Are you failing at being agile? #digitallabin

In these past few years, agile methods became a vital part in the software development process, but are they really applicable for all types of projects and team sizes?

A while ago, our company changed the way we approach project development because the team noticed that standard SCRUM-ish methods aren't fully compatible for us, so we developed our own, modified version of agile. In this talk, I will showcase how powerful this approach is and how you can use it to find problems, and eventually resolve them.

Transcript

1. Are you failing at being agile? Antonio Perić-Mažar, Locastic 28.09.2019. - #digitallabin
2. Antonio Perić-Mažar CEO @ Locastic Co-founder @ Litto Co-founder @ Tinel Meetup Co-founder @ Blockada t: @antonioperic m: antonio@locastic.com
3. Locastic Helping clients create web and mobile apps since 2011 • UX/UI • Mobile apps • Web apps • Training & Consulting www.locastic.com @locastic
5. “We do a daily standup in the morning; we are an Agile shop”.
6. “We do a daily standup in the morning; we are an Agile shop”. - no, you are not
7. • Software development agency • 20+ employees • More than one project running at same time • Different clients, different locations of clients Context
8. We stared with the waterfall.
9. We stared with the waterfall. And we fall. Hard.
10. Let’s go AGILE!
12. Let’s do SCRUM!
13. Well, this is fun and ok, but still… results are better, but…
14. 1st problem:
 we focused to much on framework
15. Scrum is a great option when you’re a team at a software vendor with a clear focus to deliver a specific product.
16. Scrum is a great option when you’re a team at a software vendor with a clear focus to deliver a specific product. External dependencies (clients)
17. AGILE !== SCRUM
18. AGILE > SCRUM
19. If you are doing SCRUM, you are not Agile company, you need to have Agile mindset.
21. We cannot sell the waterfall and do it agile!
22. Ideal project: - time&materials - no budget - no deadlines - no/flexible scope
23. Ideal project: - time&materials - no budget - no deadlines - no/flexible scope doesn’t exist
24. • Flexible budget + Project idea • Fixed budget + Project idea • Flexible budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/ prototypes) • Fixed budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/prototypes). Type of projects
25. • Flexible budget + Project idea • Fixed budget + Project idea -> AVOID! • Flexible budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/ prototypes) • Fixed budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/prototypes). Type of projects
26. If the scope, the deadline and the price have already been set at the beginning, it no longer makes sense to try and implement an agile framework such as Scrum.
27. Time&Materials model
28. • Huge level of trust • Easily overcome as soon as one has completed an agile project together • Requires education of the client and huge level of empathy on both sides • Today is much easier to sell it then 5 years ago, it is almost a standard • Empathy, understanding and patience on both sides Time&Materials model
29. Clients still want estimates
30. Involve the project team in the acquisition phase as early as possible
31. UX/UI first development
34. #1 value Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
35. Forget the service provider role (and work as a team with your client) - add empathy
37. Product Owner
38. Implement one measure at a time
39. #2 value Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
40. #3 value Working software over comprehensive documentation
41. • It should be clear at first glance what feature the task is related to • Description of a task should always begin with its purpos • A task should always be written in a way that is relevant for the whole tea • A task should list all important steps for completing it • Criteria should be very specific and related to the task, and should contain real testable example • Each task should contain a direct link to a wireframe and/or design view Anatomy of a Task
43. #4 value Responding to change over following a plan
44. The Law of the customer an obsession with delivering value to customers as the be-all and end-all of the organization.
45. The Law of the small team a presumption that all work be carried out by small self -organizing teams, working in short cycles and focused on delivering value to customers—and
46. The Law of the network a continuing effort to obliterate bureaucracy and top-down hierarchy so that the firm operates as an interacting network of teams, all focused on working together to deliver increasing value to customers
47. #bestAdviceEver Stop being heroic command giver, and start being humble gardener
48. • People and project are more important then process (methodology) • Scrum is just a framework that we adjusted to ourself • It is a philosophy not a process • It is probably the best solution at the moment for chaotic systems • It is easy to learn in theory, but it is very hard to practice it, especially with external parties (clients) How we see Agile today
49. • Agile is way of thinking, and it should be integrated to each part of the team/company: • it should be a way of thinking • a way of writing the tasks • a way of signing the contracts • a way of doing business development • and etc. How we see Agile today
50. • it is good for organisation and task management • it delivers new features constantly, client can see the progress and client is more involved in entire process • usually clients are more happy • if everything is setup well, it is very easy to rotate team members Advantages
51. • client is part of development process, and software development is no longer strange thing for them • there is no bunch of documentation • entire team is more focuses on delivering high quality product Advantages
52. • It is very hard to get client on location all the time • Product owner role is very hard, and usually clients don’t have person who is ready to take that role • in this situation team need to have one more person who will do training and consulting to help client with assignments • Client almost always wants to know price and deadlines • in this case sometimes SCRUM/AGILE is not possible and it becomes just a show Disadvantages
53. • Sometimes clients don’t get the concepts of agile, as they are used in traditional processes • If team and client are not on the same location, it makes process slower • Client is usually more involved in the beginning • It is not for inexperienced teams Disadvantages
54. • Lean Development • Extreme programming, pair programming • BDD, TDD, DDD… • CI/CD • Automation of processes (testing, deploying, etc) Agile is not just SCRUM
55. Where we are going with agile today?
56. Moving to Kanban more!
57. Be Agile with Agile!
58. • increased number of releases • reduced number of bugs • better and more quality metrics per teams • design process are drastically improved • moral of teams and people is increasead • clients are more happy Results
59. “I’m sick of it. I can’t wait for the day when everyone realises how much of a fad-diet, religious-cult-inspired, money-making exercise it is for a group of consultants. I can’t wait for people to wake up to the fact that the only good parts of Agile are just basic common sense and don’t need a ‘manifesto’ or evangelists to support them.”. - the rant of Luke Halliwell some ten years ago
60. The is no one-size-fits- all approach for agencies.
61. Without an Agile mindset, Agile remains an inert, lifeless set of ceremonies.
62. Thank you!
63. Questions? Antonio Perić-Mažar t: @antonioperic m: antonio@locastic.com