Presented by: and. Communicating. Agile. Project Status. Management. Friday, March 16, 12

Transcription

1 Presented by: and Communicating Agile Project Status to Management 1

2 Introduction and Agenda Bill Gaiennie, Davisbase Consulting 17 years in software development. 7 years working with software development teams, training, leading, and coaching Agile teams. Agenda What are we focused on with Agile? How is our approach different with Agile? How do we communicate status? Your Next Steps. Q & A. 2

3 Start Using Agile: Copyright 2007 Scott Adams Printed November 26,

4 What Does Agile Focus On The Agile Manifesto We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more. 4

5 Agile is Value Driven Constraints Predictive Process (Waterfall) Requirements Cost Adaptive Process (Agile) Schedule Plan Driven Value/ Vision Driven Estimates Cost Schedule Features The plan creates cost/schedule estimates The vision creates feature estimates 5

6 Why Does Management Need Status? Ensure we on schedule Ensure we are on budget Help tackle problems early Make sure we are building the right product Make sure we are building the product right THE BOTTOM LINE AVOID A FAILED PROJECT! 6

7 5 Common Project Failures 1.Going over budget, but not knowing until past point of no return. 2.Extending beyond the original deadline, but not knowing until panic decisions and panic actions are required. 3.Delivering exactly what was asked for, but resulting in something the customer doesn t need. 4.A pyrrhic victory. 5.Completing a project that should have been cancelled due to sunk cost mentality. 7

8 Agile vs. Waterfall 8

9 Agile vs. Waterfall Status? Status? Status? Status? Status? Status? 9

10 Agile vs. Waterfall Status? Status? Status? Status? Status? Status? Surprise? NO Surprises 10

11 If Not Status, Then What? Managers should have three items of focus during the transition period to Agile: 1. Define the Vision & the Strategy needed to achieve the vision. 2. Remove obstacles that nobody else can remove. 3. Play lots of golf! (Trust the people you hire to get things done.) 11

12 How Executives Can Help the Team 7 Traits of a Highly Effective Executive: 1.Ability to Manage and Deal With Risk 2.Results Oriented 3.High Energy 4.Team Player 5.Multitasking Ability 6.Improvement Oriented 7.Listen First, Speak Second 12

13 What About Teams? Agile Teams also have three responsibilities as part of any Agile effort. 1) Collaborate & Communicate 2) Remove obstacles they can remove themselves. 3) Get the work completed that they have committed to. 13

14 Is The Team Being Effective? 1. The team embraces the truth 2. The team works in a culture that supports learning 3. The team has the authority and makes regular decisions 4. The product owner is consistently available to the team and the team takes advantage of it 5. The team has a GREAT ScrumMaster 14

15 Is The Team Being Effective? (Continued) 6. The team meets daily and is aware of current & upcoming projects 7. Everyone required attends regular Agile Meetings 8. The team effectively uses the retrospective to inspect & adapt 9. The team has set the rules and understands the definition of done 10. The team is accountable for the work they commit to and they take that commitment seriously 15

16 Establishing Trust: Management needs to work to empower Agile teams and show them that they trust in their ability to create quality solutions in a timely manner. Teams need to trust in the vision of the product owner as well as upper management. Their leaders have a strategy planned to execute the vision in the form of a clearly defined product backlog. Established trust is critical to the success of Agile Projects. 16

17 Analyzing the 5 Levels of Planning 40,000 Vision Planning 30,000 Roadmap Planning 20,000 Release Planning 10,000 Iteration Planning Ground Daily Planning Project / Product Details 17

18 Do The Executives Have Vision? To what detail should the Executive team be involved in the day to day operational issues of a project? Does the team have an achievable strategy to execute the vision? Can executives still feel in power by not using a command and control approach? 18

19 Executives & Managers: Executives & managers have the primary goal of focusing on the vision & the strategy. One common point of failure happens when management dives too deep into the day to day activity of the core team. Realistic expectations should be set for this group. Ultimately executives should foster top down support with regard to Agile adoption. 19

20 Agile Project Reporting: The best status comes from a demo of working product. We should strive to minimize intra-sprint reporting. What gets measured gets done! Make it big and visible. 20

21 Agile Project Reporting: Possible metrics could include: Current burndown chart(s) Sprint goals & changes to the goals Defects - inflow, outflow, & number of open defects per week Build quality per day / week Number of tests automated / tests passed per day or week Velocity over the last X sprints Action items, impediments, risks Customer satisfaction 21

22 No One Perfect Path Listen to your manager, understand what they need and why Align metrics to what you want to see change or improve Provide the leanest reporting that meets the objectives Conversation over documentation Value intent over process 22

23 Your Call To Action Find experts that can point you in the right direction. Recognize that training is the proper foundation on which team s build. It takes time to get good at anything, Agile is no exception, but the rewards are well worth it. Getting started is easier than you might think. 23

24 Your Questions, My Answers Note: For those questions we do not have time to answer during the webinar, I will be providing a written response. 24