Becoming Agile: ...in an imperfect world

410 Pages·2009·15.94 MB·English

by  Greg Smith

in an imperfect world
G S
REG MITH
A S
HMED IDKY
FOREWORD BY
MARY POPPENDIECK
M A N N I N G
Becoming Agile
Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>
Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>
Becoming Agile
...
IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD
GREG SMITH
AHMED SIDKY
MANNING
Greenwich
(74° w. long.)
Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>
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ISBN 978-1-933988-25-2
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 – MAL – 14 13 12 11 10 09
Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>
brief contents
P 1 A ........... 1
ART GILE FUNDAMENTALS AND A SUPPORTING CASE STUDY
1 ■ Moving to agile 3
2 ■ The story of Acme Media 17
P 2 G ......................................................... 25
ART ETTING STARTED
3 ■ Are you ready for agile? 27
4 ■ The fitness test: all about readiness assessments 43
5 ■ The importance of obtaining executive support 58
6 ■ Improving buy-in by creating a core team 66
7 ■ The mindset of an agile leader 73
8 ■ Injecting agility into your current process 87
9 ■ Selecting a pilot project 105
P 3 K ............................................................... 113
ART ICKING OFF
10 ■ Feasibility: is this project viable? 115
11 ■ Aligning the pilot team with the project 136
v
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vi BRIEF CONTENTS
P 4 P .............................. 151
ART OPULATING THE PRODUCT BACKLOG
12 ■ Feature cards: a tool for “just enough” planning 153
13 ■ Prioritizing the backlog 170
14 ■ Estimating at the right level with the right people 183
P 5 E ......................... 193
ART NOUGH INFORMATION FOR SCHEDULING
15 ■ Release planning: envisioning the overall schedule 195
16 ■ Iteration planning: the nitty-gritty details 204
P 6 B ............................................... 221
ART UILDING THE PRODUCT
17 ■ Start your engines: iteration 0 223
18 ■ Delivering working software 230
19 ■ Testing: did you do it right? 244
P 7 E ..................................................... 253
ART MBRACING CHANGE
20 ■ Adapting: reacting positively to change 255
21 ■ Delivery: bringing it all together 277
22 ■ The retrospective: working together to improve 297
P 8 M ....................................................... 311
ART OVING FORWARD
23 ■ Extending the new process across your company 313

Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>
contents
foreword xvii
preface xix
acknowledgments xxi
about this book xxiii
P 1 A
ART GILE FUNDAMENTALS AND
A SUPPORTING CASE STUDY ................................... 1
1 Moving to agile 3
1.1 Is Agile just another process? 5
The Agile Manifesto and related values 6 ■ The agile principles 7
The agile practices 9
1.2 A paradigm shift from a plan-driven mentality 10
1.3 Agile and the bottom line 11
1.4 How this book will help you become more agile 14
1.5 Key points to remember 16
1.6 Looking ahead 16
2 The story of Acme Media 17
2.1 Case study background and circumstances 18
2.2 About the Acme Media teams 19
vii
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viii CONTENTS
2.3 About the individuals 19
2.4 What does it look like when a team “becomes agile”? 20
The existing process 20 ■ A process with more agility 21 ■ The
ultimate process 22
2.5 Key points to remember 24
2.6 Looking ahead 24
P 2 G ............................................. 25
ART ETTING STARTED
3 Are you ready for agile? 27
3.1 What areas will you become more agile in? 28
Increasing customer involvement 28 ■ Improving prioritization of
features 28 ■ Increasing team buy-in and involvement 28
Clarifying priorities and reminding everyone of the consequences of
changing them 28 ■ Adapting to change during development 29
Better understanding the project’s status 29 ■ More efficient
planning and estimating 29 ■ Continuous risk management 30
Delivering the project needed at the end 30 ■ Achieving the right level
of project structure 30
3.2 The different flavors of agile 32
Scrum 32 ■ Extreme Programming 34
3.3 Create your own flavor to become agile within your
constraints 35
Your goal: reach the right level of agility for your organization 36
Characteristics that make agile easier to adopt 38 ■ Roadblocks that
others have overcome 40
3.4 Key points to remember 42
3.5 Looking ahead 42
4 The fitness test: all about readiness assessments 43
4.1 The importance of readiness assessments 44
4.2 Reducing the risks of agile adoption using assessments 44
4.3 Increasing productivity during transitions 46
4.4 Getting executive buy-in for agile adoption using
readiness assessments 47
4.5 Conducting readiness assessments 49
Readiness-assessment tables 49 ■ Finding out the results 52
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CONTENTS ix
4.6 Key points 57
4.7 Looking ahead 57
5 The importance of obtaining executive support 58
5.1 Why should we pursue agile? 59
5.2 The cost of migrating 60
5.3 The risks in migrating 61
5.4 Rewards for the executives 62
5.5 Communicating frequently with your executive team 62
5.6 The role of the sponsor 63
5.7 Following Acme Media as the company obtains a sponsor 63
5.8 Key points 65
5.9 Looking forward 65
6 Improving buy-in by creating a core team 66
6.1 Who should be in the core team? 67
6.2 Choosing the core team at Acme Media 68
6.3 The kickoff meeting 69
Tough questions 70 ■ Your role in the migration 71
6.4 Key points 72
6.5 Looking forward 72
7 The mindset of an agile leader 73
7.1 The role of an agile coach 75
Attributes of a good coach 75 ■ Training and mentoring the core
team 76
7.2 Agile management: more shepherding, less directing 77
Soft skills 78 ■ Working with other managers 78 ■ Working with
stakeholders 79 ■ Demonstrating value 79 ■ Leading the team to
ownership 81
7.3 Creating a team with an agile mindset 82
Culture and roles 83 ■ Characteristics that influence individual
performance 84
7.4 Key points 86
7.5 Looking forward 86
Licensed to Deborah Christiansen <[email protected]>