures.

To launch the contest, here are a few pictures of our work place.

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Best Agile Work Space - Pyxis' Office

Examples of other Agile Work Spaces found on the web

Windows are often a scarce commodity and are doled out to an organization’s favored employees. One of the nice things about an open workspace is that windows are shared. Even if the view is only of our parking lot and can only be seen across three messy desks, at least I can see the window and some natural light - The Ideal Agile Workspace | Mike Cohn’s Blog – Succeeding With Agile®.

Our New Agile Workspace - Our New Agile Workspace on Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

I started to respond in his comments and then remembered that it would be better to capture our workspace on video to share with others.  I am hoping other agile shops will do the same.  We are always eager to see how others are doing things so we can continue to improve - Attempting to Achieve the Ideal Agile Workspace | Derek Neighbors.

Ward Cunningham among others was a big influence early on in making it happen.  The patterns & practices team workspace is optimized for agile development practices.  The workspace features writeable walls, configurable workspace, speaker phones, projectors, focus rooms, and a customer room - Shaping Software » Blog Archive » Microsoft patterns & practices Agile Workspace Tour.

Feb 8

11 Comments

Forrester Reports “Agile Development: Mainstream Adoption Has Changed Agility”

In their recently released study “Agile Development: Mainstream Adoption Has Changed Agility“, Forrester reports that “35% of respondents stated that Agile most closely reflects their development process”. The report is based on Forrester’s/Dr. Dobbs Global Developer Technographics Survey, Q3, 2009, which surveyed 1298 application development professionals.

In the past few years, Agile processes have not only gained increasing adoption levels; they have also rapidly joined the mainstream of development approaches. And while more organizations are adapting to Agile conventions, Agile is also adapting to the workplace. Perhaps the clearest sign of the mainstreaming of Agile is the abandonment of orthodoxy: Teams are puzzling out the mix of methodologies and combining them to fit within their organizational realities, blending Agile and non-Agile techniques and practices to create a hybrid methodology that fits larger organizations. Other changes, such as new team dynamics and the redefinition of roles such as the business analyst, show the genuine force behind Agile adoption. It’s time for software development professionals to stop sitting on the fence where Agile is concerned. According to those who have successfully adopted Agile, the benefits are well worth the effort, and with the recent dramatic increase in Agile adoption, the probability of working in or with an Agile team has increased for everyone.

The report looks at Agile Adoption from the following perspectives:

  • Agile Adoption Goes Mainstream
  • Teams Are Changing To Support Agility
  • What it means
  • Agile Becomes Mainstream — But Not Without Some Changes

And then offers a recommendation to get the most out of the transition: “App Dev Professionals Should Blend Agile Methods To Meet Their Own Needs“.

Agile methods encourage more-collaborative development than do traditional approaches, and many developers who have shied away from formal development methods in the past — believing them to be the province of “management” — have embraced Agile as a “formal” development process.

The report shows that of the various methodology, Scrum leads as the most adopted Agile methodology with 11% of the organizations reported using this approchach.  Other Agile approaches used are: Agile Modeling (6%), Feature-driven development – FDD (3.8%), Test-driven development – TDD (3.4%), eXtreme Programming – XP (2.9%), Lean development (2.1%), Microsoft Solutions Framework – MSF for Agile (1.8%), Agile Data Method (1.6%), Adaptive Software Development – ASD (1.3%), Six Sigma (0.9%), Crystal (0.3%), Behavior-driven development – BDD (0.2%) and Dynamic Systems Development Method – DSDM (0.2%).

When it comes to selecting an Agile methodology, Scrum is the overwhelming favorite – claiming it is simple, practical, and popular.

The report shows that when organizations select a development approach, they do so in the context of their organizational priorities and characteristics. Each organization carefully selects the approach that will best address their weaknesses rather than implementing Agile methodology for its own sake. In addition, participants considered the engineering processes to be critical to the success of the transition.

Teams do not usually implement all of these techniques simultaneously; even in the most mature Agile adoptions, teams pick the techniques that work best for them (…) This variation in the adoption of Agile components indicates that teams are more concerned with making sure they are working well together and producing high-quality software than with changing their software engineering process.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Agile’s entrance into the mainstream is the way that teams pragmatically mix methodologies. Instead of sticking strictly to a particular Agile orthodoxy, teams cherry-pick Agile methods, often including non-Agile techniques in the mix as well

Overall, the report clearly shows that organizations who have transitioned to an Agile approach use a pragmatic strategy and adapt the methodology that are best suited for their environment and context. While only 27% stick to a particular methodology, 63% mix different methodologies or mix Agile with non-Agile methodologies.

In conclusion

Agile adoption is a reality. Organizations across all industries are increasingly adopting Agile principles, and software engineers and other project team members are picking up Agile techniques. While historically, management has owned “process,” the adoption of Agile methods has pushed ownership into the hands of team members — many of whom have traditionally been skeptical of process and methodology. Broad Agile adoption requires careful consideration; a strong Agile adoption strategy should include:

  • A support plan. Adopting Agile practices is not a trivial change; it requires support and time to become effective. The use of external coaches, training materials, and internal support groups can greatly increase the speed and success of adoption.
  • Flexible adoption models. One size does not fit all.
  • A focus on team empowerment. It sounds really easy, but this is about more than just saying that teams are empowered.
  • A tool strategy. A single team in one location working alongside a customer may be able to work without any electronic tools, but as organizations scale and teams become more distributed and part of much larger releases, Agile methods benefit greatly from tools.

Related Research Documents

Jan 26

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Agile Leadership (Agile Management) – part II

Picture provided by kansasphotoLike most modern Homo sapiens, when you hear Agile Leadership or Agile Management, you think of:

  • [if you are outside the business world] A business-person who can use a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, endurance and stamina to achieve his objectives;
  • [if you are inside the business world but outside the information technology field] A person who has the capability of rapidly and cost efficiently adapting to changes in an attempt to deliver on his objectives;
  • [if you are inside the information technology field] A person who manages a software development team who uses methodologies based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams with the objective of delivering value.

I apologize if you are outside the business world because this is not the perspective I wish to cover. For people in the other two categories, you are partially right.

I attempted to define Agile management and see how I could apply Agile principles to management a while ago and since then, I have been able to piece the puzzle together. Agile Leadership requires less technical knowledge than its cousin but it heavily relies on the same principles.

A high level view of the model

Agile Leadership Model (Summary)

If you have been reading my blog for a while (thank you!) and even if you haven’t, you will realize that I have been covering various parts of this model already:

People: The people dimension covers all aspects of competencies, motivation, culture, collaboration and communications that enable the organization to achieve its business objectives. While every effort is directly or indirectly related to people, this perspective focuses primarily on the ability of individuals to contribute to the achievement of objectives.
[related tags: 360-degree feedback, coaching, collaboration, community, decision making, feedback, leadership, management, organizational structure, people management,servant leadership]

Processes: The process dimension aims to define the working methods and approaches to be followed in carrying out tasks in line with the overall objective of delivering business value.
[related tags: agile, agile management, scrum]

Tools: The technology dimension covers the various tools and technologies that support the organization in achieving its business objectives.
[related tags: none, I haven't covered this dimension]

Value: The value dimension covers the business capacity to effectively deliver value within the appropriate time. The delivery of value is the fundamental purpose of the organization.
[related tags: ROI]

As you can see, I have mostly covered the People dimension of the model while I have purposely left the Tools section un-covered. The reason for this is that there are already thousands of web sites on the topic of Agile and technology.

In an upcoming series of blog posts, I will present a more detailed perspective of what Agile Leadership truly means based on our experience. Stay tuned…

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