SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 42
Download to read offline
81 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
Chapter 3
AGILE FRAMEWORK
V1.0
82 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
Contents
WHAT I WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER?...................................................................................................................................................................... 84
AGILE AT A GLANCE .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 85
GET TO KNOW THE AGILE CORE ........................................................................................................................................................................... 88
AGILE MANIFESTO.................................................................................................................................................................89
AGILE PRINCIPLES..................................................................................................................................................................91
UNDERSTAND THE AGILE ECOSYSTEM .......................................................................................................................................92
FOCUS ON THE ESSENCE...................................................................................................................................................................................... 93
PRIORITISATION AND VALUE................................................................................................................................................93
EMPHASIS ON BUSINESS VALUE ...............................................................................................................................................94
EARLY FEEDBACK AT A SUSTAINABLE PACE..................................................................................................................................95
BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS .......................................................................................................................................................97
FLEXIBILITY TO ACCEPT CHANGES..............................................................................................................................................98
PLANNING AND SHORT CYCLES.................................................................................................................................................99
REQUIREMENTS AND USER STORIES........................................................................................................................................100
RELATIVE ESTIMATION..........................................................................................................................................................101
IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES.................................................................................................................................................................... 102
AGILE RETROSPECTIVES ........................................................................................................................................................102
SIMPLICITY .........................................................................................................................................................................103
MINIMUM VALUABLE PRODUCT ............................................................................................................................................104
TESTING.............................................................................................................................................................................105
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION ..................................................................................................................................................107
SUPPORT PEOPLE & INTERACTIONS ................................................................................................................................................................... 108
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL, STABLE, SELF-ORGANIZED AND MOTIVATED TEAMS ......................................................................................108
MOTIVATION AND TEAMS.....................................................................................................................................................110
COACHING PROCESS.............................................................................................................................................................111
CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP .............................................................................................................................112
SYNERGIES AND EMPOWERMENT ...........................................................................................................................................114
UNDERSTAND THE AGILE UMBRELLA................................................................................................................................................................... 116
SCRUM AT A GLANCE............................................................................................................................................................116
EXTREME PROGRAMMING ....................................................................................................................................................119
VISUAL MANAGEMENT & KANBAN .........................................................................................................................................120
ITS CORE PROPERTIES ...........................................................................................................................................................121
83 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
Agile framework
Agile offers an approach of driving software
initiatives in companies where project management
relies mostly on communication, facilitation, quality
time for introspection, quick feedback receiving
from clients and a close integration between IT and
Business.
84 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
What I will learn in this chapter?
