Alex Kwaku Awere-Kyere gives an overview of Agile and how to apply it to everyday life

1. Agile is a way of life
(Framework for achieving goals)

2. What is Agile
• Agile is the ability to create and respond to
change. It is a way of dealing with, and
ultimately succeeding in, an uncertain and
turbulent environment.
• Uncertain and turbulent environment = “LIFE”

3. Agile Manifesto
“We are uncovering better ways of developing
products & achieving goals by doing it and helping
others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and
tools
2. Working products/solutions over comprehensive
documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan”

4. Agile Manifesto Principles
• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable products.
• Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change
for the customer's competitive advantage.

5. Agile Manifesto Principles
• Deliver working products and solutions
frequently, from a couple of weeks to a
couple of months, with a preference to the
shorter timescale.
• Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.

6. Agile Manifesto Principles
• Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they
need, and trust them to get the job done.
• The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face
conversation.

7. Agile Manifesto Principles
• Working products and solutions is the primary
measure of progress.
• Agile processes promote sustainable
development. The sponsors, developers, and
users should be able to maintain a constant
pace indefinitely.

8. Agile Manifesto Principles
• Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.
• Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done--is essential.

11. Agile Manifesto Principles
• The best architectures, requirements, and
designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and
adjusts its behavior accordingly.

12. Agile
Agile encourages:
• Simplicity
• Communication
• Feedback
• Courage

13. Agile Process: Scrum
Scrum is an Agile process framework within which
people can address complex adaptive problems,
while productively and creatively delivering
products of the highest possible value.
Scrum is:
• Simple to understand
• Difficult to master

14. The Scrum Team
A scrum team is a self-organizing, cross-functional
group of people (usually between 5 – 9) that have
everything, and everyone, necessary to produce a
working, tested increment of product.
• Product Owner
• Scrum Master
• Development Team

15. The Product Owner
The Product Owner may be said to be the voice of the
customer and sole person responsible for managing the
Product Backlog. This includes:
• Clearly and simply expressing Product Backlog items;
• Ordering the items in the Product Backlog
• Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent,
and clear to all, and shows next work
• Ensuring the Development Team understands items in the
Product Backlog to the level needed.

16. The Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team. He/she
also helps those outside the Scrum Team understand how best to
interact with the team.
• Clearing obstacles
• Establishing an environment where the team can be effective
• Addressing team dynamics
• Ensuring a good relationship between the development team
and product owner, as well as other outside the team
• Protecting the team from outside interruptions and distractions.

17. The Development Team
The Dev. Team is self-organizing. No one tells the
Dev. Team how to work!!!
(Usually 3 – 5 people)
• The Dev. Team is cross-functional, with all the
skills as a team necessary to create a product
increment
• Individual Team members may have specialized
skills and areas of focus, but accountability
belongs to the Development Team as a whole.

18. Scrum Events
Prescribed events are used in Scrum to create
regularity, all events are time-boxed with a
maximum duration.
Each event in Scrum is an opportunity to inspect
and adapt something.
• The Sprint
• Sprint Planning
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Review
• Sprint Retrospective

19. The Sprint
The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which
a “done", useable, and potentially releasable product increment is created.
Sprints contain and consist of the Sprint Planning, Daily Scrums, the
development work, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective.
During the Sprint:
• No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal;
• Quality goals do not decrease; and,
• Scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner
and Development Team as more is learned.
Each Sprint may be considered a project with no more than a one-month
horizon.

20. Sprint Planning
The entire Scrum Team collaboratively plan the work to be performed in
the Sprint.
Sprint Planning is time-boxed to a maximum of eight hours for a one-
month Sprint. For shorter Sprints, the event is usually shorter.
The Scrum Master ensures that the event takes place within time-box and
that attendants understand its purpose.
Sprint Planning answers the following:
• What can be done this Sprint?
• What is the Sprint Goal?
(The Sprint Goal provides the Dev. Team with some flexibility in how the
chosen work will get done)

21. Daily Scrum
Daily scrums/stand ups are daily 15 minute time-boxed
events during Sprint.
At a team agreed time every work day and preferably
before the days work begins, each member of the team
will answer 3 questions in face-to-face interactions.
● What did you do the day before?
● What will you do today?
● What impediments or blockers do you have?
This optimizes team collaboration and performance by
inspecting the work since the last Daily Scrum and
forecasting upcoming Sprint work.

