Agile Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization

Do you need to bring several teams or people across the organization together to produce a finished product? If so, you have a program. Many people think of various scaling frameworks to organize that work. However, scaling processes creates bloat and complexity.

Instead of scaling processes, scale collaboration between people.

When people collaborate, they organize the work in ways that make sense. They will develop and release products your customers want.

Transcript

1. Agile & Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization Johanna Rothma n @johannarothma n www.jrothman.com
2. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 2
3. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What Worked? • Clear program visio n • Clear deliverable s • Feature teams who delivered at least every da y • Unit tests and system tests as suppor t • Respect and trust across the organization 3 Trust Respect Delivery
4. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Program Management • Organizing and coordinating several projects’ results into one deliverable. • That deliverable has the value to the organization . • Product focus 4
5. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Programs Are Riskier Than Projects • Projects don’t scale linearly to program s • The larger and the longer the program, the more risky it i s • The more pieces the program has, the more risky it has 5
6. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Scaling process leads to bloa t Scaling collaboration leads to product 6
7. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Programs are Complex or Complicated 7
8. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Agile Teams 8
9. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Scale from One Team to Many Teams? • What do you need to scale collaboration from one team to multiple teams? 9
10. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman “Scaling” Agile requires : Autonom y Collaboratio n Exploration 10
11. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Use Sense-Making to Assist the Program • Where do you have unknowns ? • What can you do to move from unknown to known ? • What principles work ? • Think and experiment : • Probe, sense, respond 11
12. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Organize the Teams • Teams decide if they use iterations or fl ow as long as they deliver often • Hourly or daily deliver y • Internally, if not externall y • Evolving architectur e • Plan to replan 12
13. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What We Want in Programs • See progress • Pervasive communication between team s • Problem-solving autonom y • Information has to fl ow freely around the organizatio n • Hierarchies slow everything down 13
14. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What’s the Most Effective Way to Move Information In Your Organization? 14
15. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Rumor Mill 15
16. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Small World Networks • Small world networks are more-and- less connected agile team s • How connected are you to everyone else ? • Some of you are highly connecte d • Some less s o • Programs take advantage of the network so they don’t need hierarchies 16
17. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Use Small-World Networks • Feature teams take responsibilit y • Small-world networks provide autonomy and collaboratio n • Communities of practice help with exploration 17
18. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Roadmaps & Backlogs Provide Team Autonomy • Roadmap is the wish lis t • Backlog is what teams will d o • Rank everything by valu e • Sometimes learning about risk is valuable 18
19. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Typical Roadmap 19
20. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Reality of Plans… • Some feature sets have more changes, more feature s • Arrival rate of changes/new features is unpredictabl e • Some features more valuable than other s • Leads to pressure on teams to do “more” & “change” 20
21. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Continual Planning One month rolling wave: time based 21 One quarter lean roadmap: scope- based
22. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Change is Key • The more often you release, the more successful the product will b e • Fast feedback all over the progra m • Inspect and adap t • Value-based approach to product development 22
23. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lean is Essential • See the fl ow of work all over the organizatio n • Manage WI P • Create knowledg e • See the whole 23
24. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Collaborate with Tests & Integration • Create a program environment where people can collaborat e • Tests and CI help teams collaborat e • Safe places to explor e • Autonomous teams deliver features often 24
25. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What About Component Teams? 25
26. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Agile Changes Program Management • Teams (not managers) manage : • Commitment • How they build feature s • Evolve architectur e • Program management • Removes obstacles • Collects and explains program status 26
27. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Core Program Team • Manages organizational risk s • Shepherds product business value 27
28. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Software Program Team • Resolves obstacles for technical team s • Shepherds business value of the architecture, the code, the testing… 28
29. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Seeing Program Progress • Program level measures ! • Working product is the best measur e • Do not even think about using team velocities and merging them 29
30. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Product Backlog Burnup 30
31. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Agile and Lean Program Management Scales • Trust teams to do their work (autonomy ) • Release often (to see progress and invite collaboration ) • Frequent releases encourage exploratio n • It’s agile and lean all the way down 31
32. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Let’s Stay in Touch • Pragmatic Manager: • www.jrothman.com/ pragmaticmanage r • Please link with me on LinkedI n • Agile and Lean Program Management: https://www.jrothman.com/ALPM 32