AGILE FRAMEWORK
I know why Agile and its benefits.
I know how Agile works and its practises.
I know the other frameworks.
AGILE
iN AXA
KNOW THE
AGILE ESSENCE
- VALUES &
PRINCIPLES
- Roles
- Support people
- Teams´ structure
- Mindset change
KNOW PRACTISES &
CONCEPTS
- Prioritisation
- Business Value
- Sustainable pace
- Short iterations
- User Stories
- Mandatory meetings
- Etc.
UNDERSTAND THE
AGILE UMBRELLA
- Scrum
- Visual Management
- Extreme Prog.
85 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
In Agile, we use small cycles (iterations) to
get a quick feedback from clients.
Frequent feedback help to assure, that we
are heading the right direction.
Agile at a glance
Agile focuses on closer collaboration between business experts and development Teams.
Business and IT speak different languages so both need to reach an agreement on how to make
communication efficient, regular and mutually beneficial. Agile also uses stable motivated teams and
time for reflexion in order to learn and improve the processes.
The whole framework is governed by a group of basic principles and values, which support people
and their processes and are the essence of everything done in here.
While in traditional methodologies when the number of features and time is fixed the quality and
costs are variable, in Agile the approach is different as we consider that features can vary but quality is
not negotiable.
86 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
I want you to have in mind that Agile
is NOT a way to implement quick-and-
dirty solutions as many people can
think. Keep reading to know more 
AGILE at a glance
By having that in mind, Agile manages very well typical project risks, things that require strong
discipline and architecture governance. These are some of the Agile characteristics:
 Help develop products in short lifecycles.
 Deliver in a “test and learn” approach (continuous revisions and feedback).
 Early check the real business impact and make quick adjustments.
 Based on explicit values and principles.
 It is all about teamwork.
We recognize that most effective software processes cannot be defined up front and it is a
continuous improvement process that never ends.
87 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
AGILE at a glance
In some methodologies a simple set of practises can be sufficient to start implementing a new
approach. In Agile the story is slightly different as you need more than just training but a deep cultural
change.
Let’s review some Agile concepts:
 Close Collaboration between IT and Business People.
 A number of core and explicit values and principals which support the way we do things.
 Quick feedback from clients to check we are heading the right direction
 Technical quality is not negotiable.
 Quality time to learn and improve.
88 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
GET TO KNOW the Agile core
In order to promote change, Agile implements a group of values and principles that govern the way
that things are done.
Are you wondering why you need Values and Principles?
 To help people execute and stay consistent with their duties.
 To define boundaries that unify the organisational culture.
 To help people stay aligned.
 To promote healthy and positive values to be followed by individuals inside the company.
89 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
GET TO KNOW the Agile core
AGILE MANIFESTO
The Agile Manifesto or “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” is a formal proclamation of 4 key
values and 12 principles to guide an iterative and people-centric approach to product
development. They are the core and everything we do is influenced by them.
As sophisticated tools are available, the focus shifted from the people to the tools and
processes. It is still people who produce any result, and consequently, the focus should be placed on
people and communication.
Being more diligent about listing in a schedule all of the tasks necessary to accomplish product
deliverables gives a sense of safety. Unfortunately, no amount of big upfront planning can prevent
changes in design and scope. Agile then emphasizes on working software as primary measure of
progress ( “working” meaning that it satisfies end user needs). It does not mean that documentation is
not necessary but we truly believe that it should be pragmatic considering its purpose and the re-use
that its consumer will do with it (e.g. ease system understanding for maintainability).
90 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
GET TO KNOW the Agile core
Agile focuses on the activity of planning rather than a fixed plan. Products are dominated
by change: requirements, environments, interactions with other systems, etc. There is no product
where things never change and allowing clients to see and play with a product helps mature ideas
and collaboratively find new ways to solve a problem.
Software contracts have all the details right from what requirement are going to be delivered
and how to handle changes. Any modification that comes later to the contract, a negotiation process
goes through a big bureaucratic process to ensure that each part get what they believe is best. Agile
focuses on learning organisations and believes that what a customer initially wants can be different
from a collaborative idea in time. Agile teams focus on delivering value and collaborating with the
customer to get the best approach.
A good way to think about these key concepts is that they define preferences, not alternatives,
encouraging a focus on certain areas. In order to achieve an Agile mindset, people need to know and
fully understand the values and their connotations.
91 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
GET TO KNOW the Agile core
AGILE PRINCIPLES
Agile principles encourage people follow some healthy practises to make things better and keep the
value all along the chain.
The majority of them are common sense, but unfortunately, really easy to forget when you have the
finger in too many pies. Take a look and think how you could implement them in your workplace:
 Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software.
 Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the
customer's competitive advantage.
 Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference
to the shorter timescale.
 Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
 Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and
