CASE STUDY Scenario Smartbank’s CIO feels it needs a change to compete on a level playing field with smaller, more nimble competitors, they want their IT organization to be able to: • respond faster to consumer demands • increase engineering quality • build experiences customers will like, reducing the cost of failure. Each CIO team sits in their own directorate and are brought together on a matrix basis to deliver change, apart from the support team who provide a ticketed service for test/prod deployments and provide 1st and 2nd line support, 3rd line support comes from the components. The product team sits outside of the CIO within the business of the bank. Project Lifecycle The e2e project lifecycle starts with an initiative from the product team, they secure early financial approval and source a project manager to develop a high-level business case, he secures an architects time to provide rough estimates, completes the business case allowing for the creative team and BA’s to be funded and brought onto the project. Work requests are raised into the respective directorates to secure them. Once the BAs and UX designers are mobilized they begin working with the product team to define the requirements and experience, generally these take the form of a wireframe and supporting spreadsheet of MoSCoW requirements in user story format, they work exclusively with the Product Manager to produce them and once he is happy these are complete he signs them off and the Project Manager raises a work request to secure an architects time to do an e2e design identifying impacts on the respective component teams. Once complete the work requests are raised on the impacted components and test team requesting estimates, as trusted individuals detailed estimation is carried out by the most senior engineers and testers in the teams. On receipt of the estimates the Project Manger agrees any changes to the business case and forecasted timelines with the product manager, releases funding and commits the component teams to the delivery scope and timelines. The Product Manager breathes a sigh of relief and the Project Manager gets ready to take the delivery into the SDLC. Once the development starts, the engineering team starts writing code, and testing team starts writing test scripts from the requirements. At the same time, our project manager has to request development and test environments that have to be built by operations team and delivered by the time developers are ready to deploy first batch of code. Once environment is delivered, developers manually build and deploy the first release to test environment and begin “environment shakeout”. Once environment is stable, they notify the testing team that they can start executing tests, and continue to work on the next batch. Testing team goes through the test scripts and raises defects. Some are related to environment instability and some to actual bugs. Our project manager is stressed out and has to drink heavily every night (or, if he is in California or Colorado, resort to other less liquid measures). He runs meetings every morning with developers and testers where they review defects and negotiate their priority.
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CASESTUDYScenarioSmartbank’sCIOfeelsitneedsachangetocompeteonalevelplayingfieldwithsmaller,morenimblecompetitors,theywanttheirITorganizationtobeableto:
• respondfastertoconsumerdemands• increaseengineeringquality• buildexperiencescustomerswilllike,reducingthecostoffailure.
