Is Agile Compatible with Human Performance Technology?

Bob Winter, CPTCA Technologies@TheBobWinter

robertwinter00@gmail.com

Conference AlignmentConference Track:The Business of HPT: The structure and application of human performance technologyOverviewIn this session, participants will consider the viability of Human Performance Technology (HPT) co-existing with the Agile development methodologies. Anchoring the discussion will be a brief history of the Agile movement, along with an overview of one of its seminal works, Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices, by Robert C. “Uncle Bob” Martin. By becoming Agile, can we in the learning or HR function realize the benefits of greater productivity and customer value?Learning Objectives• Recall the history of the Agile movement, the concepts outlined in the Agile

Manifesto, and the proven benefits of going Agile• Discuss the compatibility and conflicts between Agile Principles and ISPI’s CPT

Standards• Make a sound decision on the viability of transforming from working in Waterfall to

working in Agile• Recall the seminal books, thought leaders and resources associated with Agile

Bob Winter, CPT, CSPO (@TheBobWinter)• Marblehead, Massachusetts• Principle Education Consultant

supporting the R&D community (7,000+ software engineers)

• Product Owner on our Education Scrum Team

About me and about CA

CA Technologies (@CAInc, NASDAQ: CA)• ~13,600 employees in ~74 Countries• ”IT management software and solutions for

all of your business needs.”• Best-known products include: CA Chorus

(Mainframe), CA Clarity (PPM), SiteMinder (Security), Nimsoft (Infrastructure)

Key Questions• Can a software development methodology be successfully applied to

the development of learning, communication, or HR output? • Will “being Agile” helps us to better apply the HPT standards? • By becoming Agile, can we (in a learning or HR function) realize greater

productivity and customer value?

Agenda

The Promise of Agile (15 minutes) Is Human Performance Technology Agile? (25 minutes) Is Agile Right for Your Function? (30 minutes)

Learn more (5 minutes)

The Promise of Agile

What is Agile?

AgileA group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Wikipedia

agile1. Able to move quickly and easily2. Able to think and understand quickly

Agile Alphabet Soup

Methodologies Engineering Practices

Scrum

Kanban

ScrumBan

XP

Hybrid

Lean

FDD

Pairs Programming

RefactoringTDD

CT

Continuous

Integration (CI)

The Agile MovementThe entire text of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development

We are uncovering better ways of developingsoftware 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 onthe right, we value the items on the left more.

agilemanifesto.org • Developed in 2001 over a

ski weekend in Snowbird, Utah

• 17 original signatories• 12 principles• Anyone can sign

Kent BeckMike Beedle

Arie van BennekumAlistair Cockburn

Ward CunninghamMartin Fowler

James GrenningJim HighsmithAndrew HuntRon Jeffries

Jon KernBrian Marick

Robert C. MartinSteve Mellor

Ken SchwaberJeff SutherlandDave Thomas

© 2001, the above authors. This declaration may be freely copied in any form, but only in its entirety through this notice.

Nearly Ubiquitous in Software Engineering

Source: VersionOne. (2013). 7th annual state of agile development survey. Posted as a downloadable PDF in the Library of White Papers of the VersionOne website. http://www.versionone.com/pdf/7th-Annual-State-of-Agile-Development-Survey.pdf

• Marketing• Education• Human Resources• Product Development• Managing a Household

Non-software application of Agile

Story Priority Level

Estimated Effort

(hours) Owner Status Target Start

Date Finish Date

Caulk (silicone) floors next to all tubs 1 2 Bob Done 10/6/2012 10/7/2012Remove A/C's from windows and store in basement

1 3 Bob Done 10/6/2012 10/6/2012

Clean paint specks off new bathroom floor 2 1 Bob Done 10/6/2012 10/14/2012

Touch up stair walls with blue paint 3 2 Bob Done 10/13/2012 10/14/2012

Steam clean all the carpets plus the stairs 3 5 Bob Started on

10/13 10/13/2012

Dump run - old jeep frame, cardboard etc. 3 3 Bob Not started

Hang towel racks and TP holder in new bathroom 4 2 Bob

Not started;

need to get correct fixtures

Honey Do Backlog

Top Reasons for Adopting Agile

Source: VersionOne. (2013). 7th annual state of agile development survey. Posted as a downloadable PDF in the Library of White Papers of the VersionOne website. http://www.versionone.com/pdf/7th-Annual-State-of-Agile-Development-Survey.pdf

More Successful Projects

Cheaper, Faster, Higher Quality

Mah, Michael. (2008). How agile projects measure up, and what this means to you. Cutter Consortium Agile Product & Project Management Executive Report 9 (9). Retrieved from http://www.cohaa.org/content/sites/default/files/How%20Agile%20Projects%20Measure%20Up,%20and%20What%20This%20Means%20to%20You.pdf

Is Human Performance Technology Agile?

A Seminal Book

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#10 Ranked Agile Book of All TimeMartin, R. C. (2003). Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN-10: 0135974445 The AuthorRobert Cecil Martin, known colloquially as “Uncle Bob,” is an American software consultant and author. One of the “founding fathers” of the Agile movement, he is well-known as one of the 17 original signatories of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development (agilemanifesto.org), and he was the first chairman of the Agile Alliance. Martin was the founder of Object Mentor consultancy, and he currently serves as Master Craftsman of 8th Light. He is the author of countless articles and noteworthy books, including Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices and Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship.

