Agile Communities In Japan

Agile Communities in Japan EIWA System Management YASUI Tsutomu a.k.a. Yattom Nippon Information Development Co, Ltd. KUSHIDA Yukie

Table of Contents
Quick glance of agile in Japan
Two important communities in Japan –
XP-jp / XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG)
Agile Process Association （ AgPA)
Other communities
Five points about agile communities in Japan

About Me
YASUI Tsutomu a.k.a. Yattom ( )
work for EIWA System Management
agile coach / programmer
Certified Scrum Master
love Python, like Ruby, can live with Java
work as a staff for XPJUG, Object Club
currently translating Mike Cohn’s “Agile Estimating and Planning”
please buy it if you like Japanese version 

Also About Me
Amateur TAIKO (Japanese drum) player

Quick glance: agile in Japan
getting used widely
mostly about programming, a little in managing and business
not mainstream, but smaller companies adapting well
not sticking to certain processes
XP is well-known, Scrum is catching up
each organization builds its own process, borrowing some practices from XP or Scrum
communities are strong media
mainly offline activities
no direct connection with TOYOTA or TPS
re-imported as Lean Software Development

Five notable things about agile communities in Japan
There are two types of communities – people oriented and business oriented
Agile is individual’s nature – agile people act agile
Offline activities are active
There’s a gap between development and management
Agile is for the quest for values, business values – AgPA’s view

You tell me!

The goal of this presentation
To learn from each other
We are communities, you are communities, in somewhat different way
Let’s talk about what’s the difference and why
Questions are welcome

Come to Open Jam
There’s “Japanese space”
We will be loitering around sometime
Come at 7pm Wed. for a dinner
write your name on the list at Open Jam
we’ll go to a Japanese restaurant
Let’s talk about communities in Japan
or other topics you are interested in

a bit more about Japan
structure of IT industry / business
geopolitical concentration or “locality”

Structure of IT Industry in Japan User Company Large System Integrator (SIer) Smaller System Integrators Tiny Software Houses Freelances Order System Subcontract Subcontract This layering can go 4 - 6 levels
actual developers have only very thin and long connection with actual users
each organization has its own process
difficult to change process either top-down or bottom-up

High concentration or “Locality” in Japan
Tokyo alone is responsible for more than 50% of IT sales in Japan
IT related employees are also strongly concentrated in Tokyo-Kanagawa area followed by Osaka
offline activities are easy and rather large
It means you most likely can meet anyone in particular within an hour

Distribution of software developers in each prefecture Research by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2008

Timeline for Agile Communities in Japan Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2004 2005 XP-jp XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) Agile Process Association (AgPA) PFP Object Club TPS Lean XP Agile Project Facilitation

two important communities
XP-jp / XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) and Agile Process Association (AgPA)
open / free online and offline mailing list offline event motivate people make better environment individuals heart, mind XP-jp XPJUG business values offline working groups seminars activity closed / not free membership spread agile in organizations change the industry aim / purpose companies target AgPA

Timeline for Agile Communities in Japan Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2004 2005 XP-jp PFP Object Club TPS Lean Agile Process Association (AgPA) XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) XP-jp XP Agile Project Facilitation

XP-jp mailing list and XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG)
XP-jp mailing list
started at 2000
the first to use XP in its name
Spearheaded XP in Japan
probably the largest online XP community
2200 addresses
but now almost silent
XP Japan Users Group
users group for offline activities
2001

Topics on the mailing list
“Virtual XP” on mailing list
software reuse and XP
document translation project
case studies
A large part of the traffic was about technical discussions, especially testing
Another “popular” theme: is XP good or bad in general?
questioning XP
“XP rocks!” vs. “I cannot do that here”

Past topics on the mailing list
early 2000
Reading (English) books (XP whitebook)
translation (XPractices http://www.xprogramming.com/Practices/xpractices.htm , Fowler's work, etc.)
JUnit and unit testing
offline meetings
news from overseas (XP ml)
virtual xp over mailing-list
pattern (JPLoP, Alexander, etc.)
late 2000
mailing list server (virtual XP)
counterarguments to XP
responses from others
testing (unit, funcational, acceptance, when to test, languages topic, etc.)
first official offline meeting
XP whitebook Japanese translation
extreme modeling
rhythm

Past topics on the mailing list (contd.)
early 2001
UML Forum
more testing
software reuse and XP
cases in japan
Java, Ant, GUI
an article on Nikkei Computer (a famous paper magazine)
late 2001
Object Day 2001 (an large event held by OGIS)
process in hardware (TOYOTA, cell, KANBAN, etc.)
lean
how to translate 'agile'
'subtle' questions
Java
anti patterns
metaphor
offline meeting with Kent Beck
snacks
XP seminar in Osaka
misunderstanding XP
CMM and XP