trust them to get the job done.
 The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development Team is
face-to-face conversation.
 Working software is the primary measure of progress.
 Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
 Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
 Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
 The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
 At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its
behaviour accordingly.
Applying the four values and following properly the 12 principles is something which takes time but
leads to better outcomes and it is a great starting point for the paradigm shift.
92 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
GET TO KNOW the Agile core
UNDERSTAND THE AGILE ECOSYSTEM
After the values and principles have been understood by everyone, the focus should be placed on
certain areas to make sure Agile implementation is successful.
Based in The Agile Star concept, www.proyectosagiles.org
These 8 regions in the Agile Star are important to discuss in order to start moving the wheel and
making people aware of the parts to improve.
93 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
PRIORITISATION AND VALUE
As you certainly know, individuals have their own interests and it is not usual for them to compromise
their needs for someone else’s benefit. Agile is always focused on prioritising well from the
perspective of how valuable a requirement is, in order to remove incongruences/misunderstandings and
create a consistent list of features (Product Backlog).
This is what I teach when explaining to prioritise:
 There are no two requirements with the same priority.
 Reaching an agreement on the meaning of Business Value is needed.
 I show many techniques in Agile to help clients prioritise elements.
 Development Team may point out the cost, technical risk, or other trade-offs associated with a
specific requirement and you might need to decide if it isn’t as essential as any other feature.
94 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
We use business value to make sure that:
 In the middle of the project the most critical objectives
were achieved.
 Elements delayed are less critical requirements
(simplify, postpone or eliminate them).
FOCUS ON the essence
EMPHASIS ON BUSINESS VALUE
Making these priority decisions is an essential customer’s responsibilities in the Agile customer-
developer partnership (IT & Business). We are Business Value oriented and we always try to deliver
as much of this as possible without compromising people, quality or piling a huge bunch of technical
debt. This approach helps you identify all the mandatory parts of your system (must), needed (should)
and optional (could).
Working really tight together allows people understand how worth something is and why is
needed. A direct consequence is that everyone sees the progress and what is coming up next. While
Business focuses on the value of things and verifies the real result, IT makes sure that quality is high
and the productivity is stable.
95 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
EARLY FEEDBACK AT A SUSTAINABLE PACE
We deliver Product increments quickly in order to get enough feedback from clients and verify
assumptions. For that to happen, it is essential for teams to be able to sustain an average pace into the
coming future. Development Team and Business should also be aware of the effect of taking too
much on-board and establish a conversation if that were the case. When you can’t work at a
sustainable pace, you deliver less value and create a higher level of software debt and energy deficit.
To achieve this, Agile plans short development cycles of product increments (1 to 4 weeks) in order
to divide complexity, increase project visibility (on results and speed) and help take better decisions
while reducing risk of project overrun.
As you can see, we do not really worry about trying to define all requirements perfectly from the
beginning as things will change and there will be a lot of learning during the project.
96 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
Additionally, everything is elaborated iteratively and incrementally in order to avoid Analysis
paralysis, bad anticipated decisions and rework.
An important advantage of this tactic is that you always have a “ready to ship” tested product (early
and continuous Q/A) as opposite to risky big bang approaches where testing and acceptance are at the
end. Early releases of “Minimum Valuable Products” or MVP are ready in order to get feedback
from real customers. MVP´s are always “Good enough” and never the “best” late solution.
97 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS
In here, we try to diminish assumptions for our “product list” as they produce a false sense of safety
and increase uncertainty/risk. For that reason, we get a closer look into reality in order to validate
emerging hypotheses (Lean Startup approach).
Many Agile requirements are treated as assumptions (or hypotheses) that must be validated by rapid
experimentation in the marketplace. The aim is to eliminate wasteful practices, increase value and
diminish risk.
Temporary indicators are also created in order to make faster and wiser business decisions while
keeping assumptions and impact low.
98 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
These are some of the practises Agile uses to assure
flexibility:
- Agile Planning and short cycles.
- Agile requirements and User Stories.
- Agile Estimating.
- Pairing in cross-functional teams.
Strong integration & communication between IT and
Business.
..
FOCUS ON the essence
FLEXIBILITY TO ACCEPT CHANGES
We believe that no requirement is taken for granted as reality is a dynamic system. People,
markets, demands, all things are in constant movement and change. We have to accept this in every
aspect of our work.
The closer we fix a requirement to the implementation time the better (last responsible moment).
The goal is to deliver valuable software to support the customer’s competitive advantage supported
by wiser decisions and short cycles.
99 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
PLANNING AND SHORT CYCLES
As we mentioned before, planning is short in order to support flexibility. The focus is on the planning
activity rather than on the plan itself. Straight after the planning finishes an iteration starts. We believe