EachCIOteamsitsintheirowndirectorateandarebroughttogetheronamatrixbasistodeliverchange,apartfromthesupportteamwhoprovideaticketedservicefortest/proddeploymentsandprovide1stand2ndlinesupport,3rdlinesupportcomesfromthecomponents.TheproductteamsitsoutsideoftheCIOwithinthebusinessofthebank.ProjectLifecycleThee2eprojectlifecyclestartswithaninitiativefromtheproductteam,theysecureearlyfinancialapprovalandsourceaprojectmanagertodevelopahigh-levelbusinesscase,hesecuresanarchitectstimetoprovideroughestimates,completesthebusinesscaseallowingforthecreativeteamandBA’stobefundedandbroughtontotheproject.Workrequestsareraisedintotherespectivedirectoratestosecurethem.OncetheBAsandUXdesignersaremobilizedtheybeginworkingwiththeproductteamtodefinetherequirementsandexperience,generallythesetaketheformofawireframeandsupportingspreadsheetofMoSCoWrequirementsinuserstoryformat,theyworkexclusivelywiththeProductManagertoproducethemandonceheishappythesearecompletehesignsthemoffandtheProjectManagerraisesaworkrequesttosecureanarchitectstimetodoane2edesignidentifyingimpactsontherespectivecomponentteams.Oncecompletetheworkrequestsareraisedontheimpactedcomponentsandtestteamrequestingestimates,astrustedindividualsdetailedestimationiscarriedoutbythemostseniorengineersandtestersintheteams.OnreceiptoftheestimatestheProjectMangeragreesanychangestothebusinesscaseandforecastedtimelineswiththeproductmanager,releasesfundingandcommitsthecomponentteamstothedeliveryscopeandtimelines.TheProductManagerbreathesasighofreliefandtheProjectManagergetsreadytotakethedeliveryintotheSDLC.Oncethedevelopmentstarts,theengineeringteamstartswritingcode,andtestingteamstartswritingtestscriptsfromtherequirements.Atthesametime,ourprojectmanagerhastorequestdevelopmentandtestenvironmentsthathavetobebuiltbyoperationsteamanddeliveredbythetimedevelopersarereadytodeployfirstbatchofcode.Onceenvironmentisdelivered,developersmanuallybuildanddeploythefirstreleasetotestenvironmentandbegin“environmentshakeout”.Onceenvironmentisstable,theynotifythetestingteamthattheycanstartexecutingtests,andcontinuetoworkonthenextbatch.Testingteamgoesthroughthetestscriptsandraisesdefects.Somearerelatedtoenvironmentinstabilityandsometoactualbugs.Ourprojectmanagerisstressedoutandhastodrinkheavilyeverynight(or,ifheisinCaliforniaorColorado,resorttootherlessliquidmeasures).Herunsmeetingseverymorningwithdevelopersandtesterswheretheyreviewdefectsandnegotiatetheirpriority.
SDLCProcessisasfollows:
CaserelatedQuestions1. Whatanti-patternsdoyouseeinthecurrentorganizationandpractices,why?
SmartbankcurrentlyemploystraditionalSDLCorwaterfallmethodologyforitsproductdevelopmentinitiatives.Thisprocessismoreappropriateforprojectswithclearlydefinedgoalsandconcretebusinessrequirements,e.g.,infrastructurebuild-out,buildingconstruction,carmanufacturing,etc.Modernsoftwaredevelopmentisamuchmoredynamicprocess,wherebusinessrequirementschangefrequentlybasedonmarketinnovations,e.g.,VirtualReality,anduserfeedback,e.g.,A/Btesting.SomeofthemajorrisksandpotentialimpactassociatedwithSDLCsoftwaredevelopmenteffortsare:
Risk Impact1. Requirementmisses2. Changesinscopemid
project3. Poorlydefinedgoals
andobjectives4. Insufficientchange
management
• “BigBang”approachopensproducttopotentialfeaturereworkwhichmayresultsinlowercustomersatisfactionandlaunchdelays– Lowcustomersatisfactionwillresultinlossrevenues– Rolloutdelayswouldmeanincreaseindevelopmentcosts
• Clientexpectationsnottestedandverifiedonafrequentbasis• Notabletoreacttomarketchangesquicklyandefficiently
5. PoorLevelofEffort(LoE)estimation
6. Insufficientresources
• Productlaunchandrolloutdelays• Slowreactiontoresourcegaps
7. Lackofstakeholderinvolvement
8. Poorcommunications
• Opensstakeholdertopotentialsurprises• Internalclientsmayfeeltheirvoicesorneedswerenotheardand
addressedTable1.SDLCrisksandimpacts.
2. Howmighttheorganizationalculturebeaffectedbythecurrentsystem?TheculturalimpactofemployingSDLCforsoftwaredevelopmentisthatyouexposetheteamtopotentialrisksthatadverselyimpactteammoraleandjobsatisfactionlevel.Thiswillalsosubjecttheteamtofingerpointingonblameandinstillalackoftrustbetweenteammembers.