2002
TOYOTA Production System and XP
contract and XP
XP books translated
"Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative"
unit testing framework for CPP
generating test document with doclet
quality metrics (test coverage, code coverage, etc.)
XP and Agile seminar
GUI test runner
practices pros/cons

2003
at this stage, very small number of members were actively posting
NUnit
is test-first enough?
testing mathematical logics
Giko-Neko
pair programming for new graduate
more books (translation and Japan original)
how to propagate XP?
some XPs which are not exactly XP (WindowsXP, Printers, Joystick, etc.) (joke)
international ageil conference
"An Extreme Programming Episode" translation
principles
test and database
cases (TIS)
mock object

2004
DeMarco came to Developers Summit (in Japan)
JaSST
Ruby and GC
refactoring and eclipse and how to teach TDD
extreme training, code kata, etc.
Japan XP user meeting with Martin Fowler and Gregor Hohpe
DbC on Java/C#
2005
from this point, most of the traffic are some kind of announcements
what do you do if your partner is someone who learns nothing?
Agile Manifesto translation
2006
XP Official Song (will be played on the banquet on Thursday!)

XP-jp mailing list activities [offline] XPJUG MATSURI [offline] Agile Process Association [offline] Start of PFP

Timeline for Agile Communities in Japan Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2004 2005 XP-jp Agile Process Asscociation (AgPA) PFP Object Club TPS Lean XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) XP Agile Project Facilitation

XP Japan Users Group - XPJUG
Offline side of XP-jp
2001 – about a year after XP-jp
Holds several events offline
XP MATSURI (Festa) / annual
User Meetings / several per year
tried a few Agile Nights
XP KANSAI – a sister community
covers Kansai region including Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe

XPJUG is… Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 support external speakers Free membership XPJUG
MATURI
users meetings
core members staffs INETA Microsoft

XP MATSURI

XPJUG’s purpose
To motivate people to act
Providing a place where participants know each other and communicate
Introduces new agile practices, real cases, miscellaneous techniques
To hold a drinking party after an event (cheers!)

XPJUG changes individuals No one’s on my side Hard work Cannot change environment Many others Techniques and examples You can change yourself

Live example: myself
I was as an usual programmer, a bit geekish, 8 years ago
started to go to events like XP MATSURI, Object Club
saw many other people and talked
MANY THING HAVE CHANGED!
it’s also a challenge by a community to come here together
tried XP in a project – usually a manager’s job, not programmer’s, in my company also changed jobs started working as a staff for XPJUG and Object Club ended up here, now in front of you! started a few communities – LEGO, agile night, etc.

Team Goyattom

Agile is attitude
common understanding: Agile people act agile
you can’t teach agile; a person becomes agile
agile is not a style – it’s a way of thinking
this is why XPJUG targets people
“Social change starts with you.” – Kent Beck

XPJUG history
2000
Feb. XP-jp was created
Dec. the first XP-jp offline meeting at bar "XP" in Shibuya
2001
Mar. XPJUG was established
Apr. invited Kent Beck
3 users meetings
2002
Jul. The first XP MATSURI: XP MATSURI 2002
2 users meetings

XPJUG history (contd.)
2003
Jul XP MATSURI 2003
1 users meetings
2004
Apr. Invited Martin Fowler and Gregor Hohpe
Jul. XP MATSURI 2004 – latest agile software development and situations in overseas
3 users meetings
2005
Sep. XP MATSURI 2005 – future of XP ～ you can start now! ～
1 users meetings

XPJUG history (contd.)
2006
Sep. XP MATSURI 2006 “Aha!” experience for XP – practice, share, XP –
2 users meetings
2007
Sep. XP MATSURI 2007 ～ XP Bootcamp! ～
Dec. introduces SCRUM at 19 th users meeting
2 users meetings
2008
Apr. Invited Danish agile people
Sep. XP MATSURI 2008 (planned)

Summary of XP-jp / XPJUG
mailing list and offline community
theme is XP but has broader topics
holding MATSURI and user meetings
values people and individuals

Timeline for Agile Communities in Japan Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2004 2005 XP-jp XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) PFP Object Club TPS Lean Agile Process Association (AgPA) XP Agile Project Facilitation

Agile Process Association
Business Oriented
members are corporations
currently 40 approx.
attendees are mainly managers and executives, few developers and engineers
requires annual fee to participate
Consists of Working Groups
small, offline activities
producing its own outputs
gathers everyone at general meetings