that learning is encouraged more from getting started than it would be from a continued planning
phase.
The positive value of this way approach is that ROI continues to deliver greater returns over time than
does the traditional way.
Extracted from http://www.agilenutshell.com
100 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
REQUIREMENTS AND USER STORIES
Instead of fixing a requirement at the very beginning of the project, a more flexible idea is used: Agile
requirements are an open opportunity to establish a conversation, learn and explore new ideas
that can be closed at the very last responsible moment.
In here, a requirement is considered “closed” or ready just before developing it (Last responsible
moment). In the meantime, you can grow, exchange points of view, make changes and assure that the
best approach at that time is taken.
Agile also uses a way to write requirements called User Stories that are mainly used to establish a
common ground of understanding between people.
Check Chapter 4 for more details.
101 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
FOCUS ON the essence
RELATIVE ESTIMATION
For some business domains may emerge the need of creating detailed estimates that could
withstand scrutiny from “scientific” teams. These estimates are generally based on the current
knowledge with some contingency for the “known unknowns”. As you can imagine, it is almost
impossible to really predict the unexpected and offer flexibility. As we see the world, this can stop teams
from deliver what clients truly want on time.
Agile uses different techniques (relative estimation) which are normally reinforced by people
generally located in the same place and sharing common ideas/goals. The approach allows synergies
in the team, creates knowledge and experiences to help achieve the best solution in the shortest time.
Check Chapter 5 for more details.
102 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
AGILE RETROSPECTIVES
We emphasise on regular reflection as a mean to sustainable product development pace and
continuous learning. We have seen that iterations (Sprints) pressure may reduce opportunities
for the on-going learning and reflection. Reflexion is done here regularly to help optimize
teamwork, communication, learn more and get long term results during the lifetime of a product.
The focus is on improving and assuring that you are always tuning to the best practices while on
the move.
This is done by a periodical meeting called Retrospective where the Team reflects on what
happened during the last cycle and identifies actions for improvement going forward. The
retrospective is team-driven, and members should decide together which decisions to take and
how they will be implemented.
The outcome of retrospectives is to feed the actions or things to be improved back to the Team or
any other activity in the company that is obstructing from delivering more value.
Extracted from the book Agile Retrospectives – Making Good Teams Great - Esther Derby and Diana Larsen
There is a formal five-step process to carry out this meeting which is detailed in chapter 7.
103 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
SIMPLICITY
We believe that maximising the amount of work not done brings huge benefits. In order to
achieve that, Agile needs the following positive actions:
- People co-located as much as possible to achieve synergies.
- Things that do not produce value removed.
- Work in progress limited.
- Things tested, automated, and good code practises as part of the ecosystem (i.e.
Extreme Programming).
- A Minimum Valuable Product defined.
You should keep implementation to a barely minimum while maintaining the value. Always
support straight communication, simple processes, barely but sufficient tools and an early
reduction or elimination of actions/behaviours that do not add explicit value.
104 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
MINIMUM VALUABLE PRODUCT
We love maximising the validated learning for the least amount of effort. A minimum valuable
product (MVP) is the most pared down version of a product that can still be released.
An MVP has three key characteristics:
- It has enough value that people are willing to use it or buy it initially.
- It demonstrates enough future benefit to retain early adopters.
- It provides a feedback loop to guide future development.
The mandatory part is that early adopters should be able to see the vision or promised final
product and provide the valuable feedback needed to guide developers forward. Identifying a MVP
then is a crucial activity in Agile.
105 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
TESTING
In order to maintain a high quality product while keeping things simple, Agile recognises that:
 In order to get a high quality product, testing is an integral and necessary part of
software development.
 Testing is a feasible activity to automate and never done in separated phases but along
with coding.
 Test-driven development is used
As teams are cross-functional, Testers offer their expertise in eliciting examples of desired
behaviour from clients, collaborating with the development team to turn those into requirements
and finally working software.
Testing and coding are done incrementally and iteratively, building up each feature until it
provides enough value to be released into production (Minimum Viable Product).
106 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
These are some of the advantages but not limited to:
 The whole team is responsible for quality.
 Communication is improved.
 Defects are easy to understand and fix.
 Fewer changes are needed between fixes as code between coding and testing is
close.
 Flexibility to incorporate new requirements
As we mentioned before, Agile testing involves all members of the team, with special expertise
contributed by testers, to ensure delivering the business value desired by the customer at
frequent intervals and at a sustainable pace.
107 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
IMPLEMENT effective techniques
CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
Continuous integration is a software engineering practice in which isolated changes are
immediately tested and reported on when they are added to a larger code base, without human
intervention, in order to detect fails.
We recommend this practise to provide safe and rapid feedback so that if a defect is introduced
