Primer into Agile methodology – how it differs from Waterfall Blue Ocean Workshops BlueOceanWorkshops.com
Primer into Agile methodology – how it differs from Waterfall
Blue Ocean Workshops
BlueOceanWorkshops.com
Agenda:
• Waterfall as a point of reference and project’s methodology understanding
• Why and when Agile projects better fit for some types of projects
• Scrum overview
• Scrum’s cadence of events
• Lessons learn how to transition from waterfall to Agile
Waterfall Project Management process as a point of reference
• Started in circa 1970 as a software process
• Each block in the diagram is a distinctive phase (previous phase must be completed and signed off before next phase is started)
• Requires strict hierarchy and control over all phases
Planning Executing Closing
Team’s view
Waterfall (SDLC) project management - PM
Business or PM view
Initiating Planning Executing Controlling Closing
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Slide 4
AS1 Andrew Soswa, 11/8/2018
Waterfall hierarchy
• Waterfall or predictive methodology requires top-down, command-and-control structure
The Boss
Director A
Worker A Worker B
Director B
Why Waterfall projects fail?
• Long delivery time form Initiation to product/service’s delivery to operational state
• Inability to provide a preview of a product to stakeholders
• Costly changes within and after the project’s end
• Wrong fit for organization’s culture and strategy
• Wrong fit or product/service for a project’s type
• Can you name any others?
Iron Triangle vs Agile Triangle
Waterfall vs Agile utilization
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Initiation Planning Executing
(dev&QA)
Closing
Waterfall utilization (2,763) vs effective (1,306) hours – per year
Utilization hours per team Effective hours per team
0
50
100
150
200
250
HO
UR
S S
PEN
T
SPRINT NUMBER - 2 SPRINTS IN 1 MONTH
Agile utilization (4,720) vs effective (2,464) hours – per year
Utilization (billable) hours Effective hours
Agile Principles
• # 1: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
• # 7: Working software is the primary measure of progress.
• # 8: Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Source: https://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
WhatIs Agile?
Agile is seen as…
Organizational reason d’etre
• Innovative and transformational business strategy
Methodology
• A framework of processes focused on the Team delivering a Minimum Viable Product
Process:
• Just a process for a specific project
Agile as business strategy
Change Management strategy that transforms organization to rapidly innovate and adapt to changing environment
Primary goal is to remove silos and create cross-functional collaborative teams
• Caveat – most Agile
Transformations will fail
Picture: http://www.powermasters.com/Centrifugal_Force.html
Agile as a methodology
A methodology is a set of processes and governing principles
Agile methodologies include:
• Scrum
• Lean
• XP
• Kanban
• Others
Agile as a process
Because Agile is still evolving and expanding knowledge area, it allows to creatively experiment and propose new designs (fail forward)
At this state of Agile development, the language is imprecise and confusing, which results in some Agile practitioners to call their process Agile (instead of i.e. Scrum, or maybe it is truly new Agile process that does not have a name)
The confusion arise because there is no central body governing the Agile process development (like PMI)
Misconceptions about Agile
• Comparing Agile processes to waterfall, i.e.
Earned Value is same as MVP
• Planning is not required
• Only for software development projects
• Documentation is not created
• Team is lacking standards and hierarchy
Agile makes sense because…
…the main goal of the Agile methodology is to deliver what customer wants (MVP) as soon as possible
Minimum Viable Product
• It is a finished product that can be shown, sold, or delivered to a customer in a shortest amount of time
• It might not be perfect, but Just Barely Good Enough for customer’s or business needs
• Also known as:• Minimum Marketable Product
• Potentially Shippable Product
Qualities of Agile teams
• Self-directing
• Adaptive
• Knowledgeable
• Resourceful
• Committed
• Trustful
• Collaborative
Agile teams might not fit your organization when
• Your organization is highly siloed with a limited knowledge sharing and cross-department collaboration
• Your business management methodology depends on directive management style (giving/taking orders) rather than trusting individuals to perform to the best of their abilities
• Your HR calls employees as resources rather than valuable team members and individuals
Best methodology for type of project
Type of project Best
methodology
Why
Compliance Kanban End product is known but must be delivered asap (i.e. planning is irrelevant)
Software Scrum End product must evolve to be fully known (creative)
Hardware / Construction
Waterfall End product is known at the beginning of the project (adherence to pre-set requirements is important)
Production Line / Call center
Lean (Six Sigma) End product depends on superior quality and customer’s satisfaction
WhatIs Scrum?
