Distributed Agile

November 2, 2011

Matt SimonsDirector of Global DeliveryThoughtWorks

• 16 years in IT consulting, 12 at ThoughtWorks

• Various roles across delivery/Operations/Sales

• Established ThoughtWorks first offshore delivery center in Bangalore in 2001

• Managing Director, ThoughtWorks India 2005-2007

• Currently oversees offshore demand generation in TW Americas for TW India, TW China and TW Brazil

• Writes and speaks about outsourcing and Global Delivery around the world

Matt SimonsThe Guy on the Horse

Appreciation for the importance of honing your global delivery capability

A framework to help you plan global delivery efforts

Specific tactics to help you improve your execution

Software Development Agile

Mergers and acquisitionsCenters of excellenceProximity to customersLabor arbitrageWorking from homeAccess to top talent/experience

OutsourcingLines of businessCountries of operationJoint development effortsOpen source3rd-party Suppliers24 x 7 development

Your software delivery effort

OffshoreVendor

Internal ISTeam

Domain Experts

ServicesVendor

PackageProvider

• multi-source your vendors

• set-up clear, quantifiable metrics andmeasure measure measure!

• establish formal process & governance

• spend more time on requirements

• provide detailed architectual specs

• start with a ‘safe project’

• focus on simple, non-core tasks

Credit: Thomas Allan, Managing the Flow of Technology, MIT Press

INTIMACY

North America

Central/South America

Asia

Europe

TEMPORAL SEPARATIONPhysical SeparationCultural Separation

Dysfunctional

TestersTestersDevelopers

Developers

Developers

Developers

Location 1Customers

Customers

Customers

Customers

Location 3Location 2

Dysfunctional

Testers

Analysts

Testers

Analysts

Developers

Developers

Developers

Developers

Location 1 Location 2Customers

Customers

Customers

Customers

Location 3

Developers Testers

Customers Analysts

Functioning

Developers Testers

Customers Analysts

Dysfunctional

Testers

Analysts

Testers

Analysts

Developers

Developers

Developers

Developers

Location 1 Location 2Customers

Customers

Customers

Customers

Location 3

Developers Testers

Customers Analysts

Functioning

Developers Testers

Customers Analysts

Developers

Customers

Testers

Analysts

Developers

Customers

Testers

Analysts

Most Effective

Communication Breakdown• Poor handoffs, difficult timings• Introduce down time / waste in process

Team Behaviors• Lack of trust between teams• Low morale / high turnover on teams

Visibility• Unforeseen risks• Unknown progress, status, etc• Hard to make the right decisions in time

Delivery challenges High-stress situations• Slipped delivery dates• Missed requirements / implemented incorrect functionality• Divergent estimates / incorrect release plan

Communication

Visibility

TrustDelivery

People

ProcessTools

Communication

Visibility

TrustDelivery

People Process ToolsDining Room Tables Daily Stand up WikiCross Pollination Distributed Meeting 101 Star phonesRedundant Roles Retrospectives Video ConferenceKey Role: IM Showcases Smart BoardsKey Role: Tech Liaison Team core hours IM / SkypeKey Role: Domain Expert Agile Principles Virtual Card WallsKey Role: Customer Proxy Agile Tracking / Metrics Story / Bug Tracking toolWeb of connections Remote pairing Build Pipeline

People Process ToolsDining Room Tables Daily Stand up WikiCross Pollination Distributed Meeting 101 Star phonesRedundant Roles Retrospectives Video ConferenceKey Role: IM Showcases Smart BoardsKey Role: Tech Liaison Team core hours IM / SkypeKey Role: Domain Expert Agile Principles Virtual Card WallsKey Role: Customer Proxy Agile Tracking / Metrics Story / Bug Tracking toolWeb of Connections Remote pairing Build Pipeline

Project Manager

Scrum Master

Developer Business Analyst Test Analyst

Project Manager

Business AnalystTech Lead Sprint Test Lead

Developer Business Analyst Test AnalystProduct OwnerArchitect Release Test Lead



Vs.



28

“Yesterday, I …”

“Problems …”

“Today, I ...”




People Process ToolsDining Room Tables Daily Stand up WikiCross Pollination Distributed Meeting 101 Star phonesRedundant Roles Retrospectives Video ConferenceKey Role: IM Showcases Smart BoardsKey Role: Tech Liaison Team core hours IM / SkypeKey Role: Domain Expert Agile Principles Virtual Card WallsKey Role: Customer Proxy Agile Tracking / Metrics Story Tracking toolWeb of connections Remote pairing Build Pipeline

Telepresence

Multi-View WebcamsCI and Build Pipeline

Comms Infrastructure

Wiki and Collaboration Tools

Messaging Tools


People Process ToolsDining Room Tables Showcases Agile Tracking ToolsOverlap Time Co-located release plan Key metricsCross Pollination Retrospectives Collaboration toolsTeam outings Agile principles Communication toolsCultural Considerations Daily Handoff Digital Camera / VideoPersonal relationships Culture of feedback


photo credit: toobizarre.blogspot.com



People Process ToolsCross Pollination Planning Meeting 101 Story / Bug Tracking toolHome and Away Co-located release planning Agile tracking / metrics

Product VisioningProject Inception

People Process ToolsCross Pollination Planning Meeting 101 Story / Bug Tracking toolHome and Away Co-located release planning Agile tracking / metrics

Product VisioningProject Inception

People Process ToolsRedundant Roles Showcases Virtual card walls

Key Role: Customer Proxy Retrospectives Story tracking tool

Cross Pollination of team Iteration Planning Meetings Defect tracking tool

Incremental delivery Build pipeline

Prioritized business backlog Continuous IntegrationCode quality metrics

Test planning / tracking tools

Agile metrics and tracking

People Process ToolsRedundant Roles Showcases Virtual card walls







People Process ToolsRedundant Roles (UFOs) Showcases Virtual card walls







People Process ToolsRedundant Roles (UFOs) Showcases Virtual card walls







More Less

Delivery Process Maturity

Duration & Scale

Volatility

Flexibility

Transparency

Strength of team Relationships

Stakeholders

More Less

Immature/ad hoc approach to delivery

Consistent and disciplined delivery approach (Agile)


Duration & Scale

Volatility

Flexibility

Transparency


Stakeholders

More Less

Immature/ad hoc approach to delivery

Short-term, and/or small projects (<6 months, < 10 people)

Highly unstable requirements

Open to shifting hours & travel

Less transparent culture

Weak or non-existent team relationships

Multiple parties involved

Consistent and disciplined delivery approach (Agile)

Longer, larger projects

More requirements stability

Willingness/desire to travel, shift hours

Open, transparent communication

Strong existing team relationships

Fewer parties involved


Duration & Scale

Volatility

Flexibility

Transparency


Stakeholders

Appreciation for the importance of honing your global delivery capability

A framework to help you plan global delivery efforts

Specific tactics to help you improve your execution

ENDTHANK YOU

Matt [email protected]

Distributed Agile

Technology

delivery dates

global delivery capability

offshore delivery center

tw india

tw china

tw americas

thoughtworks india

software development