Agile Stream Framework

by Adonis ElFakih [email protected] © 2015, Twitter: @ICTceo

AGILE STREAM FRAMEWORK Agile approach to streamline agile SDLC v1.0


Agile Stream Framework (ASF) is an approach to streamline enterprise operations along agile software development life cycle. Use it to:

• Reduce operational drag. • Guide agile transformations. • Align management and agile goals. • Support SAFe And Scrum teams.

Definition


Drag within agile SDLC?

Sprint Impediments

Retrospective Improvement Backlog

Goal of ASF to identify and quantify operational drag slowing down agile teams.


Agile Stream Framework (ASF)

Roles

Artifacts

Meetings


Roles and Responsibilities • Agile Team (AT) • Agile Stream Team (AST) • Enterprise Stream Team (EST)


Agile Team (AT) Team of individuals with all skills to deliver business value by translating a sprint backlog work item (story) into an increment of work within a time-box (sprint). ASF Role: •  Daily, solve/raise impediments. •  Each retrospective, escalate

“world” backlog improvement items.

ASF Requirements: •  Fixed sprint length (4,9,14,…) •  Known team capacity. •  Story points (T-Shirt, Fibonacci) •  Story business value*.


Agile Stream Team (AST) Team of individuals with authority to resolve impediments across enterprise silos, typically mid and exec level managers. ASF Role: •  Streamline operations for 2-5

agile teams. •  Rank and remove impediments. •  Delegate power to teams to

remove own impediments. •  Improve response SLA. •  Conduct A/B experiments

(kickoff, quality, etc..) •  Raise recommendation to EST.


Enterprise Stream Team (EST) Team of individuals with authority to remove impediments within enterprise, typically exec level managers. ASF Role: •  Lower enterprise drag by

enabling teams to resolve impediments.

•  Delegate power to teams to remove own impediments.


Team Interactions

Enterprise Stream Team (EST)

Agile Stream Team (AST)

Team 1-3

Agile Stream Team (AST)

Team 4-6

•  Impediments •  Improvements

•  Recommend

•  Lower Enterprise Drag •  Delegate AST, AT

•  Streamline •  Resolve •  Lower Team

Drag

•  Streamline •  Resolve •  Delegate •  Lower Team

Drag

•  Impediments •  Improvements


Agile Stream Framework

Roles

Artifacts

Meetings


Artifacts • Story Drag Coefficient (SDC) • Daily Drag Index (2DI) • Stream Board • AST Dashboard


Story Drag Coefficient (SDC) • An agile-friendly constant that reflects the effect of

organizational drag (impediment) on teams’ capacity to deliver within a time-box (sprint).

Team A Team B

Team C

ISP TC SL SDC A 4 20 9 2.22% B 4 20 4 5.00% C 4 20 14 1.43%

SDC (% iteration) = ( Team Capacity x Sprint Length )

Impeded Story Points


Daily Drag Index (2DI)

• Daily Drag Index dashboards highlight relative ranking of impediments at a given day, based on AST’s strategy.

SP TC SL DSC (%) BV A 16 76 9 2.34% 250.00 B 8 45 9 1.98% 1,000.00 C 4 20 14 1.43% 500.00

SDC(d) SLA.SDC(d) BV.SDC(d)


Stream Board

DAY/SILO

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

SQA (2)

Prod (2)

Cust (2)

Dev (1) 4

1

5

Impediment board with WIP limits and silo boundary demarcations.

8 6

9 2

3

7


AST Dashboard Visualize drag around: •  Silos •  Teams •  SDLC


Agile Stream Framework

Roles

Artifacts

Meetings


Daily – Active Resolution • AST meets every day for a maximum of 60 minutes with

AT representatives to review and update impediments status.

•  Impediment Status (up to 15 minutes) •  What was solved, in progress, blocked.

• New Escalated Impediments (Up to 15 minutes) •  AT SM, present impediments team unable to solve.

• Agile Stream Plan (Up to 30 minutes) •  Use 2DI and Stream Board to communicate plan.


Monthly – Empower and Escalate • AST/EST meets at least every two iterations to retrospect

and decide on areas to delegate authority or escalate to enterprise stream teams.

•  Review the empirical data from AST Dashboard. •  Proposes organizational change to resolve enterprise, silo, team

impediments to lower organizational drag. •  Reviews ‘improvement backlog’ items for opportunities to lower

organizational drag.

Agile Stream Framework

Software