When the broader organization isn’t agile, teams can get stuck. They’re waiting for their knight in shining armor – the ‘enlightened’ executive – to transform it all. What happens when the hero isn’t coming? Is it possible to realistically accept an organization’s limitations without killing morale? Can a manager or coach ‘shield’ a team without losing momentum? Is there any point in making incremental change at the team or division level when ‘real’ progress seems eternally blocked by external impediments? This session explores practical tips to care for the humans in your realm; provide them a safe, comfortable, and defensible space in which to work; and make it inviting enough to win over (some of) the forces outside. Help your teams become self-rescuing princesses, and create the happily-ever-after that your people deserve!

1. Fortress Agile
nurturing and growing healthy practices in a hostile environment
@bsktcase #FortressAgile #AgileTourVilnius

2. she/her/y’all
Vice President of Service Excellence
skylight.digital
20+ years in software development,
executive leadership, and organizational
transformation
Passionate about agile, lean, and making
software delivery humane; not afraid to look
silly doing it
Fourth-generation Seattleite
College recruiter & mentor; bolonka lover;
traveler; genealogist; intersectional feminist
Cheryl M Hammond
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3. slideshare.net/bsktcase
Today’s slides and more
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#AgileTourVilnius #AgileLietuva
Twitter or LinkedIn for feedback and questions
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Invitations and asks
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4. Under siege?
Knights in shining armor
Become a self-rescuing princess
What are we trying to protect, and why?
Dig the well
Your fortress, your rules
Make your fortress safe and comfortable
Recruit emissaries
Extend your influence outside the walls
Expand your fortress
Agenda
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Under siege?

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Knights in shining armor

7. Self-rescuing princess
Let’s rediscover our power and use it!
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8. Agile isn’t frameworks, it’s flow
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Self-rescuing agilist
Do we follow these principles ourselves?
Does our team?

11. Why are we here?
Do we trust the agile manifesto and
principles anymore?
What might be different if we choose
to believe?
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Dig the well

13. Your fortress, your rules
Unit testing / TDD
Estimation
Standups
Work in process (WIP)
Requirements / prioritization
Sprint review / demo
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14. Unit testing / TDD
Problem: you are not allowed enough time to test properly.
If you are already seen as “too slow” (and you are), be too slow with great quality!
“Gee, that’s just how long software takes 🤷”
What slows you down? Bugs and brittleness! You know this already!
Believe that testing now will speed you up later
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15. Estimation
Problem: you are asked for them, and pressured to meet them.
You may be asked for estimates, but you can spend less time creating them.
Believe that more time will not make your estimates any more “accurate”
Right-size your stories, and try to make sure they have value (not “tasks”)
Then just agree to make everything a 3, or randomize; have fun with it 🤣
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16. Standups
Problem: managers interfere with standup, making it a status update.
If someone insists on a status update, give them one - that’s not a standup, though
Have your real standup after they leave
Believe that what matters is the flow of work, not the busyness of people
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17. Work in process (WIP)
Problem: you are asked for too many things all at once.
You will be asked to do too much, but you can work on fewer things at a time.
“Stop starting, start finishing”
Work from right-to-left on your board; prioritize work that can be finished today
Believe the math - limiting WIP increases throughput and decreases cycle time
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18. Requirements / prioritization
Problem: you can’t get a straight answer about what to do.
Move fast and get fast feedback; believe that this is faster than big grooming
Learn your business
Learn (e.g.) your PMs’ boss’s priorities, and strive to satisfy them
Be strategically wrong; someone will be unable to resist correcting you
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19. Sprint review / demo
Problem: stakeholders don’t attend, or don’t give feedback.
The intention of the Sprint Review is to get actionable feedback from the customer.
Is your stakeholder your customer?
Customers are not interested in terminal windows, lines of code, or status updates.
Sometimes not even features!
Seek out ways to get the actionable feedback you need outside of a meeting
(figuring out who to ask and how to get their time is a great place to start!)
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Safe and comfortable

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Recruit emissaries

22. Extend your influence
Have empathy for the folks outside your
fortress
What results/outcomes are they
accountable for?
How might you help them with their
challenges? How can you help them
succeed?
Feed the eagles!
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23. Expand your fortress
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Someday, a relic

25. slideshare.net/bsktcase
Today’s slides and more
@bsktcase #FortressAgile
#AgileTourVilnius #AgileLietuva
Twitter or LinkedIn for feedback and questions
Слава Україні!
Invitations and asks
@bsktcase #FortressAgile #AgileTourVilnius

26. Fortress Agile
nurturing and growing healthy practices in a hostile environment
@bsktcase #FortressAgile #AgileTourVilnius