Doing Agile vs. BEING AgileThe Product Value Team

Eating the World• 5 Billion Internet connected smartphones

• Sony/Nokia/… – Hardware companies

– (close to death or slaves)

• Disney/Pixar – software companies

• Financial Industry – software companies

• Amazon to Walmart – software companies with warehouses

• Fedex– software company with trucks

• Microsoft/Oracle – old software that needs rewriting

• Dishwashers (lasers!), rice cookers, refrigerators, cars,TV.

– Filled of software

• Defense/Construction/Energy Sectors

– Increasingly software & robots controlled with software

• US Government – World’s largest software development organization

Marc AndressenWSJ 2011

Key Points

• Software is everywhere – products & services– Just doing it competently is no longer enough– Great products need to be the focus

• Agile is now standard best practice for software development– Many went in this direction long ago…– Mostly it is helping, but many are doing it wrong…

• Guiding Agile teams is the next huge challenge– Creativity of the ENTIRE team is essential– But great products are rarely “designed by committee”

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Process ?

Fad?

Methodology ?

Cult?

No Documentation

Framework ?Approach ?

No Planning

No Architecture

Chaos

No Discipline

What is Agile ?

6Original Research by Carol Dweck

Growth MindsetAbility can growDevelop Ability

Leads to a desire to learn

Fixed MindsetAbility is inherent and static

Demonstrate Ability

Leads to a desire to look good/smart

Success

A mindset is the established set of attitudes held by

someone

Looking good and avoiding challenges and obstacles because it is a risk for failure and will make them look bad.

Stick to what they know and can do and as a result achieve less than their full potential.

Feedback and criticism is personal as it impacts self-image.

They don’t change or improve much with time, if at all, and so to them this confirms that “they are as they are”.

Embracing challenges because they will learn something new or they will fail and that is an opportunity to learn also.

Not afraid to put lots of effort to learn and master something new

Feedback and criticism is not about them but about current capabilities

View feedback as a source of new information that encourages them to keep learning and improving.

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Success Delivering Software

Aim to look good by delivering planned results

Assumes that customer knows exactly what they want therefore tries to fix the requirements (change is not desired)

Assumes that developers know exactly how to build it (and learning is punished)

Assumes and hopes that nothing will change along the way

Aim to learn and deliver desired results

Allows the customer to learn and discover what they want when they see it and experience it. (Change is welcome)

The developers discovers how to build it when they build it (learning is rewarded)

Many things change along the way

Agile MindsetAbility can growDevelop Ability

Leads to a desire to learn

Leads to a desire to look good/smart

Aspire towards

Fixed MindsetAbility is inherent and static

Demonstrate Ability

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A mindset is the established set of attitudes held by someone

• Learn through Discovery• Collaboration• Failing Early• Seeking Feedback for learning • Strive for Continuous Delivery • Focus on Value

Agile is a mindset defined by values guided by principles and manifested through many different practices

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Agile is a mindset defined by values guided by principles and manifested through many different practices

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Internalizing the Mindset, values, and principles then applying the right practices and tailoring them to different situations as they arise

Learning the practices and applying them without know the mindset and principles to know when to tailor and how to select the appropriate practices

Being Agile Doing Agile

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Defined Process Empirical Process

Management Approach: Coordination and Control

Management Approach:Inspect and Adapt

Predictable Outcome Non-Predictable Outcome

Discovery NeededHigh Uncertainty Creativity NeededHigh Change Rates

No DiscoveryLow Uncertainty No CreativityLow Change Rates

The process needs to provide true visibility as well as be lightweight, flexible and nimble enough to constantly adapt.

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Value Driven Customer Focus

Resources

Calendar Time

Scope

Value Driven

Welcoming change by constantly

reprioritizing to deliver highest

value items first.

Superman/Superwoman needed?

• Expectations continue to expand– Need a Persuasive Leader– Need Technical Depth– Need Sales Skills– Need Writing Skills– Accurate Customer Proxy– Good Researcher– Good Analyst– Internal Communication

• Responsibility without Authority?– Living in the Matrix

• Responsible for the product• Rarely directs resources

The Value Team Role• Vision to reality• Collaborative effort is essential– Agile techniques supportive– PO role almost unworkable as defined

• Instead of Manager or Controller think Director or Auteur.– A team is needed

“The quality of any collaborative creative endeavor tends to approach the level of taste of whoever is in charge” – John Gruber

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The Business Analyst Role• Often criticized by Agile-ists– a separate camp pulling in a different direction

• Can be invaluable parts the Value Team• Key is for the Value Team to be in sync• Business Analysts must explain both ways– Business to Programmers– Technical to Business decision makers

• BA authority “on loan” from Product Owners

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Value Team New Roles• Value Team Facilitator– Make sure the team a team– Ensure responsiveness and output– All voices/inputs considered

• Value Director or Product Owner– Keeper of the Vision – motivator– Ultimate tie breaker/decision maker• Needed a lot = smell

– Sets the high level priorities

Key Concepts for Products

• Getting on the same page– Classic

• Positioning – Reis and Trout• Crossing the Chasm – Moore• Innovator’s Dilemma – Christenson• Cluetrain Manifesto – Locke, Searls, et al.

– New(er) Thinking• Global Opportunities – Prahalad, Ravel, et al.• Four steps to the Epiphany – Stephen Blank• The Lean Startup – Eric Ries• Product Development Flow – Donald Reinertsen• Continuous Delivery – Jez Humble