Book Review: Published in Performance Improvement Journal (April, 2014)

ISPI HPT Standards

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1. Focus on outcome and results.2. Take a systems view.3. Add value.4. Work in partnership with clients and

stakeholders.

5. Determine the need or opportunity.6. Determine the cause and the performance

requirements.7. Design the solution including implementation

and evaluation.8. Develop the solution and test its feasibility.9. Implement the solution.10. Measure the results and impact.

My reading of the Martin book considers the viability of Human Performance Technology (HPT) co-existing with the Agile development methodologies. • Are they compatible? • Will applying the HPT standards help

us to be more Agile? • In being Agile, can we in the

learning function realize the same benefits of greater productivity and customer value?

CPT Performance Standard 1: Focus on outcome and results

Uncle Bob asks [page 23]:

“What if we designed our tests before we designed our programs? What if we

refused to implement a function in our programs until there was a test that failed

because that function wasn’t present? What if we refused to add even a single line

of code to our programs unless there were a test that was failing because of its

absence? What if we incrementally added functionality to our programs by first

writing failing tests that asserted the existence of that functionality, and then

made the test pass? What effect would this have on the design of the software we

were writing? What benefits would be derived from the existence of such a

comprehensive bevy of tests?”

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CPT Performance Standard 2: Take a systems view

Uncle Bob talks about Metaphor as an eXtreme Programming (XP) practice [page 17]:

“Think of a jigsaw puzzle. How do you know the pieces go together? Clearly, each piece

abuts others, and its shape must be perfectly complimentary to the pieces it touches. If

you were blind and you had a very good sense of touch, you could put the puzzle

together by diligently sifting through each piece and trying it in position after position.”

“But there is something more powerful than the shape of the pieces binding the puzzle

together. There is a picture. The picture is the true guide. The picture is so powerful that

if two adjacent pieces of the picture do not have complementary shapes, then you know

the puzzle maker made a mistake.”

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CPT Performance Standard 3: Add value

Uncle Bob says [page 22]

“Using an agile method does not mean that the stakeholders will

get what they want. It simply means that they’ll be able to control

the team to get the most business value for the least cost.”

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CPT Performance Standard 4: Work in partnership with clients and stakeholders

Uncle Bob says [page 15]

“The essence of the planning game is the division of

responsibilities between business and development. The

business people (a.k.a. the customers) decide how important a

feature is, and the developers decide how much that feature will

cost to implement.”

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CPT Performance Standards 5-10: Being systematic

Uncle Bob says, [page 22]

“The nightmare scenario is to get to the end of the iteration

[time period for development] with 90% of the tasks complete,

but no stories [work product] complete.”

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Bottom Line

So…can Human Performance Technology and Agile peacefully coexist?

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Is Agile Right for Your Function?

With respect to Agile:• What potential benefits do you see?• What are potential risks?• What are key considerations specific to your function or company?• TALLY VOTE FOR YOUR TABLE: Which statement best describes you?

We are already Agile or on our way I will press for us to consider Agile. Agile is not for us at this time.

Table Activity – 15 minutes

Learn More

How to Get StartedWebsites• www.Agilemanifesto.org • www.Mountaingoat.com • www.Scrum.org • www.Scrumalliance.org • www.Versionone.com

YouTubeAgile: An Introduction, by CA TechnologiesAfter the Open Source Revolution, Eric S. RaymondCulture Hacking, by Jim McCarthyTED Talk, "Agile programming -- for your family“, Bruce Feller

Seminal BooksAgile Software Development, by Robert C. MartinCoaching Agile Teams, by Lyssa AtkinsThe Scrum Guide, by Ken Schwaber and Jeff SutherlandSucceeding with Agile, by Mike Cohn

BibliographyAppelo, Jurqen. (2013) Top 100 Agile Books (Edition 2013). Retrieved from: http://www.noop.nl/2013/08/top-100-agile-books-edition-2013.html

Cohn, M. (2012, 02 13). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/agile-succeeds-three-times-more-often-than-waterfall Mah, Michael. (2008). How agile projects measure up, and what this means to you. Cutter Consortium Agile Product & Project Management Executive Report 9 (9). Retrieved from http://www.cohaa.org/content/sites/default/files/How%20Agile%20Projects%20Measure%20Up,%20and%20What%20This%20Means%20to%20You.pdf Beck, Kent, Mike Beedle, Arie van Bennekum, Alistair Cockburn, Ward Cunningham, Martin Fowler, James Grenning, Jim Highsmith, Andrew Hunt, Ron Jeffries, Jon Kern, Brian Marick, Robert C. Martin, Steve Mellor, Ken Schwaber, Jeff Sutherland, Dave Thomas. (2001). Manifesto for agile software development. Retrieved from http://agilemanifesto.org/ Martin, R. C. (2003). Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall West , D., & Grant, T. (2010). Agile development: Mainstream adoption has changed agility trends in real-world adoption of agile methods. Retrieved from: http://www.ca.com/~/media/Files/IndustryResearch/forrester-agile-development-mainstream-adoption.pdf

Winter, R. (2014). Book Review: Agile Software Development. Performance Improvement Journal. VersionOne. (2013). 7th annual state of agile development survey. Posted as a downloadable PDF in the Library of White Papers of the VersionOne website. http://www.versionone.com/pdf/7th-Annual-State-of-Agile-Development-Survey.pdf