Agile Transformation at Xtrakter

AGILE TRANSFORMATION AT XTRAKTER

INTRODUCTIONSPEAKERS Gary Jones, Valtech Alastair Brown, Valtech Graeme Austin, Xtrakter Gary Maplestone, XtrakterEXPERIENCE REPORT ON THE AGILE TRANSFORMATION AT XTRAKTER

INTRODUCTION BUSINESS CASE FOR CHANGE – Graeme Austin PROCESS FOR CHANGE – Gary Jones SHAPING THE PROCESS - Gary Maplestone THE POWER OF METRICS – Alastair Brown QUESTIONS

XTRAKTER BUSINESS CASE

XTRAKTER OVERVIEW Market infrastructure for bond trading Transaction reporting conduit to the FSA Primary data repository for European bond market ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES  Silo mentality  Legacy culture from previous management  Preparing company for saleXtrakter is part of the Euroclear group of companies. Xtrakter is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) ofthe UK as an approved Service Company FRN: 491843

XTRAKTER TIMELINE 2007-2008 September 2007  Product management department formed  First analysis of product life cycle, soup to nuts  Issues around Velocity company-wide October 2007  Time to market  Predictable quality  Predictable delivery November 2007 onwards  Prepare company for sale September October January 2009 November Nov 2008 2007 Product 2007 First Oct 2008 Selection of 2007 Prepare Sale life cycle review of Health Check Consultancy for Sale Agreement begins Waterfall begins

XTRAKTER TIMELINE 2008-2009 October 2008  Revisit product development life cycle  Health check on Waterfall methodology  „There has to be a better way‟ November 2008  Sale and Purchase Agreement signed January 2009  Agile consultancy beauty parade September October January 2009 November Nov 2008 2007 Product 2007 First Oct 2008 Selection of 2007 Prepare Sale life cycle review of Health Check Consultancy for Sale Agreement begins Waterfall begins

BUSINESS CASE DRIVERS  Product life cycle management  Predictable quality  Predictable delivery CHALLENGES  Business case definition  Leadership team as aligned unit  Awareness change required

PROCESS FOR CHANGE

PROCCESS FOR CHANGEOct 2008 September October February April 2009 April 2009Xtrakter 2009 2009 2010 Xtrakter Valtech Think Valtech Valtech Xtrakter Attend Assessment About Agile Agile Running Agile Edge of XtrakterChange Training Coaching Solo

PROCCESS FOR CHANGE

SHAPING THE PROCESS

PRODUCT OWNER ENGAGEMENT THE CHALLENGE  New responsibilities for our Product Managers: • Approval of minor product enhancements • Single point of prioritisation ACTIONS TAKEN  Initially lots of business coaching from Valtech  Excellent support for the Agile transformation from the Director of Product Management

AGILE REQUIREMENTS THE CHALLENGE  Requirements too detailed too soon  Stale requirements  Bloated requirements ACTIONS TAKEN  Promote conversation with introduction of stories  Focus BA team on the immediate requirement (Just enough!)  Heavy demand for coaching in this area

DELIVERY STAFF HIDING BEHIND THE PROCESS THE CHALLENGE  We were initially at risk of losing „organic‟ communication e.g. • Refusal to respond to simple queries • Reluctance to give initial „Rough Order of Magnitude‟ estimates ACTIONS TAKEN  Guidance had to be given; Agile is a framework, not a manual for all activity.  There is still a need for a non-deterministic system that can „self-heal‟

FRUSTRATED REQUIREMENTS OWNERS THE CHALLENGE “I don‟t want to have to justify why my request deserves attention” “You were more responsive to our requirements BEFORE Agile!” ACTIONS TAKEN Explanation as to why the new approach benefits the organisation as a whole Coaching/advice from a 3rd party i.e. Valtech, to take the heat out of the situation

INFLUENCE OF METRICS

INFLUENCE OF METRICS POWERFUL COMMUNICATOR OF PROGRESS – Coupled with stand up meeting and Retrospectives Highlight Potential Risks Early Cultural Influence of high visibility – Early Risk Identification – Impediment Removal – Completion of working software – Clarity of priority What we did – Ultra low cost of entry – Leading Indicators

BACKLOG AND CATEGORISATION 5: ANALYSIS IN1: IDENTIFIED 2: APPROVED 3: PRIORITISED PROGRESS 6: READY 10: IN 7: IN DEV 8: IN QA FOR DEV DEPLOYMENT

THE METRICS

RELEASE CUMULATIVE FLOW

WHAT WE DID ITERATION CUMULATIVE FLOW (AS A BURN UP) POSITIVE PATTERNS – Velocity Increasing – Team understanding achievable level of commitment PATTERNS REQUIRING ANALYSIS – Large amount of work in progress – Scope increasing mid iteration – prioritisation unstable – Over commitment in early iterations

WHAT WE DID VALUE CRITERIA POSITIVE PATTERNS – Operational Improvement (Value) and Business Value greatest LEADING INDICATORS – Large amount of work in progress – Large number of points in prioritised – QA constraint

XTRAKTER SUMMARY

CULTURE CHANGE “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order…” Nicolo Machiavelli

PRE-REQUISITES ARE CRUCIAL PREPARE THE WAY IN ADVANCE – Staff Briefings – Send key staff to Agile Seminars – Refer to the Agile idea in discussions with Senior Managers….repeatedly – Use crises when they arise to illustrate how Agile could avoid them – Pick your launch date with care…one shot! YOU MUST HAVE BUY-IN AT THE TOP…CULTURE CHANGE HURTS!

INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FROM THE OUTSET TEAM CO-OPERATION KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER TEAM MORALE REDUCED DEFECT RATE PREDICTABILITY VELOCITY

?ANY QUESTIONS …

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Agile Transformation at Xtrakter

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