Slide 1

Key Take-aways Vinayak Joglekar, CTO@vinayakj

Hemant Elhence, CEO@HemantElhence

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comConference OverviewJuly 28 Aug 1 in Orlando, FLApprox 2000 participants from 40 countries, 17 tracks, over 200 sessions, plus inspiring keynotesStated theme: Achieving Enterprise Agility We attended 20 sessions each, plus Exhibit Booths of about 40 vendors of tools and training services4th year of 1-day Executive Forum, with invited senior executives, ~25More large company participants, e.g. Walmart, Cisco, etc.

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com2VJ17 Tracks Agile Boot CampCoaching and MentoringCollaboration, Culture & TeamsDevelopment Practices & CraftsmanshipDevOpsEnterprise AgileExperience ReportsLeadershipLearning

Lightening TalksOpen JamProject, Program and Portfolio ManagementResearchStalwartsTesting & Quality AssuranceUser ExperienceWorking with Customers

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comSynerzips Top 10 TakeawaysNote: 40 sessions were attended out of 200 by Hemant Elhence and Vinayak Joglekar. Where possible, the presenters name and other reference are listed.

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comHE4Top 10 (15) TopicsVJ: Managing PeopleHE: Scaling Agile/SAFeVJ: Lean Start-up AdoptionHE: Spotify Model/Engineering CultureVJ: Mob ProgrammingHE: Self Organization TradeMe CaseVJ: T-Shaped + Broader SkillsHE: Agile Transformation

VJ: UX Runway + Mobile UXHE: Value Team vs. PO RoleVJ: DevOps & Continuous DeliveryHE: Estimation VJ: Org Structure & ArchitectureHE: Interesting SoundbitesVJ: Interesting SoundbitesConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com1. Agile is not about softwareConfidential August 2014Its about managing peoplewww.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comManaging PeopleHealthy, happy workplaces are real and achievable healthy bottom-lineTrust is the bedrock of high performing teamConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.comManaging People

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comManaging PeopleFor building trust/commitment, embrace conflict think about things never discussedWe need to allow people to choose to unleash their potential - Olaf LewitzWe need to build fail safe relationshipsVery simple manifesto We value peopleSelf organizing organization - Sandi Mamoli

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comManaging People (Contd)Theory Y to deal with Business VUCANeed based allocation instead of budget to avoid gaming & conflicts of target/allocationNo perfect KPI-Standing on scale exampleRoundabouts instead of traffic signal (Value based system instead of rules based one)

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comTraffic Signal Vs Roundabout

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com2. Scaling AgileEffectively scaling Agile adoption to hundreds of teamsProbably the biggest discussion topic, perhaps the next biggest frontierMultiple frameworks/approachesScrum-of-Scrum (SoS)Large Scale Scrum (LeSS, Larman/Vodde)Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe, Leffingwell)Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD, Ambler/Lines)Spotify Model (Kniberg)Scrum at Scale (Sutherland, www.scruminc.com), meta frameworkAgile Scaling Knowledgebase (ASK) Decision Matrix, www.agilescaling.orgLess about the framework choice, more about culture change

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comConfidential August 2014

www.synerzip.com3. Lean startup adoptionConfidential August 2014Beyond discussion GE does it.www.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comLean Startup in Microsoft & GE!Keynote by Sam Guckenheimer confirmed Microsofts journey to cloud cadence customer feedback in sprints from 2008Is it important? Going in the right direction?Early customer feedback is the primary motivation for Agile Cloud Cadence moveC/s functional teams - autonomous backlogDeployment in 3rd week of 4 week sprintsOnly trunk checkin - baby steps - feature flagsGE Healthcare executive lunch conversationConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.comLean Startup meets Agile via UXWorkshop to quickly design an MVP in a cross functional team diverging convergingDesign: Thinking + Lean Startup + Agile = Lean UXUser-centric continuous design vs big upfrontHypothesis driven development Prototype Test Learn cyclesConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com4. Spotify Engineering CultureConfidential August 2014

Spotify offers a fascinating model for scaling. It has kept an agile mindset despite having scaled to over 30 teams across 3 cities.Alistair Cockburn (one of the founding fathers of agile) visited Spotify and said Nice - I've been looking for someone to implement this matrix format since 1992 :) so it is really welcome to see.

www.synerzip.comSquad, Tribe, Chapter, GuildSquad: the basic unit of development, similar to a co-located Scrum team, designed to feel like a mini-startup. Each squad has a long-term mission such as building and improving the Android client, creating the Spotify radio experience, scaling the backend systems, or providing payment solutions.Tribe: A tribe is a collection of squads that work in related areas such as the music player, or backend infrastructure. Designed to be 100 people or less, a tribe can be seen as the incubator for the squad mini-startups.Chapter: A chapter is your small family of people having similar skills and working within the same general competency area, within the same tribe. For example the testing chapter, the web developer chapter or the backend chapter.Guild: A Guild is a more organic and wide-reaching community of interest, a group of people that want to share knowledge, tools, code, and practices. A guild usually cuts across the whole organization. For example, the web technology guild, the tester guild, the agile coach guild, etc.

