This document discusses best practices for implementing an agile methodology. It dispels common misconceptions that agile is unstructured and does not have status reporting or meetings. The document advocates that agile is actually very structured, with roles, meetings, estimates and status reporting. It provides details on the typical agile meetings - iteration planning, daily stand-ups, demos and retrospectives. The document emphasizes that with the right structure, agile can get work done faster and at higher quality while being less frustrating for teams and customers.

1. Authored by Darrel Raynor, PMP,
A&I™ - Building Senior Leaders © 2004-2014
MBA
Managing Director, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
and the Data Analysis & Results Team
www.DataAnalysis.com DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com
A&I™ Best Practice
Agile for Adults
Best Results come from Structure: Meetings, Estimates,
and Expectations set via Planning and Status

2. A&I™ - Building Senior Leaders © 2004-2014
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Agile for Adults – Best Results come from Structure: Meetings,
Estimates, and Expectations set via Planning and Status
Agile was once viewed as a free for all with little documentation, process, or
required results. We have all grown up since reading the Agile Manifesto. While
working on Agile coaching and processes for firms like JPMorgan, The Hartford,
ConAgra, and many other firms and agencies, large and small, we exposed Best
Practices around Agile and share them here.
Fallacy: Agile is unstructured! Nonsense! Agile is very structured, it is just
*different* structure to aid, not delay,development and other projects.
Fallacy: Agile does not report status well. Agile status can be reported in a more
granular way, much of it automated, without the agony of extended inquisitions in
the form of status meetings. Let’s review some basics of meetings, including roles &
responsibilities, timing, agenda, and deliverables… These sessions always have
lively interaction with experienced attendees. Let’s discuss!

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Today’s Presentation
• Introduction & Expectations
• Agile was once viewed as a free for all.
• Fallacy: Agile is unstructured!
• Fallacy: Agile does not report status well.
• Fallacy: Agile is all new
• Best Practices around Agile
Agenda
• Agile meetings, including roles & responsibilities, timing, agenda, &
deliverables

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Introduction & Expectations
Attendees
How many are: Developers, Managers, Executives,
Operations?
Agile Challenges
What is your biggest problem with moving to or improving
Agile?
Management understanding & acceptance? Sponsor & SME
time?
Developer and other role knowledge? What else?

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Introductions
• Facilitator & Primary AuthorAgile & Integrated™
Business Analysis, Project Management, and
Leadership Courses
Darrel A. Raynor, PMP, MBA
Managing Director & Founder, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
Director, St. Edward’s PE Project Management, Business Analysis, & Leadership Programs
Author of the forthcoming book,
"Agile & Integrated Project Management™
- Knocking the Stupid out of Project
Management"
Agile & Integrated Project Management, A&I PM are trademarks of Data Analysis &
Results, Inc.

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Agile was once viewed as a free for all
No more reporting
No more status
No more meetings
Everyone chooses their tasks
No deadlines
No interference
Chocolate Cake for Everyone!

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Fallacy: Agile is unstructured!
Agile, done right, or at least in
many instances done well, is very
structured, more on that later…
Agile has reporting, status,
meetings, task assignment,
deadlines & more!
Agile in fact needs very specific
roles & does try to avoid
interference...

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Fallacy: Agile does not report status well
Agile..., well, you got me here…
<just kidding>
Agile status is actually far more accurate,
for WIP or Done. Especially around Technical Debt.
Agile status does not report the future well, other than
velocity, story points, or using history as a guide...

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Fallacy: Agile is
Agile techniques have been around for, well, decades!
Planning Poker comes from the <gasp> 1940’s
Daily Stand-ups have been done at least since the 60’s
Early Prototyping stems from at least the 80’s
I was irritated by all the new, cool names until
someone told me it was part of Agile Change
Management… Ah ha.

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Best Practices around Agile
Agile arranges team time and process around
involving & satisfying the customers as early as
possible
Structure your
• meetings (we just cover meetings today…)
• roles
• status (done & ETC estimate to complete)
• pre-make many decisions
• and more…

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Agile 4 & ½ Meetings
Iteration Planning
Daily Stand Up
Daily Help is the half…
Demo
Retrospective

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Agile Meeting 1: Iteration Planning
Hush now, don’t call them planning meetings!
Well maybe that is ok…
1. Start with a ‘groomed’ (prioritized & loosely defined)
Product Backlog (requirement or feature list)
2. Use a fast estimation process such as Planning
Poker to ballpark S, M, L, XL then break down the XL
3. Assess ‘bucket of hours’ available
4. Map, not commit, to appropriate Product Backlog
Items
5. Tasks: duplicate steps in much more detail…
Commit now

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Agile Meeting 2: Daily Stand Up
Hush now, don’t call them status or project meetings!
Our process: Online, Screen Share, fast movement,
fixed agenda
1. Booked for 45 minutes, 1st half goes 11 minutes
2. Circle attendees four times if time
3. Agenda is Blocked, Issues, Help, Going to do, Done.
4. Usually no time for last 2…
5. Anyone requests help from anyone else for
remaining time

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Agile Meeting 2: Daily Help (the ½)
Hush now, don’t call them mentoring or working
meetings!
1. Scrum Master (PM, Lead, whoever…) arranges
breakouts for all who ask, knowing who needs who,
sometimes have to stagger
2. Team meets to discuss whatever is needed, hard
stop at 45
3. If further collaboration is needed, Team self-organizes

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Agile Meeting 3: Demo
Hush now, don’t call them show & tell or requirements
meetings!
1. Team, Customers, Management, anyone can attend
2. Output is ONLY Product Backlog Items
a. New Features
b. Changes
c. Defects
d. New or changed Process

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Agile Meeting 4: Retrospective
Hush now, don’t call them lessons learned meetings!
1. Team, Customers, Management, anyone can attend,
usually just the Team other than occasional
2. Output is almost always Process Changes
(documented), Template updates, with now and then
a new Product Backlog Item if analysis, research,
Quality information or other work is needed -- use
these sparingly

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Agile is Easy & Structured
Agile (done right)
• gets more work done faster at higher quality
• is less frustrating to team & customers, perhaps
more frustrating to management
• appropriate structure removes some frustration
• removes some to a great deal of repetitive, useless
process

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19. Authored by Darrel Raynor, PMP,
A&I™ - Building Senior Leaders © 2004-2014
MBA
Managing Director, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
and the Data Analysis & Results Team
www.DataAnalysis.com DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com
A&I™ Best Practice
Agile for Adults
Best Results come from Structure: Meetings, Estimates,
and Expectations set via Planning and Status