Agile Essentials for Project Managers Keys to Using Agile Effectively With Project Teams 1
Greg Smith Agile Coach/Trainer: Certified APM, CSM, PMI-ACP Co-author of Becoming Agile in an Imperfect World (Part of the reading list for the PMI ACP exam) Specialize in helping companies create Agile frameworks that thrive within their environments since 2001 (e.g. Exxon, Microsoft, Fannie Mae, Stanford U., TD Ameritrade, Halliburton, StubHub) (such Agile Project Management instructor at Bellevue College since 2005 Speaker at PMI World Congress 2012 Track Chair at Agile 2013 Conference greg@gssolutionsgroup.com AgileSmith 2
Agenda Why Agile? Should I Use Agile? If I Use Agile, Do I Keep any Waterfall? Who Brings Agile In? Bonus Material Agile and Organizational Change 3
Who Are You? New to Agile? Using Agile? PMI-ACPs? Agile Expert? 4
Tell Me About Your Problems 5
Why Agile? Agile addresses problems with the 3 Ps Process People Profits 6
Tier A Required Tier A Required Tier B Required Tier C Required Tier D Required Problem Deliverable We do steps that do not add value to the project We serve the process, the process does not serve us Initiate Gateway Business Case Business Partner Identification Checklist Project Tier Assessment Executive Summary - TSG addendum to Exec Summary Initiate Gateway Checklist Project Document Location Form Project Financial Control Tool - Project Cost Estimation Worksheet - Technical Assessment (Part 1) - TSG Scoring Model Template Risk Assessment Plan Gateway Requirements Package Organizational Training Plan Plan Gateway Checklist Project Communication Plan Project Plan Project Schedule Project Status Report (Most recent) Deliverables to be Updated in Plan Phase Business Case Business Partner Identification Checklist Executive Summary Project Financial Control Tool Project Tier Assessment Risk Assessment Implementation Gateway Design Integration Summary Implementation Plan Implementation Gateway Checklist Integrated Test Case Integrated Test Plan 7 R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R * R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R * R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Agile Fix Minimum required Additional practices and documents determined by team Follow best practices, but the emphasis is on ensuring value 8 Required Project worksheet o Project Objective statement o Team members o User/customer benefits o High level feature list o Tradeoff matrix o Major milestones o Risks Operational worksheet Feature card exercise (cards optional) Suggested/Optional Elevator Statement Document answers to Feasibility Discussion Guide questions o Cost/benefit analysis Feature card document possible that only index cards are used. User scenarios Prototypes and/or mockups Iteration plan Maintenance plan Additional documentation as required by the team/project. Test plan Detailed schedule Launch Plan Action items from project retrospective
Problem We deliver stuff that is not used Standish Group Study How often features are used in the typical application 9
Agile Fix We prioritize the work We deliver iteratively - by value The customer can tell us to stop 10
Process Problems We take too long to deliver 11
Agile Fix We code to the minimum spec We demonstrate often to minimize rework delays We estimate based on historical data 12
Problem Some team members punch the clock Employees spend a lot of time in their managers office complaining Employees don t believe in the process 13
Agile Fix Everyone is involved Team members are expected to suggest improvements The majority of work is done in a collaborative manner Fewer vent sessions 14
Profit Problems We miss our dates We go over budget We get to market late We work on many projects but finish very few 15
Agile Fixes Agile gets code to customers earlier Earlier Delivery = Earlier ROI In addition, Agile focuses on loading teams at the correct level for maximum throughput (lower costs) 16
When Should I Use Agile? 17
Agile Is Approximately 70 Practices Preconditions Phase 1.1 Project Portal 1.2 Scrum Master Checklist 1.3 Elevator Statement 1.4 Focus Matrix 1.5 Project Charter Elaboration Phase 2.1 Elaboration Meetings 2.2 Features/Epics 2.3 User Stories 2.4 Product Backlog 2.5 Project Framework 2.6 SWAG Estimates Core-Team Research Phase 3.1 Architectural Diagrams 3.2 Code Design Documents 3.3 Risk List 3.4 Staffing Plan Release Planning 4.1 Release Planning Meeting/ Release Plan 4.2 Ideal Day Estimation 4.3 Planning Poker 4.4 Story Point Estimation 4.5 Requirements Prioritization 4.6 Requirements Modeling 4.7 Interaction Flows 4.8 Wireframes for Entire Project 4.9 UI Designs for Next Sprint 4.10 User Research Plan 4.11 Test Strategy 4.12 Architectural Spikes/ Spike Solutions 4.13 Gold Standard Stories Sprint Planning 5.1 Story Design and JAD Sessions 5.2 Story Acceptance Criteria 5.3 Definition of Complete by User Story 5.4 Task Identification 5.5 Task Estimates 5.6 Burn Down Reports 5.7 Task Dependencies 5.8 Team Availability 5.9 Build Schedule Construction Sprint 6.1 Unit Tests 6.2 Functional Test Cases 6.3 Test Driven Development (TDD) 6.4 Pair Programming 6.5 Daily Standup Meeting 6.6 Refactoring 6.7 Collective Code Ownership 6.8 Daily Builds/ Automated Builds 6.9 Continuous Integration 6.10 Code Reviews 6.11 Deferred Bug Logging 6.12 Issue Tracking/ Bug Tracking 6.13 Smoke Testing 6.14 Integration Testing 6.15 Exploratory Testing 6.16 Project Demo 6.17 Retrospective Team Organization 7.1 Small Team 7.2 Cross-Functional Team 7.3 Self-Organizing Team 7.4 Co-location Seating/ Common Workspace 7.5 On-site Business Owner 7.6 Scrum Master 7.7 Sustainable Pace 7.8 Scrum of Scrums 18
The Right Perspective Not Yes or No, but what level of Agile for this situation 19
Level Examples 20
How Do I Determine My Level? Existing Valuable Practices Compliance Needs Low Resistance, High Value Agile Practices Practices Not Covered By Agile Agile Framework 21
Agile Does Not Cover a Complete Project Lifecycle* Agile Is Closer to an SDLC than a PMLC 22
Guess Who Fills in the Gaps? PMBOK is still good, mmmkay? 23
How Do We Move to Agile? Let s Use Agile to Move to Agile Let s Let The Teams Roll it Out 24
I ll make some user stories! I ll collaborate with someone I ll tell the managers we don t need them anymore!