into the code base, it can be identified and corrected as soon as possible.
Inspired by simple-talk.com
As the product is continuously tested, client always receive high quality “update”: This improves
the relationship between Business and IT and help manage expectations as people know that
software is working from the very first execution.
108 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL, STABLE, SELF-ORGANIZED AND MOTIVATED TEAMS
Agile teams have an essential characteristic: they are self-organised, cross-functional and
stable. A truly cross-functional team has all of the necessary skills to complete requirements during
an iteration (including testing) and jointly manages the way to do so.
This creates synergies that increase productivity and creativity, while promoting knowledge
sharing and reducing dependencies on specific individuals.
Stable means team members have time to grow with each other. You should challenge yourself to
keep teams motivated through each day.
Team members benefit by learning across their roles, have a close contact with Business and
challenge each other to provide accurate estimates as they become familiar with everyone’s skills.
These mature teams have better predictability and truly help Product Owner and stakeholders set
realistic expectations.
109 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
Remember that in order for people to work
in this way, you need a focus on the Agile
values and Principles.
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
There are 3 proven characteristics that improve your chances of creating a great team:
 Find individuals that historically positively collaborated together and are willing to “test and
learn” new work approaches.
 Look for people with an open-minded attitude.
 Hunt for collaborative individuals that have not yet worked together.
110 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
MOTIVATION AND TEAMS
It’s not the manager’s job to motivate people but to create the right conditions for that to happen. We
believe that motivation is not just about the financial incentives but 3 main areas need to be supported:
 Autonomy - People want the freedom to work how they like, to set their own rules and
conditions. This is why command-and-control/micro-managing employees is not our way.
You need to pay attention to the way that people work to see how they can feel more
comfortable.
 Mastery - Individuals want to improve their skills, continuously learn and get better at what
they do. Make sure you reassure what can bring them knowledge and considered worth by
them.
 Purpose - Everyone wants to contribute to something bigger. Make sure people can see the
huge impact their product and contribution is having on the organisation or client.
When employees have autonomy, mastery and purpose, extraordinary Teams are created and great
things happen; they are happy with their jobs, they are engaged and they deliver peak performance.
111 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
I, as an Agile Coach, can bring assistance
in many areas and help everyone develop
new expertise. I can also provide valuable
feedback and advice and assist the
transformation from being a group of
individuals to a high performance Team.
I am here to make your journey towards
Agile more pleasant 
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
COACHING PROCESS
We recommend expert support in change management and practices adoption when rolling out
Agile. An initial training is fine but discipline and hands-on coaching “in the trenches” to get teams on
board is a crucial.
Remember that she can jump in at any phase of the project and help members with values,
practices and techniques.
112 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
As a Manager, I always help the rest of management understand what
Agile is and its benefits. I always explain:
- Why to focus on customers and Business Value.
- The power of synergies between motivated teams to achieve
constant learning and offer a superior solution to the market.
- The importance of growing people and empowering teams
to take decisions.
- The benefits of quick feedback loops and predictable delivery
to achieve value quickly.
- Move the right pieces to remove organizational roadblocks
to reduce complexity and unnecessary processes.
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP
Last but not least, leaders and management should fully support and help anchor transformation in
order to empower the synergies between IT and Business.
113 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
We suggest you to identify specific people in charge of sponsoring Agile. A good sponsor is an
individual in the organisation who believes in the change and has the authority to work with the
leadership team and middle management to communicate about your ideas, explain why they are
important, and establish a timeline for affecting the change.
We call these individuals Agile Champions and are key people in the organisation.
A main duty for them is to help managers understand:
 What the roles are in the new process.
 Why to ask for help/support to make things happen.
 Intervene with potential people to alleviate their fears and concerns.
 What the vision and a strategy are, or create one if needed and align it with the
change drivers.
114 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
As positive collaboration is not an option but a
real need, you need to empower the following 3
areas:
 Business involvement in a regular basis
as a crucial aspect.
 Transparency and trust as an essential
asset.
 Empowerment to the team to take
decisions as an important value.
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
SYNERGIES AND EMPOWERMENT
We have seen that an Agile organisation emphasises collaboration between IT and Business as the
main currency to increase the value creation flow. Both parts constitute a team as they share the same
problematic and goals and finally all fail or succeed. For this to happen, synergies and communication
need to be stressed.
When people don't trust the information they are receiving, the goal is diluted. There are 3 factors that
you can put in place to improve communications:
 Physical proximity - The closer people are to one another the greater the opportunities for
communication are.
 Temporal proximity– The closer people are to the same time the better the
communication is (i.e. distributed teams).
