Agile: A Challenge From the Trenches

We want to do our best work, and yet often cannot manage to do so. Circumstances conspire to impede progress, impair communications, and prevent success. Organizations want to know how much software will cost, and when it will be delivered. Developers want to be proud their work, and they want it to have meaning. However, my view from the trenches indicates that many times these desires are not fulfilled.

I teach classes in Object-Oriented Design, but the most common question I receive is not technical. Students want advice about how to do good work in organizations which profess to be Agile but seem to actively resist their efforts. Bright, committed, and highly motivated programmers feel prevented from acting in the best interests of their organizations. In the short-term they despair, and in the long, they depart.

Agile hasn't failed them, but we might be failing Agile. It's time to take an honest look at the problem and get practical about solutions.

Transcript

1. Apr 2016 @sandimetz Sandi Metz a Challenge from the Trenches
2. @sandimetz Apr 2016
3. @sandimetz Apr 2016
4. @sandimetz Apr 2016
5. @sandimetz Apr 2016
6. @sandimetz Apr 2016
7. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Agile 2016
8. @sandimetz Apr 2016
9. @sandimetz Apr 2016 95% Some Agile
10. @sandimetz Apr 2016 43% Mostly Agile
11. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Wanted
12. @sandimetz Apr 2016
13. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Got
14. @sandimetz Apr 2016
15. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Accelerate product delivery Enhance ability to manage changing priorities Increase productivity Enhance software quality Enhance delivery predictability Improve business/IT alignment Improve project visibility Reduce project risk Improve team morale Improve engineering discipline Reduce project cost Increase software maintainability Better manage distributed teams Ability to manage changing priorities Increased team productivity Improved project visibility Increased team morale/motivation Better delivery predictability Faster time to market Enhanced software quality Reduced project risk Improved business/IT alignment Improved engineering discipline Enhanced software maintainability Better manage distributed teams 87 85 84 81 81 80 79 78 77 73 70 62 62 56 55 47 44 44 40 40 29 24 23 22 21 Wanted Got % %
16. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Software 2016
17. @sandimetz Apr 2016
18. @sandimetz Apr 2016
19. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Modern Resolution of All Projects 15% 30% 45% 60% 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 22% 17% 19% 17% 19% 49% 56% 50% 55% 52% 29% 27% 31% 28% 29% Successful Challenged Failed
20. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Resolution by Project Size 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Grand Large Medium Moderate Small Successful Challenged Failed
21. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Agile 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Large Medium Small Successful Challenged Failed Waterfall Large Medium Small Resolution by Project Size
22. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Resolution: Agile vs Waterfall 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Agile Waterfall Successful Challenged Failed
23. @sandimetz Apr 2016
24. @sandimetz Apr 2016 1
25. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Attributions
26. @sandimetz Apr 2016 What a jerk
27. @sandimetz Apr 2016 I'm in a hurry
28. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Fundamental Attribution Error
29. @sandimetz Apr 2016 2
30. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Teamwork
31. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Project Aristotle
32. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Project Aristotle
33. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Emotional Intelligence of Groups
34. @sandimetz Apr 2016 "equality in distribution of conversational turn-taking"
35. @sandimetz Apr 2016 "average social sensitivity"
36. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Psychological Safety
37. @sandimetz Apr 2016 3
38. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Motivation
39. @sandimetz Apr 2016
40. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Autonomy Mastery Purpose
41. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Advice
42. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Dear Programmers
43. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Dear Programmers re: Programmers
44. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Experiment
45. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Isolate
46. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Depart
47. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Dear Programmers re: Managers
48. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Say "Yes"
49. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Dear Managers
50. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Don't Settle
51. @sandimetz Apr 2016 Own the Human
52. @sandimetz Thanks Apr 2016
53. @sandimetz Apr 2016 References VersionOne, The 10th Annual State of Agile™ Report http://www.infoq.com/articles/standish-chaos-2015 https://hbr.org/2016/01/collaborative-overload Harvard Business Review http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc Daniel Pink RSA Animate "Drive"
54. @sandimetz http://poodr.com Apr 2016
55. @sandimetz http://99bottlesbook.com Apr 2016
56. @sandimetz Sandi Metz @sandimetz http://sandimetz.com Apr 2016