Agile is killing me! - Managing your time when development goes Agile When software engineering transforms to an Agile methodology, big changes are in store for Product Managers. The planning process becomes a regular occurrence instead of a once-a-year event. The requirements process morphs from lots of documentation up front to continuous conversations and progressive elaboration. All of these changes can wreak havoc on a Product Manager's schedule and can blur the lines of responsibility beyond recognition. The workload can increase more than 60%, especially if you have both Product Manager and Product Owner responsibilities. In this session we will share successful techniques to adapt to Agile including: dealing with role conflict, adapting to global engineering teams, and organizational models. This will be presented in a Town Hall format, where the audience will also be invited to offer their best practices for each of the challenges discussed. Paul Brownell leads the Software Process practice for Growth Acceleration Partners, a management consulting and outsourcing firm headquartered in Austin. Paul is an experienced software executive and practitioner of Agile methods since 2001. As Product Line Director at BMC Software, Paul successfully led SCRUM teams distributed across India, Israel, and the United States.

1. Agile is killing me!
Managing your time when development goes Agile
Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

2. please thank our sponsors

3. Paul Brownell
• Software Process Practice Leader
• 15 years as a software executive
• Agile practitioner since 2001
• Specialist in Scrum and Outsourcing
• Led SCRUM teams distributed across
India, Israel, China, and the US
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

4. Objective – Share Techniques
• Dealing with role conflict
• Adapting to global teams
• Leverage organization models
• Avoid common pitfalls
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

5. Agile Fundamentals
Individuals
Processes
and over and Tools
Interaction
Working Comprehensive
Software over Documentation
Customer Contract
Collaboration over Negotiation
Responding
to Change over Following a Plan
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

6. Scrum Process
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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7. Scrum Roles
Scrum Master Product Owner
• Facilitates development process • Develops backlog
• Coordinates with other teams • Determines priorities
• Provides status information • Serves as proxy for the user/customer
• Removes blocks and protects from • Identifies business value
interruption • Relates work units to business objectives
• Ensures implementation of lessons • Defines acceptance criteria
learned • Interacts daily with teams
Team
• Designs software
• Codes Software
• Tests software
• Documents software
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

8. Product Manager Role
Product Manager Product Owner
• Develops strategy • Develops backlog
• Analyzes markets • Determines priorities
• Manages portfolio • Serves as proxy for the user/customer
• Sets pricing • Identifies business value
• Builds business partnerships • Relates work units to business objectives
• Promotes product • Defines acceptance criteria
• Supports sales • Interacts daily with teams
• Interacts with customers
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

9. Role Conflict
Product Manager Product Owner
• Develops strategy • Develops backlog
• Analyzes markets • Determines priorities
• Manages portfolio • Serves as proxy for the user/customer
• Sets pricing • Identifies business value
• Builds business partnerships • Relates work units to business objectives
• Promotes product • Defines acceptance criteria
• Supports sales • Interacts daily with teams
• Interacts with customers
customers team
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

10. Role Conflict
Techniques
• Identify a Proxy: Business
Analyst, Architect, Lead Developer or Lead QA
• Involve customers/clients to provide direct
feedback and input
• Provide windows of scheduled availability
• Make time for: Release Planning, Sprint
Planning, Demos
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

11. Adapting to Distributed Teams
• Minimal face-to-face
time
• Different time zones
• Language and culture
barriers
• Hard to ‘sketch on a
napkin’
• Discussions by email
© 2010 Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com
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12. Adapting to Distributed Teams
Techniques
• Identify a Proxy in the same time zone
• Provide windows of scheduled availability in
the same time zone
• Make time for: Release Planning, Sprint
Planning, Demos and daily standups
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

13. Organization Structures –
Combined Role
Product Line Owner
• Advantages
– Clear connection to
customer
Product Product – Clear understanding of
Manager/ Manager/
Owner 2 Owner 1 release status and content
customer team customer
Product A-F Product G-L • Keys to success
– Good proxies
– Careful time management
© 2010 Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com
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14. Organization Structures –
Split Role (Large Company, Many Products)
Product Line Owner • Advantages
– Clear functional focus
– Match skills to function
Product Product
Manager Owner – PO can co-locate
customer team
Products A-F Products A-F • Keys to success
– PM & PO tightly
Products G-L Products G-L connected
© 2010 Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com
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15. Organization Structures –
Split Role (Small Company, Many Products)
Product Manager
• Advantages
– Clear functional focus
customer
– Match skills to function
Product Product – PO can co-locate
Owner 1 Owner 2
team team
• Keys to success
Products A-F Products G-L
– PM & PO tightly connected
– Careful PM time
management
© 2010 Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com
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16. Planning Continuously
• Regular re-examination of priorities
• Smaller granularity deliverables
• Forest is built one tree at a time
• More meetings
© 2010 Paul Brownell
paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com
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17. Planning Continuously
Techniques
• Just-in-time deliverables
• Teamwork
• Use tools to stay organized:
Rally, VersionOne, JIRA + GreenHopper
• Watch out for:
– Getting stuck in the building
– Thrashing priorities
– Overcomplicating the requirements
© 2010 Paul Brownell
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paul@growthaccelerationpartners.com

18. Ask about a free consultation
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19. please thank our sponsors