3. BasedontheCIOobjectives:a) Howwouldyoure-organizetheteams?
Fromthecasestudynarrative,IsurmisedanorganizationalstructurethatissimilartotheonedepictedinFigure1.Iwouldanswerthisquestionintermsofshort-term,mid-term,andlong-termgoals.Shortterm,Iwouldnotmakeanybigchangestotheorganization;instead,Iwouldidentifyapilotteamtoimplementtheagileprocessforproductdevelopment.ThemakeupofthispilotteamisillustratedinFigure2.Oncetheagilepilotisin-place,tested,andverifiedby
theorganizationonitsnimblenessandeffectivenessinmeetingthedynamicbusinessneeds,thenIwouldstartfocusingmid-termorganizationalstructure.Formid-term,Irecommendthefollowingorganizationalchanges(seegreyboxesinFigure3):
i. HireaVPofProgramManagementroleii. MoveDirectorofProjectManagementundertheVPofProgramManagementiii. MoveDirectorofQAundertheVPofProgramManagement
TherationaleforfactoringoutProgram/ProjectManagementandQAresponsibilitiesfromtheVPofEngineeringroleisthreefold:(a)theCIOneedsonepersontoownthetruestatusofaproject;(b)projectmanagementandQAareorthogonalprocessestodevelopment;and(c)thisstructureallowstheVPofEngineeringtofocusondesigninnovationandsoftwaredevelopment.
Figure1.CurrentSmartbankorgchart.Longterm,IfullyexpecttheAgile/ScrumprocesstobepromulgatedanddeployedacrossSmartbankfirmwide,atwhichpoint,SmartbankwillbereadytoconsidertheadoptionoftheScaledAgileFramework(SAFe®),asillustratedinFigure4.SAFewillenableSmartbankexecutivestorunitsbusinessinanagilefashion,i.e.,enablethebusinesstorapidlyrespondtocompetitiveforcesbyiterativelydeliverproductsthatquicklyadoptnewtechnology,userexperience,andinnovativefeatures.AsSAFeisalongtermstrategyforSmartbank,IrecommendaseparatestudytodeterminetheappropriateorganizationstructuretosupporttheScaledAgileFramework.
Figure2.Agileteammembersandtheirresponsibilities.
Figure3.Mid-termorgchart.
CIO
VPofProgramManagement
DirectorofProject
Management
DirectorofQA
VPofEngineering
CreagveDirector
DirectorofEngineering
ReleaseManager
VPofOperagons
DirectorofSupport
Level2Support
Level3Support
VPofCustomerService
CallCenter
Level1Support
BusinessGroup
ProductManagement
ProductManagers
Figure4.SAFe®⎯ ScaledAgileFramwork.
b) Whatmethods&practicesmightyouadopt,why?
IrecommendthatSmartbankadoptAgileMethodologyasitsproductdevelopmentprocess(seeFigure5).Byembracingthisdevelopmentmethodology,Smartbankwillbeableto:BusinessGoal AgileDeliveryBenefits
Respondfastertoconsumerdemands
Agiledictatesthatproductrequirementsbedisaggregatedintouserstoriesandeachassignedabusinessvalue.Theinitialfocuswillbetodeliverfeaturesthatdeliverthehighestvalueandrequiretheleastamountofeffort,akaMinimalValueProductorMVP.
Increaseengineeringquality
AgilealsorecommendsthatdevelopersembraceTestDrivenDevelopment,whichrequireseachfeatureoruserstorytoincludeacceptancecriteria(asdefinedbyProduct)thatallowdeveloperstoincludebothpositiveandnegativetestcaseswhichwillbeusedtovalidateeachfeatureasitsbeingdeveloped.ThiswillideallycutdownthenumberofbugsfoundduringQAintegrationtesting
BusinessGoal AgileDeliveryBenefitsBuildexperiencescustomerswilllike,reducingthecostoffailure
ByshorteningtheproductdeliverycycleorSprintcadence,e.g.,aproductreleasewillbedeployedeverytwoweeksandintroducingtheconceptofA|Btestingduringdeployment,thesechangeswillallowthebusinesstodeliverproductfeaturesiterativelyandfrequentlywhichwillallowSmartbanktoquicklyimproveclientexperienceandreducethecostoffailures
Table2.Agilebenefits.
