Does ‘subsistence’ carry a negative connotation for you—scarcity, poverty, barely scraping by? In this era of enterprise scaling and big digital transformations, our trusty old agile often feels the same. It’s easy to get stuck when it seems like every retrospective action item worth doing requires an executive sponsor who isn’t coming. Our planetary challenges require us to think of ‘subsistence’ differently. The ability to produce what we need, sustainably, using the resources available in our communities, is powerful! Are you getting the best from the ecosystem you already have? This session explores practical tips for nurturing and growing your agile practice hyper-locally, using techniques accessible at the team level. Learning outcomes: - Build and strengthen the supportive agile community already around you - Reduce your dependence on expensive faraway ‘imports’ - Expand your influence and capabilities by developing ‘trade’ networks nearby - Focus on what’s most important for you and your team to thrive!

1. Subsistence Agile
sustainability and self-sufficiency for thriving teams

2. Cheryl M Hammond
she/her/y’all
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
slideshare.net/bsktcase

3. Agenda
Why subsistence?
Agile, its principles, your values
Tools and techniques
Beyond the team
Q&A (maybe)

4. Subsistence? In this economy?

5. sub·sist·ence
/səbˈsistəns/
denoting or relating to production
at a level sufficient only for one's
own use or consumption, without
any surplus for trade.

6. Sustainability! Self-sufficiency!

7. Agile isn’t frameworks, it’s flow

10. And you have
unfair advantages
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery of
valuable software.
Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.
Working software is the primary measure of
progress.
Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.

11. Make do with what you can find

12. Estimation
Be wrong in less time
You may be asked for estimates, but you can
spend less time creating them
Right-size your stories, and make sure each one
has value (not “tasks”)
Just agree to make everything a 3, or
randomize; have fun with it 🤣

13. Standups / statuses
Measure flow, not utilization
If managers insist on a status update, give them
one; have your real standup after they leave
Use your standup to inspect the flow of work,
not the busyness of people

14. Work in process (WIP)
Stop starting, start finishing
You will surely be asked to do too much, but you
can start working on fewer things at a time
Work from right-to-left on your kanban board;
prioritize work that can be finished today
Pay attention to work item age and blockers

15. Requirements /
prioritization
When you can’t get answers, make your own
Move fast and get fast feedback; believe that
this is faster than big grooming
Learn your business
Help (e.g.) your TPM anticipate what their boss
needs; make them look good!
Be strategically wrong; someone will be unable
to resist correcting you

16. User feedback
What’s stopping you?
Same as with standup, consider a shorter
“decoy demo” to give status updates
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!)
Automation and measurement may be better!

17. Unit testing / TDD
What’s stopping you?
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

18. Beyond your community

19. Build trade networks
Start with empathy
Build relationships with the communities you
rely on
What results/outcomes are they accountable
for? How might you help them with their
challenges? How can you help them succeed?
Feed the eagles!

20. Sustainability! Self-sufficiency!

21. Someday, share your bounty

22. Cheryl M Hammond
Amazon AgileCon 2022
Thank you!

23. Intro
Why
subsistence?
What does this
have to do with
agile?
Tools & techniques
Beyond your
team
Me
Agenda
Photos
Primitive?
Constrained
circumstances
A powerful
charging cable
The Manifesto and
its four values
The twelve
principles
What you do well!
Estimation
Standups and statuses
Work in process (WIP)
Prioritization and
requirements
Building
relationships and
networks

24. Subsistence Agile
sustainability and self-sufficiency for thriving teams