PowerPoint Presentation

Distributed-agile: decoding the hyphen in betweenKarthikeyan Chellappa & Ashay Saxena

Two significant trends have emerged in software development practice over the past years:

Agile Methods

Geographical Distributionintroduction

Typically Characterized By:AGILE

Face-to-Face Communication (Informal)People oriented Control (Informal)

Typically Characterized By:DISTRIBUTED

Process oriented Control (Formal)Documents, E-mail Communication (Formal)

FORMAL-INFORMAL(Process Level)DISTRIBUTED-AGILE=

Understand the driver that leads to effective balance between tenets of distributedness and agility in a software development teamResearch OBJECTIVE

Qualitative Single Case-Study

Data Sources: Semi-structured Interviews (Developers, BAs & QAs) Direct ObservationsTop Management Views

Research APPROACH

PROJECT STUDIED

FINDINGSUnique PracticesSprint Reviews Split into Showcases & Super-showcasesDevelopers have freedom to attend/skip showcase eventDigital Story Walls updated on priorityEffective use of overlap working hours across locationsDevelopers given freedom to resolve blockers caused by remote teamsLiberal policy for approving travel expenses

Ceremonies/PracticesResultant BehaviorDISCIPLINE2 types of reviews - showcases & super showcases Team members are committed to conducting showcases for their assigned feature (story) to ensure the super showcase goes through smoothlyDigital walls updated on priority Team members follow a routine of updating the digital (story) wall after every standup & sprint review meeting

Ceremonies/PracticesResultant BehaviorSTRETCHEffective use of overlap working hours across locations The overlap working hours, typically afternoons, are engaged by team members in several meetings across locations. Teams put in extra effort to ensure expected work is done prior/after meetings in order to utilize overlap working hours

Ceremonies/PracticesResultant BehaviorSUPPORTDevelopers have freedom to resolve blockers caused by remote teams Teams have the required competency to resolve blockers on code bases not owned by them. Other teams are kept informed of any changes madeLiberal policy for approving travel expenses Staff rotations are encouraged to promote knowledge sharing and team bonding. The team also understands the importance of these events and handles them responsibly2 types of reviews - showcases & super showcases A support structure facilitated by management to ensure that every story is reviewed independently before the super showcase eventDigital walls updated on priority Updating the latest status ensures that communication flows are quick & transparent across locations

Ceremonies/PracticesResultant BehaviorTRUSTDevelopers have freedom to attend or skip showcase events Developers are given autonomy over choosing which tasks they take up and how they go about executing them (attending a showcase event can be treated as a task)Developers have freedom to resolve blockers caused by remote teams Teams trust each other when resolving blockers and communicate any changes madeLiberal policy for approving travel expenses Team members acknowledge the importance of building relationships with remote teams and treat staff rotations responsibly

INFERENCEDISCIPLINESTRETCH SUPPORTTRUSTProject context

CONCLUSIONPractices that lead to unique project context characterized by the variables of Discipline, Stretch, Support & Trust

DISTRIBUTED (CONTEXT) AGILE