TheAgileprocessentailsthesetupandrunningofthefollowingmeetings:Meeting
TypicalDuration
Purpose
DailyStandup 10–15min
• WhatdidIdoyesterday?• WhatamIdongtoday?• Isthereanythinginmyway(blockers)?–ForScrumMaster
totackleSprintPlanning
4Hours • Atthebeginningofeachsprint,teamwillprioritizehighestvaluefeaturefromtheproductbacklog
• Teamwillselectenoughfeaturestofillthesprintcycle,e.g.,twoweeks
BacklogGrooming
4to6HoursOncea
monthorquarter
• Productowner’smeetingtoreviewnewbacklogitemswithdevelopers
– Reviewuserstories– AssignStoryPointstoeachuserstory– ProductwillprioritizebacklogitemsbasedonLoE
andbusinessvalueProductDemo 2Hours
normallyonthelastdayofSprint
• Attheendoftwoweeks,theteamhastwohourstodemotheresultantworktoprojectstakeholders
• UsuallydrivenbyProductownerbecause– Givesproductownerastakeintheoutcome– Solidifiestherelationshipwithstakeholders– Ensuresstakeholderssharevisionwithproduct
owner– Developersmaystrugglediscussionproduct’svalue
• GetfeedbackfromstakeholdersRetrospective 2Hours • Reviewlessonslearnedfrompriorsprint
• Normallyhappensonthelastdayofeachsprint• Eachteammemberwillanswerthequestions
– Whatwentwell?– Whatcouldhavebeendonebetter/faster?– Thisisthemostimportantmeetingbecauseit
fosterscontinuousimprovementoftheagileprocessTable3.Agilemeetings.
Figure5.Agiledevelopmentmethodology.
c) Whattoolswouldyouexpecttoseebeingused,howandinwhatteams?AreaofResponsibility ToolsRecommendationExecutiveManagement
• AtlassianConfluenceforreadingprojectdashboard,whichincludesscheduleandstatuses
AgileProjectManagement
• AtlassianJIRAforagileprojectmanagement(includingsupportforKanbanboards)
• AtlassianConfluenceforcommunicatingprojectdashboardorstatus
• SlackforintraandinterteamcommunicationsProductManagement • AtlassianJIRAfordefiningproductrequirementsoruserstories
• UXPinforUXscreendesignandwireframesDevelopment • EclipseforIDE(thisalsodependsontheprogramminglanguage,
e.g.,Python,Java,PHP,etc.)• GitHubforSCCS• AtlassianJIRA/Confluenceforuserstoriesandproductepics
Design • UXPinforUXscreendesignandwireframesQATesting • AtlassianJIRAforrecordingandtrackingsoftwarebugs
AreaofResponsibility ToolsRecommendation
• AtlassianBambooforcontinuousintegration,deployment,andreleasemanagement
Table4.RecommendedtoolsforAgiledevelopment.
d) Whatchallengesareyoulikelytofacetobuildingthesortofteamyouwant?Givenmyexperience,themajorchallengesintransformingfromSDLCtoAgileareasfollows:
i. Training⎯It’simperativethateveryoneonthesprintteamgetstrainedonthesameagilemethodology.TheymustpracticethisandevolveittofitSmartbank’scompanyculture.Allofthelearningfromthepilotmustbedocumentedandpromulgatedthroughouttheorganization
ii. AdoptionofTestDrivenDevelopment⎯DevelopersmustembraceTDDaspartoftheirdevelopmentprocess,otherwise,QAduringintegrationtestingwillbecomequitetedious
iii. Nay-sayers⎯Asinallorganization,therewillalwaysbeskepticsorpeoplethatdon’tbelieveinyourvision.Onewaytoaddresstheseconcernsistomakesureyouhaveaverysuccessfulpilot.Thepilotmustbeabletodemonstratethevaluepropositionofagilemethodology.Oncethepilotprogramiscompletedandsuccessful,acommunicationprogramwillneedtobedevelopedtoadvertiseitssuccesstotherestofthefirm.
