laying a strong foundation for agile transformation

Laying A Strong Foundation for Agile Transformation (Experience Report Presentation @ Agile India 2016 on March 17 2016)

Dr. Gopinath Ramakrishnan Independent Consultant

e-mail: gopi@rgopinath.com Twitter: @gpnth

Website: www.rgopinath.com

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

About the Client

• Multinational Product Company

• Product Development mainly in India

• Organizational Structure – Function Based

• Waterfall Lifecycle

• Prior Exposure to Agile - NONE

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

5 Steps for Effective Agile Initiation

1. Set Sponsor Expectations Right

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

3. Assess the Current Scenario

4. Start, Train & Coach Pilot Project

5. Measure the Impact

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Why Agile ?

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Agile Journey is Not Easy!

Be Prepared for A Major Change !!

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

5 Steps for Effective Agile Initiation

1. Set Sponsor Expectations Right

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

3. Assess the Current Scenario

4. Start, Train & Coach Pilot Project

5. Measure the Impact

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

First Understand Agile

AND ONLY THEN

Commit to Transformation

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Agile Values & Principles Workshop for Leaders

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Agile Workshop – Outcomes

• Business Expectations Emerged

• All Agile Values and Principles found Relevant

• Leadership Team Buy-in Obtained

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

If Being Agile makes Business Sense And Leadership is Willing to Change Then Do Gemba Situation Analysis

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Gemba: Place where value is created

5 Steps for Effective Agile Initiation

1. Set Sponsor Expectations Right

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

3. Assess the Current Scenario

4. Start, Train & Coach Pilot Project

5. Measure the Impact

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Assessment - Objectives

• To Compare Current Practices with Agile Practices and Baseline them

• To Surface any Critical People Issues

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Comparative Agility™

https://comparativeagility.com/

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Parameters Assessed

1. Teamwork

2. Requirements, Architecture and Design

3. Project Planning and Monitoring

4. Engineering Practices

5. Product Quality

6. Work Culture

7. Continuous Improvement

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Assessment - Inputs

• Release Retrospectives

• Survey Responses

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Release Retrospectives

• Most Recent Product Release

• 3 Separate Sessions

– Session 1: Team Members from Potential Pilot Project

– Session 2: Team Members from Other Projects

– Session 3: Project Managers & Line Managers

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Survey Questionnaire

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Extract from the Survey Questionnaire

Pre-Pilot Survey Results - Parameter Ratings

Pilot Candidate 1

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Pilot Candidate 2

Pre-Pilot Survey Results – Practices Needing Attention • Visibility of Progress (41 %)

• Ability to Start with Incomplete Requirements (29%)

• Visibility of Technical Debt (29%)

• Early Identification of Non-functional Requirements (26%)

• Involvement of the Testers (26%)

• Being Productive without Overworking (26%)

• Consideration of Team oriented behavior in Performance Reviews and Compensation (26%)

[Figs. in the bracket are the % of responses rated FAR or VERY FAR from the proven Agile practice]

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Assessment - Conclusions

• Practices lie in the middle of the Agility Scale

• Some Practices need attention

• No Critical Risks to Agile Transformation

– No major issues with Work Culture and Teamwork

Pilots Can Start !

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

5 Steps for Effective Agile Initiation

1. Set Sponsor Expectations Right

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

3. Assess the Current Scenario

4. Start, Train & Coach Pilot Project

5. Measure the Impact

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Pilot Project Details

• Pilot Duration – 6 Weeks ( 3 Sprints)

• Pilot A – Feature Based

– External Customer

– 7 Team Members (5 Programmers + 2 Testers)

• Pilot B – Component Based

– Internal Customers

– 3 Team Members (2 Programmers + 1 Tester)

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Pre-Pilot Workshops

• Agile Values & Principles

• Overview of Agile Methods

• Role of Managers in an Agile World

• Teamwork

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Pilot Project – Process Framework

• Scrum Derivative - NOT Scrum !

• Scrum Events & Artifacts

• Roles different from Scrum

– Project Manager Local Product Owner (LPO)

– Functional Manager Sprint Manager (SM)

• Reporting relationships among LPO, SM & Team Members

– Not an issue ; Work Culture conducive

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Pilot Project – Training & Coaching • Just-in Time; Bite-Sized Workshops

– Timed just before a sprint ceremony

– Actual Work Artifacts (vs simulated exercises )

• Focus of Coaching

– Changing the Mindset

– Improving Teamwork

– Ensuring Effective Sprint Ceremonies

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

5 Steps for Effective Agile Initiation

1. Set Sponsor Expectations Right

2. Get Leadership Buy-in

3. Assess the Current Scenario

4. Start, Train & Coach Pilot Project

5. Measure the Impact

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Extract from the Survey Questionnaire

How many people said

Situation has Become BETTER?

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Impact of Agile on Parameters %

of

Res

po

nse

s

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Impact of Agile on Parameters %

of

Res

po

nse

s

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Parameters % of Responses Rating it “Better”

Requirements, Architecture and Design

100 %

Project Planning & Monitoring

100%

Continuous Improvement 100 %

Teamwork 93 %

Product Quality 93 %

Work Environment 79 %

Engineering Practices 71 %

Impact on Practices

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Impact on Practices

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Impact of Agile on the Practices which were Rated Low in Pre-Pilot Survey

% o

f R

esp

on

ses

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Impact of Agile on the Practices which were Rated Low in Pre-Pilot Survey

% o

f R

esp

on

ses

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Practices % of Responses Rating it “Better”

Progress Visibility 100 %

Early Tester Involvement 93%

Encouragement of Team Behavior

71%

Ability to Start Work with Incomplete Requirements

57 %

Being Productive without Overworking

50 %

Early Identification of NFRs

50%

Technical Debt 36 %

Outcome

Another 8 Teams

earmarked for Agile Transition

in the Next Release

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016

Thank You !

Dr. Gopinath Ramakrishnan Independent Consultant

e-mail: gopi@rgopinath.com Twitter: @gpnth

Website: www.rgopinath.com

(c) Gopinath Ramakrishnan, 2016