Trivia: Agile Process Association = AgPA
Pronounced Ah – Ja – Par
“ gi” in “agile” is 2 syllables in Japanese – “ja” and “ee”
It also sounds like “Agile Japan”
Ag ile i PA

Agile Process Association is … Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 working group meetings general meetings seminars in local areas Internal speakers working group outputs Working groups external speakers Strict membership s mall HQ Agile Process Association

Purpose of AgPA
Spread agile in horizontal and vertical
IT / software development users / business horizontal vertical society / other industries

Purpose of AgPA
Spread agile to companies
Support organizational effort for agile
Industrial development and structural improvement with industry, government and academy
gain business chances with agile
develop not only IT but all the industries in Japan
encourage lobbying, academic research and effort to expanding agile

Agile in AgPA’s view
Agile is about creating new values
It's NOT just about programming
Structural reform of IT industry
embrace uncertainty, not only change
agile development agile business society value value

Structure of IT Industry in Japan User Company Large System Integrator (SIer) Smaller System Integrators Tiny Software Houses Freelances Order System Subcontract Subcontract This layering can go 4 - 6 levels
actual developers have only very thin and long connection with actual users
each organization has its own process
difficult to change process either top-down or bottom-up

Structural Reform – This needs to be changed!
direct contact between developers and users
no layers with little benefit
a single process covers all members
simply put – developers must develop user values!
User Company Large System Integrator (SIer) Smaller System Integrators Tiny software houses Freelances

embrace uncertainty
business in general always face uncertainty
agile is a good way to tackle uncertainty
so agile is one good way to do business – not only software development!

AgPA’s Achievements
Spreading agile into companies / organizations
enlightenment
general meeting, regular meeting
sessions in areas other than Tokyo and Osaka
invited Kent Beck and Alistair Cockburn
catalyst act to establish APA

Agile spreads in Japan Internal assessment by Agile Process Association, 2006 transition of the number of organizations using agile and projects using agile number of organizations number of projects number of projects number of organizations year

Agile is well taken Internal assessment by Agile Process Association, 2006 Will you use agile from now on? (valid answers: 29) will keep using depends on projects will try no

Agile is effective
Internal assessment by Agile Process Association, 2006
How effective is your agile process? big plus small plus zero minus ability to adapt to change short-term development good internal quality lower costs good balance of external quality

Working Groups
Agile Project Management
Agile Mind
Agile Software Cell
Agile TOC (Theory Of Constraints)
Embedded Software and Agile Process
Estimating and Contracts
each group usually have a meeting per a month
APA HQ has little function – WGs are the body part

Summary of Agile Process Association
Community of corporations
spreading agile into organizations
has achievements and outputs
aiming to utilize agile in business
consists of working groups

Timeline for Agile Communities in Japan Eiwa System Management (C) 2008 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 2008 2004 2005 XP-jp XP Japan Users Group (XPJUG) Agile Process Association (AgPA) PFP TPS Lean Object Club PFP XP Agile Project Facilitation

Object Club
started by Kenji Hiranabe as a community for object oriented technologies
holds 2 events per year for 5 years
with a fee
now its topics are very broad, including agile
horrible true stories
Project Facilitation and KAIZEN
Leadership
Developers’ Testing
Ruby
many workshops

Object Club is… Object Club external speakers staffs = core members free membership
events
mail magazine
web contents / papers
internal speakers employees

Project Facilitation Project (PFP)
promote Project Facilitation – utilize facilitation techniques to improve software engineers’ teamwork and working environment
communication
action
awareness
trust
smile
PF is another significant topic proposed by Kenji Hiranabe
holds several workshops all around Japan
in strong relationship with Object Club

Nagoya Agile BENKYO-KAI
pretty new community started in Chukyo area – between Tokyo and Osaka
BENKYO-KAI is a style of a community
“Study/learn/research”-“meeting/group”
relaxed membership – anyone can come but typically someone brings his/her friend
gather to study a topic or to read a book
tends to become a core of a larger community

Summary
Many communities with their own targets and values
XPJUG – people, heart
AgPA – organization, business
Various styles
mailing lists
periodical events
working groups
BENKYO-KAI

Come to Open Jam
There’s “Japanese space”
We will be loitering around sometime
Come at 7pm Wed. for a dinner
write your name on the list at Open Jam
we’ll go to a Japanese restaurant
Let’s talk about communities in Japan
or other topics you are interested in

About this presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/yattom/agile-communities-in-japan-537747
or search “agile community japan” at slideshare.net
Will be reproduced at XP MATSURI 2008 in Japanese language (probably)
Thank you for listening!

Agile Communities In Japan

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