Copyright 2011 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved. CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY
Presenters:David RamosIlya Solovyev
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Agile Meets Waterfall
CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLYCopyright 2011 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.
Project Objective
To enable Linkshare to collect and pay VAT (Value Added Tax) exclusive to the
commissions that Publishers earn, which will enable Linkshare to compete effectively for Publishers in the U.K and
European markets.
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VAT
CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLYCopyright 2011 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.
Project Challenges
� Complexity� Changes required on 5 production systems� Limited legacy documentation� Large volume of semi-documented exceptions
� Time to Market� Compressed project schedule to meet same year
revenue target
� Resources Availability� Competing projects� Limited number of Subject Matter Experts� Steep learning curve to ramp additional resources
� Lessons learned from a previous related project� High volume of bugs� Limited test cases and test rounds� Inadequate testing environment� Limited test data
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CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLYCopyright 2011 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.
Inception
Requirements
Design
Code
Test
Regression
UAT
Deploy
Close
Solution to Challenges: Agile Meets Waterfall
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Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011
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Project Approach
Key Agile Principles Key Waterfall Principles
Small Batches �Functionality is developed in short iterations of 1-4 weeks, and
released into production frequently, as often as weekly.
Large Batches
Typical delivery schedule is two or three times a year.
Responding To Change �Acknowledge uncertainty, and adapt to both external (market)
and internal changes, by modifying plans and approach. Use
engineering principles to make code base easy to modify.
Baseline and Change Control �Typically constrain, or even completely eliminate any
significant change other than dropping features. Work to initial
plans, even when they are proven to be invalid.
Iteration & Continuous Improvement
Retrospectives at the end of each iteration allows teams to
reflect, learn and continually improve by continually adapting.
Lessons Learned at the End �Negative feedback is rarely if ever given, and often too late to
avoid significant project consequences.
Small, Integrated Teams �Small team size and complementary overlap in skill sets
simplifies communications, allows everyone to see the big
picture, creates self discipline and provide flexibility.
Silo Teams with Handoffs �Staff works in functional oriented groups, throwing
documentation and code over the wall.
Focus on Highest Value First �Align project, product and team visions
by prioritizing by business needs, and using well-architectured
code, to deliver better quality products faster and cheaper.
All or Nothing
Tight coupling, and a bias toward building out the internals in
a breadth first fashion, means that nothing can be delivered in
isolation, even if it’s valuable.
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Team Structure
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Role Agile Waterfall
Product Owner �
Project Manager �
Technical Functional Manager
�
RequirementsManager
� �
Technical Lead �
SoftwareDevelopers
� �
QA Lead �
QA Engineers � �
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Development Approach
• Agile for Development and Test• Daily ½ hour meeting • Three 1-week sprints
• Assignments to sprint backlog tasks• Dependent on developer’s expertise
• The team was self-organized• Found the best architecture and
code design approaches during weekly sprints
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• Test development first – from unit testing to demo
• Test Environment– 60% performance
improvement
• Test Data
• Created WIKI page– result of existing unit
tests
• Sprint QA testing
Test Approach
LinkShare Wiki
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Project Outcomes
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Largest Related Code Release since Q4 2010– Code Reviews– Early Testing + Testing with Recent Data– Multiple Rounds of UAT
Lessons LearnedLessons Learned
Out Box ThinkingOut Box Thinking
Team WorkTeam Work
Project SuccessProject
Success
Post Release Bugs Pre Release Bugs
329
264
111
Days to First Invoice
29
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Agile Challenges
Backlog • It can grow to a size where
it’s difficult to groom or prioritize in any reasonable amount of time
Documentation• It often gets out prioritized
Staffing• Some resist to co-locate• Estimating complex stories
can be difficult to less experienced team members.
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Conclusion
Agile + Waterfall
– Can co-exist
– Helps produce the highest quality product
– Helps achieve milestones and adhere to timelines
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Next Steps
• 2012 Product Roadmap
• Adapt this new approach to complex and time sensitive projects
• Example: Global SAP
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CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLYCopyright 2011 LinkShare Corporation. All rights reserved.
Next Steps – Global SAP Rollout 2012
Global SAPGlobal SAP
Phase 1LinkShare
Rollout
Phase 1LinkShare
Rollout
Legacy System
Integration
Legacy System
Integration
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Agile
Waterfall
• Multiple Concurrent Projects• 2 Week Dev Sprints• Quick response to change• Waterfall UAT and Regression
• Single Waterfall Project• Strict Change Control• All or Nothing
Currently Underway
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