e) HowwouldyougoaboutestablishingworkingrelationshipswithintheorganizationandmanagerswhomayormaynothaveboughtintotheCIOvision?Givenmyexperience,Irecommendthefollowingcommunicationsteps:
i. CIOshouldkickoffthischangeprogrambyholdinganall-handsmeetingandsendingoutangroup-widee-mail
ii. TheProgramManagershouldsetupindividualmeetingswithstakeholderstoreinforcethechangeprogrammessagesandsolicittheirinputandfeedbackontheirissuesandconcerns.Aresponsetotheseissuesandconcernsmustbedevelopedandcommunicatedbacktothekeyexecutives
iii. Awebsiteorblogsiteshouldbecreatedtocommunicatethevisionofthistransformationaswellascapturefeedbackfromstakeholdersontheirissuesandconcerns
4. Whataresomeofthehighlevel/generalrisksyouforeseeinsuchanengagement?Theanswertothisquestionsimilartomyresponseto3(d).Thebiggestriskislackofuniformtraining.ThisisespeciallyprevalentinteamsthatarealreadypracticingAgile.IfindAgilepractitionersdifferfromcompanytocompanybecausepeoplehaveevolvedthisprocesstofitthecompanycultureorimplementedworkaroundsuniquetotheirproductsorworkflow.
5. Whatmechanisms,toolsormethodswouldyouusetoidentifyandmanagemoregranularrisks?
Thetoughestpartofriskmanagementisgettingtheteamtogenerateallthepossibleprojectrisksthroughbrainstormingandcollaboration.Oncealistofrisksisidentified,anytoolscanbeusedtotrackthem,e.g.,asimpleExcelspreadsheet,Worddoc,GoogleDoc,GoogleSheet,etc.Allweneedtotrackare:
a) RiskEvent⎯Whatisthepotentialissue?b) EventTrigger⎯Howdoweknowwhenithashappened?c) Impact⎯Whathappenswhentheriskoccurs?d) DegreeofImpact⎯High/Med/Lowe) ProbabilityofOccurrence⎯High/Med/Lowf) MitigationPlan⎯Whatcanwedotoreduceitsimpactand/orprobabilityofoccurrence?g) RiskOwner⎯Whoownsthisrisk?
Non-CaserelatedQuestions:1. Talkaboutyourexperiencesrunningdistributedagileteams?Howdistributedwerethose
teams?Whattoolswereused?Throughoutmycareer,Ihaveworkedwithonshore,near-shore,off-shoredevelopmentteamsandtheirhybridconfigurations.AtUBSandDisney,thedeveloperswerebasedinIndia;atHBO,thedeveloperswereonthewestcoast,i.e.,LAandSeattle;andatFrankly,thedeveloperswereinVietnam.Thebiggestissueworkingwithdistributedagileteamsispickingtherighttimezoneformeetings.Tool-wise,I’veusedvideoconferencing,telephone,Gotomeeting,JIRA/Confluence,Slack,UXPin,etc.,tofacilitateteamcollaboration
2. What'sthebiggestchallengeyoufacedwhensupportingmultipleScrumteamswithinarelease?Tellushowyoutrackedtherelease?ThebiggestchallengewhensupportingmultipleScrumteamswithinareleaseissynchronizingthedeliveryaswellascommunicatingandproblemsolvingoninter-dependentissuesbetweenScrumteams.Irecommendthefollowingmethodstotracktherelease:
a. Duringdailystandupsforthescrumteams,reserveaslotoftimetodiscussissuesthataredependentonotherscrumteams.Ideally,ifpossible,therecouldbea5minuteoverlaptimebetweendailystandupmeetingssobothscrumteamcanhearabouttheinter-dependentissues.Shortofthat,it’suptotheScrumMastertocommunicatetheseissuestotheappropriateScrumteamandseektheirresolution
b. DocumenttheseinterdependentissuesinJIRAandtagtheappropriateteammembersforownership
c. Ifrequired,theScrumMastershouldmeetwiththeindividualteammember(s)thatcanresolvetheinter-dependentissuesoutsideofthestandingscrumagilemeetings(seeTable3)
3. HowhaveyouhelpedorganizationstoimplementContinuousIntegrationand/orDelivery?Whattoolsandtechniqueswereused?WhatdifferencedidCImake?AtFrankly,weusedacombinationofGitHubandJIRABambooplugintomanagecontinuousintegration.CIallowedustoshortenourtestanddeploymenttimeframefrom1.5weeksto3days.
