JJ Sutherland, Chief Content Officer of Scrum Inc., presents Agile Defense. In 2010 the Defense Acquisitions Act made Agile software development the law of the land for Defense Contractors. But both the DoD and the contractor community are struggling to figure out how to make it work in an ossified system that often requires traditional waterfall reporting. And, in 2007 Gen. David Petraeus reversed the course of the Iraq war by using small, cross-functional teams to break the back of Al Qaeda in Iraq. He did this by pushing decisions down to the platoon and even to the squad level on the streets of Baghdad. Using concrete, real world examples JJ will show how Scrum is re-shaping the military, military procurement, and military contractors.

1. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Agile Government
The transformation of how wars are fought, criminals
captured, and lives are saved

2. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
JJ Sutherland

3. © 1993-2014 Jeff Sutherland© 1993-2013 Jeff Sutherland
Red River Army Depot
"In order to complete one every 16 minutes, we
couldn't have eight people working on the back
of one Humvee."

4. © 1993-2014 Jeff Sutherland

5. © 1993-2014 Jeff Sutherland
Tahrir Square, Jan-Feb 2011
Cross-functional
Autonomous
Sense of Purpose

6. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Virtual Case File
2000 – Virtual Case File program launched at
$100 million
2001 – Another $70 million authorized
2001-2005 Costs increase to $600m
2005 – Killed. Not a single line of code used.
“…..software was incomplete,
inadequate and so poorly
designed that it would be
essentially unusable under
real-world conditions.
We had information that
could have stopped 9/11. It
was sitting there and was
not acted upon. . . . We
might be in the 22nd
century before we get the
21st-century technology.
-Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT. Chair Senate
Judiciary Committee)

7. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Sentinel Approach
2005 – Sentinel Announced. $451 million
2010 – After spending $405 million, half done, nothing deliverable
Independent estimate: 6-8 more years. Another $350 million
FBI PLAN:
- Bring in house
- Cut staff from 250 to 52
- Scrum
- Spend less than $20m
- Deliver in 12 mos.

8. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
“There was skepticism in the room.”
- Jeff Johnson, CIO, FBI

9. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
“In sum, we have significant
concerns and questions about the
ability of this new approach to
complete the Sentinel project
within budget, in a timely fashion,
and with similar functionality . . .”
Justice Department Inspector General Report

10. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Results
- Teams accelerated by a factor of 3.
- Took 20 months
- Under Budget
- Actually works

11. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
F-35 Delayed By Software Problems
$143B over budget
“Delays in developmental flight testing of the F-35’s critical software may hinder
delivery of the warfighting capabilities the military services expect… Challenges in
development and testing of mission systems software continued through 2013, due
largely to delays in software delivery, limited capability in the software when
delivered, and the need to fix problems and retest multiple software versions.”
GAO-14-322

12. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
The World’s Best Stealth Fighter Isn’t Made in
America – Bill Sweetman, The Daily Beast 24 Mar 2014
Saab JAS 39E Gripen
Costs less than previous version with all systems improved
$43M – about 20% of the final cost of an F35
Biannual Scrum releases of system software

13. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Cross Functional Teams

14. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Collaborative Warfare in Iraq
• “One of the true breakthroughs…[Like] the tank or
the airplane. The stuff of which military novels are
written.
• Bob Woodward on 60 Minutes
The interagency teams made it
possible to eliminate the
organizational seams between
the different coalition actors in
Iraq, placing an “unblinking
eye” on high-value targets. . . .
Passing responsibilities
between units and
organizations represented an
“organizational blink” during
which momentum slowed and
the target might escape.
-Joint Force Quarterly

15. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Disbanded
“. . . as soon as the near-failure in Iraq was averted,
bureaucratic support for interagency teams began to
decline. By 2008, other departments and agencies,
particularly one unidentified intelligence agency, began
pulling back people and cooperation, believing
information-sharing and collaboration had gone too far.”
- Secret Weapon: High-value Target Teams as an Organizational Innovation
Institute for National Strategic Studies: Strategic Perspectives, no. 4, 2011

16. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
GAO on Major Automated Information Systems.
- $4.5 Billion. Total IT budget $39 Billion
- Only 13 of 15 could even provide data
- Of those 13:
- 7 cost increased: 4% to 2,233%
- 4 cost decreased: 4% to 86%
- 12 dates slipped. 3 by more than 5 years.
- ONLY 3 “met system performance
targets”

17. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
GAO GUIDANCE
Common Critical Success Factors
• Program officials were actively engaged with stakeholders
• Program staff had the necessary knowledge and skills
• Senior department and agency executives supported the
programs
• End users and stakeholders were involved in the
development of requirements
• End users participated in testing of system functionality
prior to formal end user acceptance testing
• Government and contractor staff were consistent and stable
• Program staff prioritized requirements
• Program officials maintained regular communication with the
prime contractor
• Programs received sufficient funding

18. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Scrum Patterns
GAO Common Critical Success Factors
Program officials were actively engaged with stakeholders; Program staff prioritized requirements;
Program officials maintained regular communication with the prime contractor
-PRODUCT OWNER
Program staff had the necessary knowledge and skills
- CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
Senior department and agency executives supported the programs
-PATRON PATTERN
End users and stakeholders were involved in the development of requirements
-BACKLOG
End users participated in testing of system functionality prior to formal end user acceptance testing
- SPRINT REVIEW
Government and contractor staff were consistent and stable
- STABLE TEAMS
Programs received sufficient funding
- Well…it should cost less

19. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
DoD CIO Plan for Modernization: Enable Agile IT
19
Deliver usable
capabilities
to users every 6-12
months
Active user involvement
to prioritize requirements and
provide responsive feedback during
development
Streamlined contracting
processes leveraging existing
contract vehicles for rapid
Task/Delivery Order execution
Leveraging common
infrastructure platforms,
standards, and interfaces
Integrated test and evaluation,
certifications during development
leveraging common test
infrastructure, automated tools
A different approach to
project management -
Small, dynamic, and
empowered teams
Small scoped releases
responsive to changes
in ops, tech, budget...
Roadmaps and
architectures align agile
increments into larger
capabilities
Source: DoD’s CIO 10 Point Plan for IT Modernization

20. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
SEI TECHNICAL NOTE
Agile Metrics:
Progress Monitoring of Agile Contractors
• If the Project Management Office (PMO) is doing a
request for proposal (RFP), no matter which phase,
ensure that the RFP contains language that allows
the use of Agile.
• Be prepared to mine and effectively use the metrics
data that naturally occur in typical Agile teams.
• Take advantage of the transparency provided in Agile
processes. Don’t wait for the metrics to come to you.
Go look at what the Agile team is doing.

21. © 2011 Scrum Inc.© 1993-2012 Jeff Sutherland
Scrum Makes Work Visible
- Scrum Board
- Burndown Chart

22. © 2011 Scrum Inc.© 1993-2012 Jeff Sutherland
Velocity is the Key Metric
Beginning of sprint
8
5
3
5
5
5
3
5
5
8
Product
Backlog
Estimated
velocity =
26
8
5
3
5
5
Sprint
Backlog
End of sprint
8
5
3
5
5
Sprint
Backlog
Done!
Done!
Done!
Almost done
Not started
Actual
velocity =
18

23. © 2011 Scrum Inc.© 1993-2012 Jeff Sutherland
Release Burndown
100
200
300
400
Work
remaining
(story
points)
Sprint
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
PUT BAD BURNDOWN SIDE BY

24. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Auftragstaktik
“A clear and concise expression of the purpose of the operation
and the desired military end state that supports mission
command, provides focus to the staff, and helps subordinate and
supporting commanders act to achieve the commander’s desire
result without further order, even when the operation does not
unfold as planned.”
- JP 3-0 Joint Operations
“‘His Majesty made you a
major because he believed
you would know when not to
obey his orders.’”
Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Chief of the German General Staff
1857-1888
Commander’s Intent:

25. © 2011 Scrum Inc.
Questions?
Available 9/30 from Crown Business
Pre-Order at Amazon|Barnes and Noble|iTunes
“Scrum is mandatory reading for any leader, whether they’re leading
troops on the battlefield or in the marketplace. The challenges of today’s
world don’t permit the luxury of slow, inefficient work. Success requires
tremendous speed, enormous productivity, and an unwavering commitment
to achieving results. In other words success requires Scrum.”
General Barry McCaffrey