See this white paper by Henrik Kniberg & Anders Ivarsson https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1018963/Articles/SpotifyScaling.pdfConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com5. Mob ProgrammingMob programming-Woody Zuil-Teams attracted by awesomeness of vision=naturally motivatedBest requirements, architecture and design emerge from self organizing teams1 computer, 2 keyboards, 2 projectors - bright minds working on the same thing at the same time in the same room for 3 years!Interactionskindness, consideration & respectNo politics, context switching or waitingLess code, no duplication, low technical debt

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comMob Programming videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_pvslS4gEIConfidential August 2014

www.synerzip.com

6. Self-organizationTrade Me case study on self-organization leveraging Spotify WPCompany (www.trademe.co.nz/) size 125 people, 80 in engineeringFacilitated self-selection process, done offsitePre-defined 11 Squad categories (product areas)Pre-assigned Product OwnersRest of the team of dev & testers self-selectedRulesDo what is best for TradeMe posted prominentlySquads should be 3-7 peopleCapable of delivering end-to-endCo-located, if possibleResultStable, focused teams, that deliver higherHappier team membershttp://nomad8.com/total-squadification-large-scale-self-organisation/Mob Programming evolved version from pair programming (http://mobprogramming.org/mob-programming-basics/)

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comSelf Organizing, Self SelectingSpotify concept of squads, tribes, etc. was the inspiration to squadify all teamsIdea from Fedex day - teams were formed by self selection - what if they do it all the time?3 out of 11 squads self-selected on trial dayNo explicit management buy-in was asked forEmpty squad sheets - only 6/7 pictures could fitSheets placed, title/mission explained by PO - 10 min iterations 8 squads fully staffedLearning - Trust works, peoples interests

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com7. T-Shaped + Broader SkillsConfidential August 2014Everyone does everythingwww.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comT shaped skillsEvery member has QA, BA, Ops & Dev skillsNo one works alone; everyone works togetherShared activities people more accountableCommunication, curiosity, respect, empathy needed for cross-skilling within the teamRemove phases & design together; no story would be written by less than 3 peopleShared activities resulted in better quality, 0 bugs, 3X efficiency, shared understanding of goals, trust, increased empathy Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comSkillsDo what you love to do, work with purpose, care for your tribe - Diana LarsonTools for self-discovery survey, ask friends, check what you did when there was nothing to be done, the kind of stories that move youPurpose inspires, brings focus, motivates

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comLean to smash biasesLean canvas - cognitive bias - I know itExperiment A3 - hindsight bias - I knew itHeaven/Hell ritual - Optimism bias - Wow its gr8As the problem gets fatigued disciplined thinking fast and slow helpsYour sense of doubting brings disciplined slow thinkingConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com8. Agile TransformationBig challenge, faced by large (>10,000 person), older companies, with distributed (incl. offshore) teamsEntire focus of the Executive Forum, with case-studies by: Bank of America, United Healthcare, Frost Bank (146 yr old), Cerner CorporationCulture trumps process and practicesAgile MindsetServant LeadershipLess about the framework (e.g. SAFe), more about the culture change.Customized Agile process, with some remnants of waterfall Embedded coachesHired externally, but integrated1 coach per 3-6 teamsPhysical space changes cubes to open room, all whiteboardLot of attention to communication of vision, why change, etc.Attention to metrics

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com9. UX Runway + Mobile UX Confidential August 2014Integrating UX design & scrumwww.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comIntro to the UX worldRoles researchers, information architects, visual designers, CSS devs, accessibility expertsAversion to time boxing; Centralized / IsolatedUX needs to be integrated at portfolio, program and product levels; hence its hard to integrateUser research/personas etc. at portfolio levelCSS designs/wireframes at product/program levelUX runway with + 3/2/1 week lead for research, architect and dev workConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.comStep by step UX frameworkTakes 2-4 weeks before developmentCollaborate/empathize with users for problem/assumption validationBusiness goals why are we doing this? Expectation setting from business ownerContextual research observe users in their environmentTarget user may change as we iterate; but its important to know the primary personaResearch insights = opportunity patterns