22. Sprint Review
Sprint Review is held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and
adapt the Product Backlog if needed.
Attendees include the Scrum Team, the customer and key stakeholders
• The Scrum Team discusses and demonstrates the work that it has done
and answers questions about the increment
• The Product Owner discusses the Product Backlog as it stands.
• The entire group collaborates on what to do next, so that the Sprint
Review provides valuable input to subsequent Sprint Planning;
• Review of how the marketplace or potential use of the product might
have changed what is the most valuable thing to do next
The Product Backlog may also be adjusted overall to meet new
opportunities.

23. Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the
Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for
improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint
The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:
• Inspect how the last Sprint went
• Identify and order the major items that went well,
did not go well and the potential improvements
• Create a plan for implementing improvements to
the way the Scrum Team does its work.

24. Scrum Artifacts
Product Backlog:
• The Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything
that is known to be needed in the product.
Sprint Backlog:
• The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items
selected for the Sprint
Increment
• Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items
completed during a Sprint and the value of the
increments of all previous Sprints.

25. How does Agile apply to you?
Agile is a collaborative framework through which
people work together in a team to achieve results.
These teams are self-organizing and its members have
the requisite skillset to achieve the team goal.
In many situations in your life, you will find yourself
working together with a group of people (scrum
team) with the aim of achieving a number of
objectives (product backlog)
Agile should jump into your mind

26. How does Agile apply to you?
Every team should have:
A Product owner who tracks and helps to prioritize the
tasks to be done. Clearly and simply explains it for
members to understand.
A Scrum Master who keeps harmony within the team
and protects its focus from outside distraction. Ensures
that the scrum events are done & work items are
completed within timelines set by the team.
A Development Team who will concentrate on
performing and completing the intricate details of the
work items.

27. How does Agile apply to you?
Knowing that these Agile roles:
• Should not be done by the same person
• Teams should self-organize
You should not impose but rather facilitate the natural
assumption of roles by persons based on their personal
characteristics,
with yourself also taking the role of either product
owner, scrum master or development team member.

28. How does Agile apply to you?
Scrum events should occur for the performance of the work
items (Sprint):
As not all work items may be done at once (sprint backlog),
The team should agree on which of the work items to first
tackle to achieve a complete objective (increment) and within
which short period the work can be done (Sprint Planning)
Team should agree to meet periodically, face-to-face, to
answer 3 questions (daily scrum):
● What did you do since our last meeting?
● What are you going do?
● What impediments or blockers do you have?

29. How does Agile apply to you?
The work done within the agreed upon period should be reviewed by the
team and other stakeholders to improve work value (Sprint Review)
After which, team should discuss within itself (Sprint Retrospective) to:
• Inspect how the last Sprint went
• Identify and order the major items that went well or did not go well
and potential improvements
• Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Team
does its work.
Repeat the Scrum Event Cycles until the final increment is achieved and
the team is successful!

30. Question: Can Agile help you achieve
your New Year Resolutions?
Product Backlog Item to be selected for Sprint Backlog:
As …(Your Name)…
I want to go to the gym for at least an hour every week this year
So that I can weigh less than “…”kg by Christmas 2020
Acceptance Criteria:
1) Go to the gym for at least an hour every week this year
2) Weigh less than “…”kg by Christmas 2020

32. Can Agile help you achieve New Year
Resolutions?
Applying Agile to this scenario, it would be advisable to
find 2 other friends with this same New Year resolution.
The 3 of you would form the Development Team.
Next, you could find another friend of yours, who is
already active in the gym, to assist your team. Here we
have your Scrum Master.
Finally, you ask your active-gym friend to introduce you
to the gym instructor who would advise you on the
exercises to perform for best results. Product Owner

33. Can Agile help you achieve New Year
Resolutions?
Now that your scrum team is assembled, you must encourage your Scrum Master to
help ensure that all scrum events are performed consistently. For example:
At the beginning of the week (sprint planning) the scrum team should meet for the
Product Owner to explain the gym product backlog and agree with team on gym
sprint backlog.
Every morning at the gym before workout, the scrum team should perform the daily
scrum.
The development team should be accountable to themselves and the scrum team for
completing tasks (increment).
At the end of every week the team should invite some other gym members to meet up
for a Sprint Review and after the team itself should meet for the Retrospective.
Repeat the Scrum Event Cycles every week until weight loss goal is achieved!
Success!

34. Benefits of Agile
Agile is a framework which harnesses the power
of teamwork and collaboration:
• Collective effort and intelligence
• “The whole is greater than the sum of its
parts”

35. Benefits of Agile
The Agile framework process results in:
1) Higher product quality
2) Higher Customer Satisfaction
3) Reduced risk of failure
4) Faster Return on Investment
5) Improved team performance

36. Thank You!