4. What'syourexperienceofDevOps?Whattoolsandtechniqueswereused?Whatdifferencesdiditmake?DevOpsistheprocessofautomatingsoftwaredeliveryandinfrastructurechanges.Itaimsatestablishingacultureandenvironmentwherebuilding,testing,andreleasingsoftwarecanhappenrapidly,frequently,andmorereliably.IhadexperiencewithDevOpsatFranklywhenwemigratedourinfrastructurefromourdatacentertoAmazonAWS.WeusedGitHub,Bamboo,AWStoautomateourdeploymentscripts.Itshortenedourreleasecyclefrom6hoursto2hours.
5. Inyourlatestroledescribeanysignificantchangesyoupersonallymade?Whatwastheresultofthosechanges?Howdidyoumeasuretheoutcome?WhenIfirststartedatFrankly,IwastoldthatwewereanagileshopbutIsoondiscoveredthatwewerereleasingourproductsona6to8weekcycle,whichboggledmymind.Infact,IdiscoveredthatFranklywasreallypracticingSDLC;theonlythingagileabouttheirprocessisthattheconducteddailystandupmeetings.
Itookthefollowingstepstoassessandremedythissituation:
a) Embedmyselfinthedevelopmentprocessb) Observeandrecordmyobservationsc) IdentifyprocessandresourcegapsrelativetoastandardScrumprocessd) Assessrolesandresponsibilityconflictse) Developalistofrecommendationandsyndicatethemwiththeteamf) Executeagainstmyrecommendations
Asaresult,Iwasabletochangeoursprintcadencefrom6weeksto2weeks.
6. Tellusaboutthelasttimeyoufaceddifficulties?Whatdidyoudotoovercomethem?Isthereanythingyouwoulddodifferently?ThelasttimeIhaddifficultyatworkwasdealingwithapersonnelissueatFrankly.ThissituationaroseduringmyAgileassessment(seemyresponsetoquestion5above).OneoftheproblemsIuncoveredwasthattheProductManagerwasverypossessiveandcontrollingofherdeliverables.Sherefusedtocollaboratewithotherteammembersbutalwayshadanexcuseforlatedeliveryofherendproducts.ThewayIdealtwiththissituationwastoconductaRACI(Responsible|Accountable|Consulted|Informed)analysisonherrolesandresponsibilitiesrelativetootherscrumteammembers.IthenpresentedthisanalysistomyCTOandSVPofProducttogettheirfeedbackandbuy-in.Wethenjointlypresentedourrecommendationtotheproductmanager.Asaresult,shemodifiedherbehaviorandbecameamuchmorecollaborateteammember.Inretrospect,Iwouldfollowthesameprocesstoovercomethesetypesofissues.
7. DescribeasituationwhereyouhadtotransformanorganizationwithatraditionalwaterfallSDLCintoonewithamoreAgileSDLC?Sameasmyresponsetoquestion5.
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