Agile Methods and the Business Analyst Mark Foley

Session Objectives Review key characteristics of agile processes Understand agile practices that impact the BA Learn to tailor agile requirements techniques to match your project environment Results 1 - 10 of about 1,190,000 for agile development

Review key characteristics of agile processes

Understand agile practices that impact the BA

Learn to tailor agile requirements techniques to match your project environment

Top 10 Reasons for Success – why are we here ?

Snapshot: Borland’s Agile Transformation Austin Linz Santa Ana Singapore >300 Developers 4 Locations March 2006 Unacceptable delivery cycles Executive support for moving to Agile First “Adoption” – 2 teams - Austin Today 40% of teams Agile Still learning Predictable delivery Faster response to market Improved morale Borland Agile 3 and 4 week sprints Sprint vary by team Some products require coordination of multiple teams

Austin

Linz

Santa Ana

Singapore

March 2006

Unacceptable delivery cycles

Executive support for moving to Agile

First “Adoption” – 2 teams - Austin

Today

40% of teams Agile

Still learning

Predictable delivery

Faster response to market

Improved morale

Borland Agile

3 and 4 week sprints

Sprint vary by team

Some products require coordination of multiple teams

Our Results Increased number of product releases per year by 100% Deepened relationships with strategic customers, who have participated in over 50 sprint reviews Increased customer sat by including minor features in maintenance releases Increased product quality, reducing open issues from one release to next by 50% Increased team productivity through lifted morale. Teams like having ownership & accountability, as well as the feeling they have in releasing working product every 3 weeks

Increased number of product releases per year by 100%

Deepened relationships with strategic customers, who have participated in over 50 sprint reviews

Increased customer sat by including minor features in maintenance releases

Increased product quality, reducing open issues from one release to next by 50%

Increased team productivity through lifted morale. Teams like having ownership & accountability, as well as the feeling they have in releasing working product every 3 weeks

The other view

Manifesto for Agile Software Development That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.” http://www.agilemanifesto.org Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation Responding to Change over Following a Plan

Bad Ideas?

Agile Today

The Business Analyst Role in Agile

The Business Analyst Role in Agile

Scrum, FDD, XP Agile Methodologies Project Management Engineering FDD XP Scrum

Scrum: Lifecycle 8. Product Increment (potentially shippable) 6. Day 5. Sprint (2-4 weeks) 4. Tasks detailed by the team 1. Vision (ROI, milestones, releases) 2. Product Backlog, with features prioritized by the Product Owner 3. Sprint Backlog 7. Daily Standup Meeting 9. Inspect and Adapt

Evolution of BA Role in XP XP view of requirements Onsite customer (implied singular customer) Being an XP customer is not easy. There are skills you have to learn, like writing good stories, and an attitude that will make you successful. Most of all, though, you have to become comfortable influencing a project without being able to control it. Kent Beck, 2000

XP view of requirements

Onsite customer (implied singular customer)

Evolution of BA Role in Agile XP view of requirements Onsite customer (implied singular customer) Recognition that customer could be a team of people ‘ Some larger teams doing XP have teams of customers. The important thing isn’t so much that there is a single customer, but that the ‘customer speaks with one voice.’ Michael Feathers, 2001

XP view of requirements

Onsite customer (implied singular customer)

Recognition that customer could be a team of people

Evolution of BA Role in Agile XP view of requirements Onsite customer (implied singular customer) Recognition that customer could be a team of people Recognition of the role of a customer representative

XP view of requirements

Onsite customer (implied singular customer)

Recognition that customer could be a team of people

Recognition of the role of a customer representative

Scrum: Roles Product Owner Scrum Master Team members Alternative Name: User, Customer Role Definition: The Product Owner represents the custumer/user/sponsor of the project, and is part of the team which will deliver the product. Main Activities: Define the vision for the product, manage the Return On Investment (ROI), present the needed requirements to the team for the product delivery, prioritize requirements, manage addition/changes to requirements, plan releases, assure the Domain Experts are available to the team. Alternative Names: Project Manager/Leader, Coach Role Definition: The role of Scrum Master, unlike a Project Manager in many practices and methodologies, differ from the traditional “command and control”. In Scrum, the Scrum Master works with and, more important, for the team. Main Activities: Allow the team to be self-managed, guide and help the team to correctly follow Scrum practices, remove any impediment found by the team, protect the team from external interference, facilitate the daily meetings. Alternative Names: Developers, Technicians, Testers Role Definition: A team member is someone committed to do the necessary work to achieve the Sprint goal. Main Activities: Define the Sprint goal, be committed to the work and to the high quality, work towards the product vision and the Sprint goal, estimate items on the Product Backlog, attend the daily meetings.

