Agile TrainingRoles and Expectations

January 2014

INTRODUCTIONPurpose:» Review our Agile Process» Clarify Roles and Expectations of Key Agile Contributors» Establish Framework for Key Activities

• Slides in this presentation contain items from the Visual AGILExicon®, which is a trademark of Innolution, LLC and Kenneth S. Rubin.

• The Visual AGILExicon is used and described in the book: Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process.

• You can learn more about the Visual AGILExicon and permitted uses at: http://innolution.com/resources/val-home-page

Attribution to Image License

INTRODUCTIONAgenda:» The Itron Agile Process» Contributors to the Process» Scrum Master» Product Owner» Team Members» Functional Managers» Key Activities and Descriptions

Itron Agile Process

SPRINT PROCESS IN A NUTSHELL

AGILE CONTRIBUTORS

Scrum Master

SCRUM MASTER

» "One who contributes structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance" - Bens

Facilitator or Scheduler?

» "The facilitator's job is to support everyone to do their best thinking and practice. To do this, the facilitator encourages full participation, promotes mutual understanding and cultivates shared responsibility. By supporting everyone to do their best thinking, a facilitator enables group members to search for inclusive solutions and build sustainable agreements" - Kaner

What is a facilitator?

SCRUM MASTER

» Is responsible for making sure a Scrum team lives by the values and practices of Scrum

Process Owner

» Should be asking the team what went wrong when the team doesn't finish

» No hard rule about rotating or fixed scrum masters

» Must be able to assign a substitute when SM is not available

» Coaches/guides the team in creating and following the team's process within the Itron Scrum framework

» Exerts authority over the process but that authority is granted by the team

» Authority does not extend beyond the process (i.e., not managerial)

SCRUM MASTERFacilitator

» Creates a balance with the product owner

» Facilitates planning, daily stand-ups, demo and retrospective meetings

» Works with the product owner to make sure the product backlog is in good shape and ready for the next sprint

» Maximize team effectiveness; team must figure out how to do that

» Reach out for help when impediments cannot be solved internally (impacts PBI completion, etc.)

SCRUM MASTERProtector

» Removes any impediments to progress

» Shelters the team from outside distractions

» Protects the team by:

• Making sure they do not over-commit

• Prohibiting complacency

Product Owner

PRODUCT OWNERCustomer Advocate

» Should understand the market, represent the customers and their business needs

» Has a vision for what is to be developed» Conveys the Vision and Goals at the beginning of every Release and Sprint.

» Interfaces and engages the customer.

» Prioritizes and sequences the Backlog according to business value or ROI prior to and for sprint planning

» Works closely with key stakeholders throughout the organization

PRODUCT OWNERProject Stakeholder

» Terminates a Sprint if it is determined that a drastic change in direction is required

» Creates and maintains the Product Backlog

» Inspects the product progress at the end of every Sprint and has complete authority to accept or reject work done.

» Participates in the daily Scrums, Sprint Planning Meetings and Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives.

» Assists with the elaboration of Epics, Capabilities and Features into user stories that are granular enough to be achieved in a single sprint

» Can change the course of the project at the end of every Sprint

PRODUCT OWNERScrum Team’s Customer

» Declares that a PBI is done (meets acceptance criteria)

» Communicates status externally

» Needs to be available to his or her team

» Motivates the team with a clear, elevating goal

» Responsible for raising team effectiveness concerns to the Scrum Master

» In return for the Scrum team's commitment, the PO makes a reciprocal commitment not to throw new requirements at the team during the sprint

Scrum Team

TEAM EXPECTATIONSelf Management

TEAM EXPECTATION

» Professionals who do the work of delivering the product increment

Self Management

» Have all the necessary skills (as a team) to deliver each increment of the product

» Expected to be available to the project full time, not splitting their time over numerous projects» Have the responsibility of self-organizing to accomplish each sprint goal / maximize efficiency and potential

» Forecast how much they can do in one sprint, and they decide how they are going to do it

» Proves doneness to PO; reviews completed PBIs with product owner; team does not mark it done (PO does that)

» Provide the estimates

TEAM EXPECTATION

» Provide individual updates during team stand-ups / keep the board up to date

Self Management

» Provide input to the grooming process

» Provide updates to risk management; monitors their own risks

» Responsible for maintaining high levels of quality

» Responsible for creating and maintaining the team process as well as reviewing it's effectiveness at retrospectives