 Amicability – How likely is someone to hear the thoughts of another person with good will
and to speak without malice.
115 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions
The most effective communication is person-to-person, face-to-face, particularly when enhanced by a
shared goal and product. As you move further away, your communication deteriorates and becomes
less effective.
The ability to answer questions in real time is a key focus as helps provide people with the most
accurate answers and allows the learning process to proceed in the right direction.
116 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
UNDERSTAND the Agile umbrella
SCRUM AT A GLANCE
Scrum is one of the frameworks that are part of Agile, it is widely used in this book and popular in the
Agile World. The main advantage is that it offers a group of practises and tools that allow early
feedback, flexibility and time to market while supporting people.
117 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
Scrum Master
MmMaster
Product Owner
Product Owner
 Unique representative of all stakeholders and users.
 Facilitates priorities agreement in the Business side based on Biz strategy and
ROI.
 Regularly accepts the completed product.
 Collaborates with the Development team in requirement analysis and detailing.
Scrum Master
UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella
Scrum is based on experience and learning rather than theory. Let’s take a look at their basic
concepts:
- Product backlog: A full list of prioritised requirements that defines
a product.
- Small cycles with ready functionality: Usable product that meets the clients’
business goals (working software/product)
- Visual Management: Tools to create an environment where things are obvious from
the minute you walk into the area.
- Regular interaction between business and IT.
- Quality time for reflection.
There are also mandatory meetings such as the Sprint Review, Daily Scrum, and Retrospectives;
most of them are time-boxed (with a fixed time) and all have a clear objective.
Scrum defines the following 3 roles:
 Develops a high performance, motivated and self-organized team,
including Bz and IT, that collaborates and improves continuously.
 Process responsible, transmits the Agile values and principles.
 Facilitates meetings, makes the team flow and creates synergies.
 Removes impediments that the team cannot solve by itself.
118 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
 Cross-functional and self-organized.
 Estimates requirements and provides a solution.
 Presents the results to the Product Owner.
Development Team
UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella
We may also consider some extra roles in order to make it more functional to a large corporation
reality.
Experts that collaborate on a part-time basis and communicate directly with
the Development Team. They are permanent team members.
 This is role is still needed due to the complex environment and that
the organization is on its way to agilization.
 Coordinates relationships with third parties and other plans
(Communication, trainings, HW & SW provisioning, etc.)
 Removes impediments that are out of the scope of the SM (mainly
organizational).
 Financial, terms and scope control.
 Project reporting.
Development Team
Extended Team
Extended Team
Project Manager
Project Manager
119 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
All these things allow me to
do my job better!
UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella
EXTREME PROGRAMMING
Extreme Programming (XP) is a widely extended methodology that assures simplicity in the code. XP
helps developers keep code clean, simple and flexible to accept changes while maintaining the highest
standards. The whole idea here is to offer techniques to write simple code and change the design plan
accordingly if a need arises in the future. As a rule of thumb, people start with the simplest solution and
just add extra functionality whenever needed.
Extreme programming is widely used in Scrum and other agile frameworks.
120 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella
VISUAL MANAGEMENT & KANBAN
It is not new that when you see something you can understand it better. Visual management is a
practise widely used in Agile that makes important information visible to everyone, help establish
conversations, create synergies by helping people thinking together and align people.
We believe that you need to make things visible through setting common and visual
representation of facts/processes in order for things to change.
Visual management presents information in an easy to understand way by using visual
signals instead of text.
Agile teams are self-organised, they are empowered to decide how to solve a problem. As
command-and-control or micro-management patterns are not the desired option for us, Kanban
can avoid a close control on people as everyone knows what is happening.
Go to Chapter 10 “Kanban Techniques” for more details.
121 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella
ITS CORE PROPERTIES
I have found that Kanban allows people work better as they agree on 5 core properties that also you
can follow:
5. Visualize the workflow
6. Limit WIP
7. Manage Flow
8. Make Process Policies Explicit
9. Improve Collaboratively
For more details – please refer Chapter 10 (Kanban Techniques) and Chapter 3 for additional
techniques.
122 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM
REMEMBER
 Agile requires quick feedback loops and close collaboration between Business and IT.
 Values and Principles are the core of Agile framework.
 Focus on Business value and small increments and integrated testing.
 Techniques such as Extreme Programming and Kanban are practices widely adopted by Agile.
DEEPEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE
 Agile Alliance
 Scrum Alliance
BENEFITS
 Business value is the main motivator when taking decisions.
 Features are delivered incrementally, enabling some benefits to be realised early as the product
continues to develop and changes to be accepted in order to get the best possible product.
 Testing is integrated throughout the lifecycle, enabling regular inspection of the product as it develops.
 Teams have quality time to reflect about their work.
 Agile keeps an organization honest and helps them to meet their goals by transparent
communication and small cycle loops.