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comStep by step UX frameworkLean canvas or elevator pitch to prioritizeRisk/Complexity/Value to prioritizeDesign principles are best understood by designers rest solution can be framed by teamExperience principles like proactive, flexible, friendly, safe need to be explicitly statedStoryboards/User Journey Day in the lifeLowest fidelity proto to get early evaluationExperience mapping across various touch pointsInteraction/navigation model core behavior

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comMobile UX testingUX research needs to be planned with devHeuristic review is the design conforming to standards and known rules?Usability study in-person/remoteRemote research is difficult for mobile appsWorking with agile teams need UX to be flexible on fidelity of prototypes could be paper or using tools like appcooker/blueprintLow budget research observe users dont talkMagitest/remoteviewer record/share remotelyConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.comMobile UX considerationsCase study how to display menu; 9 out of 12 didnt know the hamburger iconSecondary navigation accordion preferredHorizontal scrolling was understood when the arrows appeared in the table header4X more appetite for scrolling on tab vs phoneConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com10. Value Team vs. PO RoleValue Team session by Ahmed Sidky, www.sidkycg.com Considering Product Owner as the single wring-able neck for feature prioritization is unreasonable Create a Value Team, PO = Value Team FacilitatorConfidential August 2014

www.synerzip.com11. DevOps & Cont DeliveryConfidential August 2014DevOps is more about culture than toolswww.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comDevOps-Next level of c/s functionDevOps isnt @ creating a silo or buying a toolDevOps is a cultural & professional movementCant solve social/cultural issues with toolsMore and more sysadmins are writing codeMany devops - day talks - empathy for other deptsContinuous change often gets misunderstood as nothings ready because it's going to changeSmall teams that are inquisitive & ready to learnHackathons build anything that added value^ pressure, ^features, v design Sinking of Vasa

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com12. Estimation Evolved#NoEstimate Movementhttp://zuill.us/WoodyZuill/2013/01/25/if-you-found-estimates-bring-no-value-what-would-you-do/http://neilkillick.com/2013/01/31/noestimates-part-1-doing-scrum-without-estimates/Building software is by its very nature unpredictable and unrepetitive. While building software we cannot easily break down the work into same-sized, repeatable widgets like we can when manufacturing car parts.Just deliver high-value working software slices in shortest possible time intervals, and do-away with estimation.

Using Empiricism over Guesswork Use actual historical data of work done by teamFor large projects, sampling based estimationTake a sample of few epics to useUse Weibull distribution, with Monte Carlo simulation tool for arriving at full project estimatestroy.magennis@focusedobjective.comConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.comUsing Sampling + MCConfidential August 2014

From Troy Magennis session Moneyball for Software Projects www.synerzip.com13. Org structure = ArchitectureConfidential August 2014Designs = copies of communication pathswww.synerzip.comwww.synerzip.comArchitecture & Org StructureArchitecture originates in different places and different ways, and is deeply ingrained in the orgShape of design group = imp design decisionLoosely coupled/distributed orgs are less likely to produce tightly coupled ball of mudSelective hiding and exposing information in an org like interfaces with private/public methodsArchitectural change required for remote teamAvoid hierarchy paths, pipelines; refactor orgScaling-^ small teams building PAAS services

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comInteresting Soundbites (HE)Agile is technology driven, Lean-Agile is business value drivenAgile helps you deliver faster, but doesnt save you from bad business decisionsTo pilot Agile, pick a really important (& visible) project in the companyKeep all the work visible, including any skunk works, pet projects, etc.To really understand customer needs, dont (just) ask them; observe them, and infer what they really need2 key requirements for Agile to not fail: Definition of DoneCultureCandidates for 5th Value for Agile ManifestoDemonstrating & delivering business value OVER trying to use the word Agile to sell products/servicesContinuous improvement OVER Best Practices

Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comInteresting Soundbites (VJ)If we improved by measuring we couldve reduced weight by just standing on the scale.Co-located team is likely to result in a local mudball. Remote teams result in a modular approach.Architecture is a social discipline. It impacts daily life.Many scrum teams work in a compressed waterfall model.By asking users to participate in early research you are getting their trust for the brand not damaging it.Politics tax is the amount of time spent to CYA.The very word engineering is limiting our thinking of what software can do.Continuous delivery is a journey. No need to get there now. The direction is right.Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.com----- Meeting Notes (8/6/14 14:02) -----notes on today's presentation42Questions?Confidential August 2014www.synerzip.comConfidential August 2014www.synerzip.com

www.synerzip.com