What is Scrum?
An Agile methodology that delivers MVP (Minimum Viable Product) iteratively
• Lightweight (on processes)
• Simple to understand (aha moments)
• Extremely difficult to master
Agile Methodologies and Practices used today
Source: https://stateofagile.versionone.com/
Agile Scrum
• Each sprint (also called iteration) is a separate ‘phase’ of a project
• Each iteration consists of:• Backlog Refinement
• Sprint Planning
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Acceptance
• Sprint Retrospective
• Based on:• Repeatable cadence of events• Team interactions• Iterative product development/testing/refinement
The Scrum Team
Product Owner
(more responsibilities than a BA)
Scrum Master
(different responsibilities than PM)
Team Members
(more responsibilities than a waterfall team)
3 types of Product Owner roles
• Acting as an ultimate end-user
• Directing the team that acts as end-users
• Facilitating works based on research from true end-users
Howdoes Scrum
work?
Agile Scrum projects initiation
• Envisioning / Product Ideation• Initial product/service business planning
• Project starts with Sprint 0• Team Onboarding
• Backlog creation by PO
• Backlog Refinement by team (need enough refined user stories for approx. 2.5 sprints)
Events on a sample Scrum project
• Sprint 1 through Sprint n must contain 5 events in every sprint:
• Sprint Planning – on day 1 of the sprint
• Backlog Refinement – on day 3 or 4 of the sprint
• Sprint Delivery – on last day of the sprint
• Sprint Refinement – last event of the sprint
• Daily Scrum – every day of the sprint
• Other evens are introduced when needed:• UX/UI design sprints
• Architectural design sprints
• QA testing sprints
• Release Sprints
RequirementsBacklog (of User Stories)
Refinement
Waterfall users SMART refining, while Agile should use INVEST refining
SMART
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound
INVEST
• Independent
• Small
• Negotiable
• Valuable
• Estimate-able
• Testable
More aboutAgile & Waterfall
Agile/waterfall hybrid methodology
Project Initiation
Sprint 0 Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint nProject Close
PM as Agile Project Manager
PM as SM PM as SM PM as SM PM as SM
Management / Stakeholders
Three primary reason why it is so difficult to transition to Agile
• Organizational culture
• Philosophy:• PMI.org:
• Project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result
• Agile Manifesto:• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan
• Lack of consistent methodology/processes
Top reasons why you should NOT implement Agile
• My competitor is doing it
• Lack of understanding of own business strategy and competitive advantage
• I’ve read about it
• Agile is easy to read and is based on best work practices – but it is also frequently misunderstood
• I want to see if it works
• Does more damage to your business & Agile than any other reason
• Everything Agile is great and everything great is Agile
• Sales pitch from Agile vendors and Agilists
Factors of a successful Agile project
• The firm possess one, established project methodology for each product/service type
• The organization possesses a tool fitted for the project’s type that helps in managing a project (Jira, MS Project Agile, TFS Agile, Azure, or another Agile tool)
• The Team learns, understands, accepts, and follows the methodology
• Each project has an Agile Project Team
Agile is NOT something that you become…
… Agile is something that you become more of
About the presenter:
Andrew Soswa, PMP, CSM, PSM, PMI-ACP, Agile Coach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsoswa
Blogs on www.blueoceanworkshops.com
Email: [email protected]