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

AWB - 13 - Agile Distributed Teams
AWB - 13 - Agile Distributed TeamsAWB - 13 - Agile Distributed Teams
AWB - 13 - Agile Distributed Teams
 
AWB - 08 - Agile Metrics
AWB - 08 - Agile MetricsAWB - 08 - Agile Metrics
AWB - 08 - Agile Metrics
 
[en] Agile transformation - How to deconstruct your organization step by step
[en] Agile transformation - How to deconstruct your organization step by step[en] Agile transformation - How to deconstruct your organization step by step
[en] Agile transformation - How to deconstruct your organization step by step
 
Enterprise Agile adoption - Key success factors
Enterprise Agile adoption - Key success factorsEnterprise Agile adoption - Key success factors
Enterprise Agile adoption - Key success factors
 
[en] Agile - Lean organization and Productivity Improvement Framework - v3.0
[en] Agile - Lean organization and Productivity Improvement Framework - v3.0[en] Agile - Lean organization and Productivity Improvement Framework - v3.0
[en] Agile - Lean organization and Productivity Improvement Framework - v3.0
 
[en] Agile Management is different - CAS2014
[en] Agile Management is different - CAS2014[en] Agile Management is different - CAS2014
[en] Agile Management is different - CAS2014
 
[en] Enterprise Agile adoption - Limits and levers
[en] Enterprise Agile adoption - Limits and levers[en] Enterprise Agile adoption - Limits and levers
[en] Enterprise Agile adoption - Limits and levers
 
The importance of early testing and automation
The importance of early testing and automationThe importance of early testing and automation
The importance of early testing and automation
 
Agile with consciousness - extended version
Agile with consciousness  - extended versionAgile with consciousness  - extended version
Agile with consciousness - extended version
 
Agile transformation 1.3
Agile transformation 1.3Agile transformation 1.3
Agile transformation 1.3
 
[en] How to create your project map to reach your destination
[en] How to create your project map to reach your destination[en] How to create your project map to reach your destination
[en] How to create your project map to reach your destination
 
Agile Transformation | Mike Cottmeyer
Agile Transformation | Mike CottmeyerAgile Transformation | Mike Cottmeyer
Agile Transformation | Mike Cottmeyer
 
Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day L...
Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day L...Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day L...
Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day L...
 
Corporate Innovation Portfolio Management (Excerpt)
Corporate Innovation Portfolio Management (Excerpt)Corporate Innovation Portfolio Management (Excerpt)
Corporate Innovation Portfolio Management (Excerpt)
 
Agile Transformation in Telco Guide
Agile Transformation in Telco GuideAgile Transformation in Telco Guide
Agile Transformation in Telco Guide
 
Craig Larman - Scaling Lean & Agile Development
Craig Larman - Scaling Lean & Agile Development Craig Larman - Scaling Lean & Agile Development
Craig Larman - Scaling Lean & Agile Development
 
MHA2018 - Agile Transformation Explained - Mike Cottmeyer
MHA2018 - Agile Transformation Explained - Mike CottmeyerMHA2018 - Agile Transformation Explained - Mike Cottmeyer
MHA2018 - Agile Transformation Explained - Mike Cottmeyer
 
10 steps to a successsful enterprise agile transformation global scrum 2018
10 steps to a successsful enterprise agile transformation   global scrum 201810 steps to a successsful enterprise agile transformation   global scrum 2018
10 steps to a successsful enterprise agile transformation global scrum 2018
 
Agile transformation
Agile transformationAgile transformation
Agile transformation
 
Agile Transformation v1.27
Agile Transformation v1.27Agile Transformation v1.27
Agile Transformation v1.27
 

Viewers also liked

Operational Excellence - ABE Model
Operational Excellence - ABE ModelOperational Excellence - ABE Model
Operational Excellence - ABE Model
Cedric Coiquaud
 

Viewers also liked (13)

AWB - 05 - Agile Estimating
AWB - 05 - Agile EstimatingAWB - 05 - Agile Estimating
AWB - 05 - Agile Estimating
 
AWB - 11 - Extreme Programming
AWB - 11 - Extreme ProgrammingAWB - 11 - Extreme Programming
AWB - 11 - Extreme Programming
 
Company Profile of AXA Indonesia
Company Profile of AXA IndonesiaCompany Profile of AXA Indonesia
Company Profile of AXA Indonesia
 
Clyd_&_Co_AXA_Pres_v1
Clyd_&_Co_AXA_Pres_v1Clyd_&_Co_AXA_Pres_v1
Clyd_&_Co_AXA_Pres_v1
 
278903A02_Media_Ref
278903A02_Media_Ref278903A02_Media_Ref
278903A02_Media_Ref
 
AXA Banque et la mobilité bancaire ( dossier de presse)
AXA Banque et la mobilité bancaire ( dossier de presse)AXA Banque et la mobilité bancaire ( dossier de presse)
AXA Banque et la mobilité bancaire ( dossier de presse)
 
DWS16 - Plenary - Game changers: trust will change our future everyday life -...
DWS16 - Plenary - Game changers: trust will change our future everyday life -...DWS16 - Plenary - Game changers: trust will change our future everyday life -...
DWS16 - Plenary - Game changers: trust will change our future everyday life -...
 