» Responsible for completing committed PBIs for the sprint; incomplete PBIs will go through some review process

Managers

FUNCTIONAL MANAGERS

» Don't: Attend planning or retrospective meetings unless specifically invited

Do’s & Don’ts

» Do: Attend estimation and grooming meetings as needed

» Don’t: Should not be on the teams' distribution lists

» Do: Facilitate weekly status meeting with PO and SM

» Do: Attend the scrum of scrums

» Do: Help with impediments when the team reaches out

» Do: Host weekly sit-downs with team members

» Do: Define projects

» Do: Determine team composure

Key Team Activities in Agile

SPRINT PLANNING

» Participants:• Facilitator: Scrum Master• Required: Product Owner• Required: Scrum Team

» Outcome:• Two defined artifacts that result from a sprint planning meeting:

- Sprint goal: a short, one- or two-sentence, description of what the team plans to achieve during the sprint. It is written collaboratively by the team and the product owner. The Demo/Review meeting should be a display of the completed goal.

- Sprint backlog: product backlog items the team commits to delivering plus the list of tasks necessary to delivering those product backlog items.

DAILY STAND-UPS

» Participants• Facilitator: Scrum Master• Required: Product Owner• Required: Scrum Team

» Outcome• Team Members answer three questions:

- What did you do yesterday?- What will you do today?- Are any impediments in your way?

• Impediments that are raised in the scrum meeting become the Scrum Master's responsibility to resolve as quickly as possible

REVIEW (DEMO)» Participants

• Facilitator: Scrum Master• Required: Product Owner• Required: Scrum Team• Recommended: Stakeholders

(Management, Customers)• Optional: Others (Other Teams, Other

Product Groups, Etc.)» Outcome

• Product Owner confirms goal completion• Release Plan updated

RETROSPECTIVE

» Participants• Facilitator: Scrum Master• Required: Scrum Team• Recommended: Product Owner

» Outcome• Start doing: things the Team decides they

should add to their methods• Stop doing: things to abandon• Continue doing: agreement that something

is working and should continue

SUMMARYDescription Product Owner Scrum Master Development Team

Synopsis PO is responsible for what will be developed and the priority. The PO is most commonly a Product Manager, but product Architects or Engineering Managers may also be PO for some technical PBIs.

The SM is the team coach; guides the team in creating and following its own process (within the Itron Scrum framework).

The cross-functional DT is responsible for how to deliver what the PO has asked for.

PBIs POs are responsible for ensuring PBIs are properly groomed. In TFS terms, POs maintain these fields:

  DT is responsible for estimating the effort for each PBI since they do the work. In TFS, the DT maintains the Effort field.

1. Author2. Title3. Description

4. Acceptance Criteria5. Priority6. Changes State to

Approved & Done

Sprints Team is responsible for delivering all committed PBIsItron Scrum framework expects all items to be Done at the end of the sprint. Incomplete PBIs must go through CAPA during sprint retrospectives.

Customer Interviews Schedules / Facilitates N/A N/A

Grooming Meetings Schedules / Facilitates N/A N/A

Estimation Meetings Schedules / Facilitates Required Participant Required Participant

Sprint Planning Required Participant Schedules / Facilitates Required Participant

Daily Scrum Required Participant Schedules / Facilitates Required Participant

Sprint Demo Attends Schedules / Facilitates Required Participant

Sprint Retrospective Recommended to Attend Schedules / Facilitates Required Participant

Activity Matrix

OBSERVATIONS» Burn-down chart vs. Build-up chart.

• Burn-down is negative and places a boundary on the number of tasks.• Build-up chart is positive and no boundary on tasks.• Shifts perspective to building a product & focusing on accomplishments.

» Enforce high quality standards in the definition of done to reduce technical debt (deficient code).

» Keep retrospective and demo’s separate• Retrospective should be limited to the team. When directors are present, team members

can clam up.• Retrospectives allow teams open forums to discuss what did and what didn’t work.

» Don’t limit sprint planning• It takes what it takes to understand the stories and obtain story agreement between the

PO and the Team

Questions?

THANK YOU

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