Alternative Name: User, Customer

Role Definition: The Product Owner represents the custumer/user/sponsor of the project, and is part of the team which will deliver the product.

Main Activities: Define the vision for the product, manage the Return On Investment (ROI), present the needed requirements to the team for the product delivery, prioritize requirements, manage addition/changes to requirements, plan releases, assure the Domain Experts are available to the team.

Alternative Names: Project Manager/Leader, Coach

Role Definition: The role of Scrum Master, unlike a Project Manager in many practices and methodologies, differ from the traditional “command and control”. In Scrum, the Scrum Master works with and, more important, for the team.

Main Activities: Allow the team to be self-managed, guide and help the team to correctly follow Scrum practices, remove any impediment found by the team, protect the team from external interference, facilitate the daily meetings.

Alternative Names: Developers, Technicians, Testers

Role Definition: A team member is someone committed to do the necessary work to achieve the Sprint goal.

Main Activities: Define the Sprint goal, be committed to the work and to the high quality, work towards the product vision and the Sprint goal, estimate items on the Product Backlog, attend the daily meetings.

Agile Requirements Techniques and Practices

Agile Requirements Techniques and Practices

Stories “ A User Story is a story, told by the user, specifying how the system is supposed to work , written on a card, and of a complexity permitting estimation of how long it will take to implement. The User Story promises as much subsequent conversation as necessary to fill in the details of what is wanted . The cards themselves are used as tokens in the planning process after assessment of business value and [possibly] risk. The customer prioritizes the stories and schedules them for implementation.”

Story Issues Content Level of Detail Team size, distribution Availability of Stakeholders Transitory What Requirements Documents do we want
eed to preserve How are they Evolved Do we really want to jump straight to system functionality?

Content Level of Detail

Team size, distribution

Availability of Stakeholders

Transitory

What Requirements Documents do we want
eed to preserve

How are they Evolved

Do we really want to jump straight to system functionality?

Context Good Requirements (IEEE definitions) Set is complete Set is consistent Set is modifiable Decomposition Organize stories by relating to higher level artifacts “ If you lose a card, and if the customer does not detect that loss, then the card wasn’t very important.” Robert C. Martin

Good Requirements (IEEE definitions)

Set is complete

Set is consistent

Set is modifiable

Decomposition

Organize stories by relating to higher level artifacts

Traditional RM Functional Nonfunctional Business Requirements Vision and Scope Document User Requirements Business Rules Quality Attributes Use Cases System Requirements Functional Requirements Constraints External Interfaces Software Requirements Specification

Large Scale Agile Functional Nonfunctional Business Requirements Vision and Scope Document User Requirements Business Rules Quality Attributes Use Cases System Requirements Story Constraints External Interfaces Backlog

User Involvement BA a substitute for user? Agile characteristics to promote user involvement Frequent “releases” Daily stand up

BA a substitute for user?

Agile characteristics to promote user involvement

Frequent “releases”

Daily stand up

The Agile Lifecycle BA Effort Time Project Duration

Up Front Effort JIT Requirements Elaboration vs Up front elaboration JIT Rapid progress early Earlier customer feedback Could get blind-sided Up front Elaboration More up front effort, more time till customer feedback Clarify overall scope and size sooner Considerations CostEffort of development Governance framework, funding model Uniqueness

JIT Requirements Elaboration vs Up front elaboration

JIT

Rapid progress early

Earlier customer feedback

Could get blind-sided

Up front Elaboration

More up front effort, more time till customer feedback

Clarify overall scope and size sooner

Considerations

CostEffort of development

Governance framework, funding model

Uniqueness

Cost to Change Curve Cost of Change Lifecycle Stage $ $ $ $ $ ‘ What if we got good at reducing the costs of ongoing changes? Kent Beck, 1999

The BA as a Tester Consider Value of independent view Specialized test activities Usability Performance Security

Consider

Value of independent view

Specialized test activities

Usability

Performance

Security

Embrace Change That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.” http://www.agilemanifesto.org Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation Responding to Change over Following a Plan

Session Objectives Review key characteristics of agile processes Understand agile practices that impact the BA Learn to tailor agile requirements techniques to match your project environment

Review key characteristics of agile processes

Understand agile practices that impact the BA

Learn to tailor agile requirements techniques to match your project environment