3. BBC Weather team
2009
We were doing agile (scrum)
We were doing TDD
What we were actually doing was “mini waterfall”
To do Dev Test Done
Java
Java
PHP
FE
4. What we were doing
So I can decide whether to turn on my heating
As a BBC Weather user
I want to see the 5 day forecast for London
Tasks:
Query weather DB for London’s forecast data
Return weather forecast data in JSON
Show 5 day forecast data
Make it look like the design, across browsers
Write automation tests including cross browser
6. What goes wrong
Misunderstanding about the requirement or user
behaviour
Have we fleshed out all the non-functional
requirements?
Mini waterfall – some developers blocked by tasks
worked on by other developers in same team
7. Polyglot teams are the ideal
…or fewer programming languages to
complete a feature
8. Better BDD makes a
difference
Agile coaching (Matt Wynne & Liz Keogh) helped
us to do BDD better
Feature focus - moved to stories that were the
thinnest slice possible and still deliver value
WIP limits in scrum, and cross-functional pairing to
get the stories finished faster
14. BDD done (well) better
Business value released more quickly, regularly
Higher quality, fewer bugs
More consistent output, easier to plan
Features in front of users sooner, get feedback
quicker and react/respond and iterate
15.
16. It’s hard to hire developers
16% IT /
Software
Development
Source: cipd.co.uk/labourmarketoutlook
17. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Baby
Boomers
(52-67)
Generation X
(37-51)
Generation Y
(24-36)
Generation Z
(18-23)
Generational breakdown in Which? Digital
And they probably won’t stay
in one company that long
Generation X
b. 1964–1978 (37 – 51)
Retention: Half have spent at least five years with
their current employer.
View of career: Most are experienced as service
and knowledge workers. Focus more on their
‘professional ladder’ of employability rather than
the ‘corporate ladder’.
Generation Y
b. 1979–1991 (24 – 36)
Retention: Half have spent less than three years
with their current employer.
View of career: Likely to only be experienced as
service and knowledge workers. They do not see
their career in the form of a ladder – more of a
‘scramble net’.
Generation Z
b. 1991–2008 (23 and under)
18. So its important to motivate them,
to increase retention
Generation X
Motivated by:
• Immediate rewards
• Work/life balance
• Feedback
Work drivers:
• Process orientated
Retention:
• Pay for performance
• Challenging work
• Chance to do what they
want
Generation Y
Motivated by:
• Challenge
• Making a difference
• Meaningful work
Work drivers:
• Achievement-oriented
Retention:
• Mentoring
• Volunteer programmes
• Flexible schedules
• Team opportunities
• 90% do not plan to
stay longer than five
years with one
organisation
• 37% do not plan to
stay longer than two
years.
20. “
”
A moderate positive correlation between the
level of experience with agile methods and
the overall job satisfaction was found.
The evidence suggests that there are twice as
many members of agile teams who are
satisfied with their jobs (vs members of non-
agile teams).
GRIGORI MELNIK, FRANK MAURER
Comparative Analysis of Job Satisfaction in Agile and
Non-agile Software Development Teams, June 2006
Teamwork and retention
22. Why retention matters
Average £10,000 in recruitment costs per role
Generation Y - people move every 2 years =
average turnover 50%
For team of 20 developers
Recruitment cost = £100,000 per year !!!
23. The real business
value of BDD
Jo Wickremasinghe
Head of Product Which? Digital
uk.linkedin.com/in/jowickremasinghe
