This document discusses an Agile transformation at a large financial institution. It provides an overview of why the institution changed to an Agile approach, the key factors in their success, and how they started their transformation journey. It describes moving from traditional waterfall approaches to incremental delivery using Scrum, Kanban and other Agile practices. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, empowering cross-functional teams, and continuously improving through inspecting and adapting.

1. AGILE COACHING TEAM
Agile transformation in a large
financial institution
Janet Randell
janet.randell@aviva.co.uk
May 2015

2. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 2
A brief introduction

3. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 3
Why change our approach to change?

4. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 4
Top 5 reasons for success
1. User involvement
2. Executive management support
3. Clear business objectives
4. Optimizing scope
5. Agile process
Why Agile?
Source: CHAOS Manifesto 2013
Big projects usually fail…….
……. so deliver change incrementally
Agile a proven approach

5. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 5
Iterate
Choose your goal
Do the smallest thing you can towards it
Learn
So how to start?

6. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 6
Benefit(£)
Agile Maturity
2009/2010
“Only the Brave”
Aviva Multi-car
Initial Coaching
A4A
Aviva For Advisors
 Support the increasing speed of business
change
 Improve business alignment and flexibility
 Increase Return on Investment
 Improve quality
Starting the journey

7. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 7
What is Agile?
Retrospectives
User Stories
Pair programming
Relative Estimating
PracticesFrameworks
Scrum
Kanban
eXtreme Programming

8. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 8
Key concept - Keep it small, keep it simple
Project
requirements
Define &
build
Test
Feature FeatureFeatureFeatureFeature
Don’t try to get it all right
from the beginning
Don’t build it all at once

9. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 9http://gojko.net/2007/12/04/waterfall-trap/
Incremental - Each increment adds software gradually building up functionality as you go.
Iterative - Build something early, evaluate then make changes until you have a viable
product. It is not iterating if you do it only once.
Incremental & Iterative Conjoined – Look to apply both approaches, with groups of
stories adding new functionality with other stories iterating to improve, change or remove
existing functionality.
http://www.agileproductdesign.com/blog/dont_know_what_i_want.html
Key concept – Incremental and Iterative

10. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 10
Requirements Design
Remove Uncertainty
Build Test
Deliver
Waterfall approach
Requirements & Design
Build and Test
Agile approach
Remove Uncertainty
Deliver
Key concept – Manage uncertainty

11. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 11
 How much will I get for my money?
?
? ?
?
 What will we spend our holiday
money on?
 Where will we go?
Key concept – Variable scope

12. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 12
 Known scope
? ….is it really?
? ….and what is the cost?
? Variable scope
 Maximum value for the budget
 Business remain in control
12
value driven scope = variable scope
Key concept – Variable scope

13. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 13
But what about the MVP?
Minimum Viable Product is the
usually known as the smallest
product you can go live with to
test the product viability.
We often use it as the minimum
required to go live as a final
product.

14. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 14
Key concept – Collaborative team

15. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 15
Create a team
Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to
get the job done.
Key concept – Collaborative team

16. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 16
The hole is in the other side of boat!

17. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 17
Clean
build?
Software
Engineers
Check-
in
Build Code Analysis Functional
Tests
Non-Functional
Tests
Package
& Deploy
TDD, BDD,
Code
Analysis,
etc
Extract
Failed
build?
Fast
feedback
Dev
Test
UAT
Prod
“Continuous
Working
Software”
Continuous Build Pipeline
Feedback
• Testers
• Users
• Product Owner
Software Engineering – enabling change through quality

18. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 18
2012
“Growing Pains”
Benefit(£)
“You are crazy!”
I just don’t
understand
2011
“Emerging”
2009/2010
“Only the Brave”
Aviva Multi-car
Initial Coaching
Inertia & Doubt
A4A
Aviva For Advisors
Tough times

19. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 19
Why so hard?
The problem we face with IT delivery today has nothing to do with
process or technology but people……
Agile provides a collaborative framework within which we can
continuously improve through “Inspecting and Adapting”
But this can be very frustrating for those looking for procedures and
silver bullets…

20. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 20
What is Agile anyway?

21. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 21
Individuals & Interactions over Processes & tools
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation
Responding to Change over Following a Plan
Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation
That is, while there is value in the items on the right,
we value the items on the left more.
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and
helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
The Agile Manifesto
Source: www.agilemanifesto.org

22. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 22
Agile Principles (Simplified)
Satisfy The Customer Expect & Welcome Change Deliver Frequently
Work as One Team Motivate People Communicate Face-to-Face
Measure Working Software Work at a sustainable pace Maintain Technical Excellence
Simplicity removes waste Let Designs Evolve Reflect & Improve as a team

23. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 23
Focus on Scrum
Retrospectives
User Stories
Pair programming
Relative Estimating
PracticesFrameworks
Scrum

24. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 24
Empirical Process Control
• Collaboration
• Prioritization
• Self-organization
• Time-boxing
• Iterative and Incremental
Scrum basics

25. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 25
Defined vs. Empirical processes
Requirements Design Code Test
Baking –
Defined
process
Plan
Check
Do
Adjust
Cooking -
Empirical
process

26. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 26
Show & Tell
Product Backlog
Sprint Backlog
Sprint Planning
Sprint (2-4
weeks)
Retrospective
Potentially Shippable Increment (PSI)
Daily
Standups
Scrum Process

27. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 27
Getting started
…but planning is indispensable”…plans are useless
Dwight D Eisenhower
“In preparing for battle I have always found that….

28. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 28
Creating the Product Backlog
Outcome
Feature
EPIC
User Story
Outcome/
Benefit
The impact (s) created from large-
scale development initiatives. Usual
to do (directly or indirectly) with
money.
Feature /
Capability
Services provided by the system that
fulfils a need. It has a use.
Epic First level break down of features
into epics as needed which most
often represents user activity/tasks.
User Story Sized to be delivered in sprints,
building up incremental value.

29. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 29
What is a User Story?
As a (WHO?) <user role>
if we can not answer the question ‘who wants this?’ STOP!
I want (WHAT?) <business value>
if we can not answer the question ‘what business value is?’ then STOP!
So that I can (WHY?) <outcome>
if we can not say ‘what the benefit/value?’ is then STOP!

30. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 30
A good story should be told

31. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 31
Communication Gone Wrong

32. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 32
Product Backlog & Stories
I ndependent
N egotiable
V aluable
E stimable
S mall
T estable
Stories
Features
Epics
Small & defined
Ideas, bits of detail
Roadmaps items
(Years)
(Months)
(2-3 sprints)

33. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 33
“It’s better to be
roughly right than
precisely wrong” –
J.M Keynes
Planning - Relative Estimation
We will
deliver these
We will
deliver some
of these
We will not
deliver any of
these
Relative sizing
Velocity = average story
points per sprint

34. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 34
Adaptive planning

35. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 35
2013
“Becoming
Mainstream”
2012
“Growing Pains”
Benefit(£)
Agile Maturity
Beliefs change“You are crazy!”
I just don’t
understand
2011
“Emerging”
2010
“Only the Brave”
Suncorp
Secondments
Aviva Multi-car
Initial Coaching
Inertia & Doubt
COO Suncorp
visit
Digital Direct
Programme
UK Guidewire
Programme
Software
Engineering
Team
A4A
Aviva For Advisors
Canada
Guidewire
Programme
The big leap

36. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 36
Agile Coaching team

37. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 37
Work breakdown is key - Incremental and iterative

38. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 38
Other challenges
Machine
Ecosystem

39. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 39
Other challenges

40. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 40
40
Doing Agile
Being Agile
The values and principles are the key to success….

41. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 41
Momentum Builds
2015
“Feature
Teams”
2014
“Agile as
Default”
2013
“Becoming
Mainstream”
2012
“Growing Pains”
Benefit(£)
Agile Maturity
Beliefs change“You are crazy!”
I just don’t
understand
2011
“Emerging”
2010
“Only the Brave”
Suncorp
Secondments
Aviva Multi-car
Initial Coaching
Inertia & Doubt
COO Suncorp
visit
Digital Direct
Programme
UK Guidewire
Programme
MyAviva Launch
Agile CIO
Agile
Transformation
Team
Software
Engineering
Team
A4A
Aviva For Advisors
Canada
Guidewire
Programme
Agile Gating
Gaining momentum

42. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 42
Platform Teams – Own Technology & capability supporting many Feature
Teams
Service Teams – Provide Services to support & improve delivery
Feature Teams - Deliver Business Outcomes
• Align to business outcomes – clear focus
• Optimise flow of work – minimise hand-offs & waiting
• Teams stay together & continuously improve
12 month Look-Ahead
(review quarterly)
Business Unit / Programme
Frequent
Incremental
Delivery
Size teams to
investment
appetite
Pull Work
Continuous
Prioritisation
& Shaping
Backlog
Moving to Feature teams

43. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 43
43
“It is not the strongest of
the
species that survives,
nor the most intelligent,
…….it is the one most
adaptable to change”
Charles Darwin
A final thought

44. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 44
Questions?

45. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 45
Additional slides

46. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 46
3x Roles
• Product Owner
• Scrum Master
• Team
5x Meetings
• Daily Scrum
• Sprint Planning
• Review / Show & Tell
• Retrospective
• Backlog Refinement
4x Artefacts
• Product Backlog
• Sprint Backlog
• Definition of Play Ready
• Definition of Done
Scrum basics

47. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 47
Variable Scope.
Fixed Quality.
Incremental value delivery.
Empowerment.
Accountability.
Scrum – the Acid Test

48. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 48
48
 Kanban is an Agile approach to change management
 An evolutionary approach to making incremental changes to your existing
system
 The focus is on optimizing the process, to make the lead time as small and
predictable as possible
 In general Kanban is most effective where there is a large number of
unpredictable small changes (e.g. small enhancements, support activity).
 A Kanban board is used
Kanban

49. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 49
49
1. Visualise the workflow
• Represent the work items and the workflow on a card wall and/or electronic board.
• Each column on the wall represents steps in your workflow.
2. Limit Work In Progress (WIP)
• To achieve a sustainable level of development
• To reduce the lead time
• To improve quality
• To illuminate problem areas in the flow
3. Measure and manage the flow
4. Make process policies explicit
5. Optimise the process to make the lead time as small and predictable as possible.
Kanban

50. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 50
Core Team:
• Scrum Master – Facilitates the team
• Product Owner – Owns the backlog, manages stakeholders
• Development Team – Works together to deliver the backlog
(most team members dedicated, others pulled in when needed).
Project Start
Establish Team(s)
Team
Product
Owner
Scrum
Master
Business Analyst
Designer
Enginee
r(s)
Assuran
ce
Service
Others
Work Breakdown
Outcome(s)
Vision
Feature(s)
Epic (s)
Story (s)
Create the Backlog
Estimate the Backlog
Plan the burn up
Start Sprinting
(next slide)
Work Breakdown:
• A structured way to decompose the work needed
• Features/Epics/Stories: Components of work breakdown. A
story is the lowest level representing a specific business need.
Epics contain many stories, Features contain many Epics.
Backlog:
• An ordered list of stories for
delivery by the team
Estimation:
• Is relative and based on Story
Points – providing a consistent
basis for planning and tracking
Burn-up:
• A chart showing the expected path and actual progress towards
business outcomes. Tracks story point delivery against stakeholder
expectations and progress towards benefits.
• Velocity (story points per sprint) is initially based on the teams
previous experience and refined through the project
Sprinting:
• Time-boxed periods of work (usually 2 – 4 weeks).
Inception

51. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 51
Iteration – Deliver Working Software
Iteration
Planning
Daily
Stand-up
Visualise Work
Demo &
Feedback
Retrospective Good Enough?
Daily Work
Any Pre-Release
Work
Implementation
Benefits
Release – Going Live in Production
Refine
Backlog
Refine
Plan
Demo:
• Show the Working Software
to the stakeholders and take
feedback. Refine and adapt
the plan. Add new stories
Stand-up:
• A short, focused meeting to
understand progress towards the
sprint goal and any impediments
Visualise Work:
• A visible board is used by the team to
track their work as it moves from “Play
Ready“ to “Done”.
Iteration Planning:
• Plan the work for the next
sprint (2 – 4 weeks of work)
Start here!
Refine the Backlog
• Are all the stories still valid?
• Have they changed?
• Is the priority order right?
• Is the target still right?
Refine the plan:
• Update the Burn-up
• What do we need to
change?
Retrospective:
• Get together as a
team and talk about
how to improve the
way we work
Pre-Release
• Any final checks before we
go live?
• Final testing and approvals
Implementation & Benefits
• Deliver valuable working software to
production and realise benefits.
• Multiple waves of change and benefit
delivery
Sprints

52. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 52
Ha
Break the Rule
Ri
Be the Rule
Shu
Follow the Rule
Shu Ha Ri

53. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 53
Agile
Plan-
based
Complex
Obvious
Complicated
Chaotic
Cynefin

54. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 54
Using Agile
Source: 2013 Agile Development
Survey by Version One
Agile usage & benefits
Managing over 50% of portfolio using Agile

55. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 55
Agile Benefits
Better Manage Changing Priorities
Increased Productivity
Better Visibility
Source: 2013 Agile Development
Survey by Version One

56. AVIVA CONFIDENTIAL page 56
Agile Outcomes
Faster, Chea
Better
Happier Source: 2013 Agile Development
Survey by Version One