Why Not Turn Them Loose? Different opinions on what Agile is Usually do not know - all practices are not equal Agile is not just for teams Agile is for entire organizations Driving organizational change is difficult 26
If Not The Project Team, then Who? 27
The Transformation Team Often a Coach Business People Executives Managers and yes, the Team 28
Executives Clarify What is Expected Business Need to get you feedback throughout the project Need to refine your needs throughout the project Need to prioritize and identify the minimum viable product Managers Learn the principles and details Promote, evangelize, and coach Agile expertise in your area Reward teams more and individuals less Teams Ready to self-direct at some level? Are you good at self-discipline? (well kept agile secret) Ready to be value driven instead of plan driven? 29
It Affects Executives Too For best results, executives need to: Prioritize the projects Limit how many projects the team works on in parallel (WIP) Expose all work and projects Limit team members from moving around 30
The Team Gets Involved Via the Core Team The group is 5 to 10 people, so they can be agile The group has aile champions, fence sitters, and detractors. The team is diverse and mostly excludes line management The group will vet the Agile design, help improve it, and eventually mentor others on it 31
Together Management and Team Members Move the Company Toward an Agile Mindset 32
Contact greg@gssolutionsgroup.com (206) 854-9229 AgileSmith 33
Bonus Material Driving Organization Change 34
What if you could save 100,000 lives? G PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 35
Situation G Donald Berwick CEO Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Data showed 10% defect rate Equates to 15 million instances of medical harm each year Equates to thousands of needless deaths each year Autos can be built at a defect rate of.1% why can t we be that low? PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 36
The Plan Share the data and the hospitals will jump on board 12/14/2004 - Berwick gave speech at hospital admin convention Proposed six specific interventions to save lives The ultimate goal Save 100,000 lives in the next 18 months PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 37
Easy Sell? Uphill Battle G All of the admins supported the mission but were reluctant. Why? They had to admit to errors They had to change behaviors that were ingrained and automatic The death numbers were just that, numbers and statistics PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 38
Improved Plan Make it tangible and real..the mother of a victim She said, I m a little speechless, and I m a little sad, because I know that if this campaign had been in place four or five years ago, that Josie would be fine But I m happy, I m thrilled to be a part of this, because I know you can do it, because you have to. PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 39
18 Months Later - Results Berwick announced 122,300 lives were saved The IHI had convinced thousands of hospitals to change What did they learn about organizational change? PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 40
1) A Goal Should be Clearly Defined Not Let s eliminate some of the medical errors in the future Not Let s eliminate 50% of the errors But save 100,000 lives in exactly 18 months. Berwick met with the Hospital Admins 18 months to the hour, after he proposed the initiative PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 41
Create Specific Agile Goals Three teams using Agile by January Increase customer satisfaction by 10% Reduce first delivery average by 20 days PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 42
2) Motivate the group Berwick connected with emotion by bringing in the mother of a real victim How many admins thought of their own families? PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 43
Motivate the Organization Business Criticals sooner We can support discoveries Team The Lifecycle is not another impediment You get to help beyond your functional area PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 44
3) Shape the path make it easier Only one page to enroll Detailed instructions and training Used peer pressure by showing successful hospital results Established mentoring groups with practice gurus PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 45
Make Agile Easier Limit the practices to use on pilots Create cheat sheets and checklists Benchmark with other companies Hands on training and coaching PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only. 46
Contact greg@gssolutionsgroup.com (206) 854-9229 AgileSmith PMI is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. 2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI Marketplace use only.