it's (still) ok to be pragmatic!

IT’S (STILL) OKAY TO BE

PRAGMATIC!

JAMES HARVEY

JAMES HARVEY▸ Over a decade working with Agile teams▸ From developer to trainer and coach▸ Agile Snap: BCS Accredited Training Partner▸ Co-organiser of South Wales Agile Group▸ Pragmatic!

WHY TALK ABOUT PRAGMATISM?▸ Project teams can be extremely stubborn▸ Teams often feel confined by their processes▸ Leaders can be precious about a specific framework▸ Don’t just do the right thing, do it the right way▸ Empowering individuals and teams▸ Shaking that sense of entitlement

AGILE IS GREAT▸ It’s great that we all believe in Agile▸ Even better, we care about how we deliver software▸ Agile delivery became a thing because waterfall

delivery just didn’t cut it for software projects▸ If used correctly, there is no better way to deliver

software▸ But we’ve gotten a little lost recently▸ Desire to pick a framework immediately

CHOOSING A FRAMEWORK

FOCUS ON BUSINESS

JUSTIFICATION & SATISFACTION

EMPHASIS ON DIVIDING THE PROJECT INTO MANAGEABLE

AND CONTROLLABLE

STAGES

FLEXIBILITY THAT CAN BE APPLIED

AT A LEVEL APPROPRIATE TO

THE PROJECT

DEALING WITH THINGS SENSIBLY AND REALISTICALLY IN A WAY THAT IS BASED ON PRACTICAL RATHER THAN THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS. Pragmatic

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

“PRACTICAL RATHER THAN THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS”▸ Come up with a solution that fits the problem ▸ This might start with what a process tells you what to

do▸ Abandon the process if it doesn’t work▸ Use your experience to think of a new solution▸ Remember what worked for next time…▸ …but don’t have a process for everything

“PRACTICAL RATHER THAN THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS”

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED,TRY, TRY, TRY AGAIN.

William Edward Hickson

WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?

▸ What data do we have?

▸ What do we know?

▸ What does this mean to us?

▸ What’s the context?

▸ What are we going to do with this?

▸ What have we learned?

SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE▸ It is!▸ Try something; if it fails, try something else▸ Don’t continue to do the same thing just because the

process tells you to do so▸ Use your experience as a professional to make

decisions▸ Fail early and adapt

ADAP

TATIO

N

INSPEC

TION

TRAN

SPAR

ENCY

BEING PRAGMATIC IS EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK…

IT STARTS WITH LEADERSHIP

▸ Focus on the practical “how do we get this done” side of a task

▸ Take each step at a time, adjusting regularly

▸ Realistic; often seen as negative

PRAGMATIC LEADERS

IDEALIST LEADERS

▸ Focus on the vision; big ideas

▸ Focus on the end result rather than the path/journey

▸ Rose-tinted glasses

WHICH IN TURN AFFECTS CULTURE▸ Leaders will influence team and organisation culture▸ Involve everyone▸ Pragmatic approach allows us to identify our current

weaknesses without ▸ Dismissing current processes invokes a “them and us”

attitude▸ Culture can be the single most important factor when

it comes to delivery success or failure

OURCOMPANYCULTURE


PEOPLE AND INTERACTIONS OVER PROCESSES AND TOOLS

WE DON’T WANT TO “BURN” ANYTHING▸ Use the best of everything!▸ The best Agile practitioners are framework agnostic▸ Never be precious about a framework▸ The grass is sometimes greener▸ Outside of the box thinking for retrospective actions▸ If something works for you; great!

YESTERDAY I DID THIS THING…

TODAY I’M DOING THIS

THING…

I DON’T HAVE ANY BLOCKERS

…

I WONDER IF ANYONE SAW THE FOOTBALL LAST NIGHT…

THERE’S FAR MORE TO AGILE

AGILESCRUM

LEAN

DSDM

KANBAN

LESSSAFE

SCRUM IS POPULAR

START WITH AGILE, NOT SCRUM▸ Almost all teams adopt Scrum or another framework

straight off the bat▸ Consider your existing process and any barriers▸ Use a Kanban approach to map your existing process

workflow and look for quick wins▸ Don’t just pick a flavour of Agile straight away;

become Agile first!


WORKING SOFTWARE OVER COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENTATION

BUT NOT JUST WORKING SOFTWARE▸ Working software shows us what we’ve achieved▸ It’s the most practical consideration you can get!▸ Working software alone doesn’t always help with

forecasting▸ So we might still need to produce documents▸ We still need to know things that only reporting and

documentation can help us with


CUSTOMER COLLABORATION OVER CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

BLANK CHEQUE?

COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTS▸ The customer has a right to expect something by an

agreed date▸ However, project teams also cannot be expected to

commit to a big bang delivery▸ Both sides should agree that quality will not be

compromised whatever happens▸ The solution is somewhere in the middle

THE PRAGMATIC IRON TRIANGLE

SCOPE

COST QUALITY

TIME

PRAGMATIC ESTIMATION▸ We can (and should) estimate at any stage of the

project▸ The scale we use should be appropriate for the

stage in which we are

TASKSSMALLEST ITEMSESTIMATE WITH

HOURSUSER STORIESSMALL ITEMS

ESTIMATE WITH STORY POINTSEPIC STORIES

MEDIUM ITEMSESTIMATE WITH

SHIRT SIZESTHEMES

LARGE ITEMSESTIMATE WITH

AFFINITYIDEAS

LARGEST ITEMSESTIMATE WITH FINGER IN AIR


RESPONDING TO CHANGE OVER FOLLOWING A PLAN

PLANNING TO CHANGE▸ Planning in Agile teams should be frequent▸ Responding to change is essential▸ We should plan in a way that encourages change▸ Have requirements, but keep them as brief as

possible▸ Respect your customer▸ Think of change more as refinement

DON’T OBSESS OVER DETAILS

TAKE PRAGMATISM BEYOND THE AGILE MANIFESTO...

BECOME MORE PRAGMATIC▸ Beware of tunnel vision▸ Think outside of the box▸ Don’t be afraid to “break the rules”▸ Don’t lose faith!▸ A pragmatic approach will help you work in a more

Agile way, whilst respecting your existing business▸ The journey is far more important than the goal

PICK YOUR BATTLES

HIDDEN TRUTHS OF AGILE TRANSITION▸ It’s going to cost a lot of money▸ It’s going to be very disruptive▸ You won’t see a ROI for a while▸ Small changes will make a difference▸ You probably can’t use a single framework by the

letter▸ This is exactly why we need a pragmatic approach

it's (still) ok to be pragmatic!

Business