Modern Agile OverviewAgile Ottawa Feb 2016

by Steve Purkis & Dag Rowe

based on Joshua Kerievsky’s work: https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/modern-agile/

http://leankit.com/blog/2015/12/modern-agile/

Joshua had seen too much of this...

SprintsStorypointsStandups

Agile?!?

http://leankit.com/blog/2015/12/modern-agile/

https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/modern-agile/

EcosystemNot just Scrum

http://agilelion.com/agile-kanban-cafe/what-difference-between-agile-kanban-and-scrum-less-5-minutes

Make Users Awesomediscipline #1

Why does your business exist?

We have great new tech!We’re the best at what we do!We have brilliant marketing!We have the greatest product(s)!…

really?

Your business exists…

To help your customers achieve something!they don’t have the skills/resources

they’re too busy

it’s too painful

they’d just rather not do it

…

Modern Agile:

Go beyond just helping your users…

Make them awesome!

eg: SimpleTax.caWhat switching meant to me…

No more excel + paper tax returns!

Less work figuring out what I needed to do.

More money back than I would’ve otherwise!

It was really nice to use!

Great, friendly support

They offered it to me for free…

and they actually meant it!

They took away the pain, and even made it a little bit pleasant to file taxes.

What does your user need?May not be the same as what they say they want!Up to you to figure it out.

Customer journey mappinghttps://www.b2binternational.com/publications/customer-journey-mapping/

Chartering your workHow are you going to make your users awesome?

What does it mean?What’s your vision? mission?How will you know when you’ve succeeded?Measurable & testable outcomesOngoing, revisit during a project.

Big shift in thinking!eg: Definition of Done

Internal acceptance criteria

Big shift in thinking!eg: Definition of Done

Internal acceptance criteriavs

Validated by real users

Make Safety a Prerequisitediscipline #2

- Frank Herbert, Duneimage: http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/11/04/fear-mind-

killer/

Fear poisons productivityBeing firedBeing penalised for making a mistakeBeing rejectedBeing excluded or marginalisedLooking stupid

These are basic, primal fears. In our tribal past, rejection by a group could involve banishment, which could result in death.

Anzeneering

“Protecting people is the most important thing we can

do, because it frees people to take risks and unlocks

their potential.

I call this Anzeneering, a new word derived from anzen (meaning safety in Japanese) and engineering.”

- Joshua Kerievsky

everyone, not just devs!Software usersSoftware makersSoftware managersSoftware purchasersSoftware stakeholders

Make it safe to fail

Read this! https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/anzeneering/

How do I make it safe to fail at my company?Break down any culture of fear you come across.

Empower employees to:voice dissenting opinions

safely take risks

discuss & address safety issues

bring new ideas to the table

Avoid mixed messages (we care about your safety, but please deliver ASAP!)

Make processes more predictable

Remember, it’s people!Respect & appreciationBe authenticCultivate an open mindTransparency (2 way street!)Shared responsibilityBoost communication

Distributed Teams: Durable Communication (http://caseywest.com/durable-communication/#what-is-durable-communication)

Safety-first is aCultural Shift

Do it safely: evolve gradually.

Try to understand where your organisation is at first.

Have a plan on how to change.

Share it!

Improve software safetyTest! TDD, Automated testing, Manual testingRefactor, continuous improvementsContinuous IntegrationPay down tech debtde-SPOF coderspair as neededcollaborate & share ideasautomate as much as possible (more later in CD)

Evolution: Smaller releasesLess risk for developers, customers, users & managers.Better feedback loops.

Remember: we’re dealing with complex systems!

Assume goodwill

Use 5 why’s / root cause

Use neutral language

Seek to understand, not criticize

Encourage everyone to share

Blameless Retros

http://www.businessinsider.com/etsy-chad-dickerson-blameless-post-mortem-2012-5

User safety & appreciation

Own up to issues and provide solutionseg: Sorry, we overcharged you last month! That’s embarrassing to say the least. We’ve refunded your account, and given you an extra [month free] to make up for it!

Step up to show your appreciationNotice things & engage users.eg: You didn’t use all your credit with <SaaS co> this month.

1. do/say nothing

2. message: You didn’t use all your credit this month. Please call us at your earliest convenience to get a refund.

3. message/act: You didn’t use all your credit this month, so we’ve refunded the difference.

Experiment and Learn Rapidlydiscipline #3

Lean Startup = Lean Thinking + Customer Development + Agile Development

Lean startup is a process involving rapid and iterative experimentation to test assumptions and build a product or service that customers actually want

Lean UX = Lean Thinking + Design Thinking + Agile Development

Lean UX is a process to build a product that customers actually want with a focus on shared understanding of the experience being designed

Design Thinking

Science!1. Assumptions2.Hypothesis3.Experiment4.Measure5.Learn

Pivot (do something else based on what you’ve learned)

Continue

Stop

6.Repeat

Fail Fast

Make it safe to fail because failure enables learning

You can learn by conducting an After Action Review when you project is late and over budget

Or you can choose to learn quickly and cheaply before committing to building a product

Some people don’t like the word fail - call Learn Fast instead

http://youtube.com/v/szr0ezLyQHY

Deliver Value Continuouslydiscipline #4

Continuous delivery maturity model

Continuous Delivery Maturity Model

Simple Build Pipeline

CD Resources

BooksThe Visible Ops Handbook: Implementing ITIL in 4 Practical and

Auditable Steps

Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation

CD videoshttp://shop.oreilly.com/product/110000679.do

Joshua Kerievsky’s Modern AgileBlog posthttps://www.industriallogic.com/blog/modern-agile/

Webinar @ Lean Kithttp://leankit.com/blog/2015/12/modern-agile/

Things that may come up

Agile Manifesto & Modern Agile

http://leankit.com/blog/2015/12/modern-agile/