The role of a Tech Lead at AXA France
The role of a Tech Lead at AXA FranceThe role of a Tech Lead at AXA France
The role of a Tech Lead at AXA France
 
Operational Excellence - ABE Model
Operational Excellence - ABE ModelOperational Excellence - ABE Model
Operational Excellence - ABE Model
 
Agile Testing: The Role Of The Agile Tester
Agile Testing: The Role Of The Agile TesterAgile Testing: The Role Of The Agile Tester
Agile Testing: The Role Of The Agile Tester
 
TOGAF 9 - Security Architecture Ver1 0
TOGAF 9 -  Security Architecture Ver1 0TOGAF 9 -  Security Architecture Ver1 0
TOGAF 9 - Security Architecture Ver1 0
 
How to implement and align Technology within your GRC Framework
How to implement and align Technology within your GRC FrameworkHow to implement and align Technology within your GRC Framework
How to implement and align Technology within your GRC Framework
 
The Physical Interface
The Physical InterfaceThe Physical Interface
The Physical Interface
 

Similar to AWB - 03 - Agile framework

REVISED 450 Research Paper
REVISED 450 Research PaperREVISED 450 Research Paper
REVISED 450 Research Paper
Adam Alvarado
 
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALSKapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
Gary Kapanowski
 
Business Wide Agile Transformations
Business Wide Agile Transformations Business Wide Agile Transformations
Business Wide Agile Transformations
Ed Capaldi
 
Building A Performance Culture
Building A Performance CultureBuilding A Performance Culture
Building A Performance Culture
kuppjac
 

Similar to AWB - 03 - Agile framework (20)

The Secrets to Real World Business Agility
The Secrets to Real World Business AgilityThe Secrets to Real World Business Agility
The Secrets to Real World Business Agility
 
Agile Adoption: Making it Successful by Ambreesh Bangur
Agile Adoption: Making it Successful by Ambreesh Bangur  Agile Adoption: Making it Successful by Ambreesh Bangur
Agile Adoption: Making it Successful by Ambreesh Bangur
 
[Slideshare] Cracking The Agile Culture Code
[Slideshare] Cracking The Agile Culture Code[Slideshare] Cracking The Agile Culture Code
[Slideshare] Cracking The Agile Culture Code
 
Australia Conference 2018_Can itam be agile?
Australia Conference 2018_Can itam be agile?Australia Conference 2018_Can itam be agile?
Australia Conference 2018_Can itam be agile?
 
REVISED 450 Research Paper
REVISED 450 Research PaperREVISED 450 Research Paper
REVISED 450 Research Paper
 
Agile Implementation Beyond Cosmetics
Agile Implementation Beyond CosmeticsAgile Implementation Beyond Cosmetics
Agile Implementation Beyond Cosmetics
 
ETCA_7
ETCA_7ETCA_7
ETCA_7
 
IIABC_body-of-knowledge_EN_2022.pdf
IIABC_body-of-knowledge_EN_2022.pdfIIABC_body-of-knowledge_EN_2022.pdf
IIABC_body-of-knowledge_EN_2022.pdf
 
Agile thinking
Agile thinkingAgile thinking
Agile thinking
 
Reaching agility: Why aren't we done yet?
Reaching agility: Why aren't we done yet?Reaching agility: Why aren't we done yet?
Reaching agility: Why aren't we done yet?
 
How to lead successful agile transformation (ceo’s guide)
How to lead successful agile transformation (ceo’s guide)How to lead successful agile transformation (ceo’s guide)
How to lead successful agile transformation (ceo’s guide)
 
Agile values and mindset refresher
Agile values and mindset refresherAgile values and mindset refresher
Agile values and mindset refresher
 
Innovation Checklist by Fortune 500 Consultant
Innovation Checklist by Fortune 500 Consultant Innovation Checklist by Fortune 500 Consultant
Innovation Checklist by Fortune 500 Consultant
 
Becoming an Agile Marketing Team: The beginner's guide to managing creative ...
Becoming an Agile Marketing Team:  The beginner's guide to managing creative ...Becoming an Agile Marketing Team:  The beginner's guide to managing creative ...
Becoming an Agile Marketing Team: The beginner's guide to managing creative ...
 
ANIn Ahmedabad March 2023 |Achieving Agility across the Enterprise by Kuldeep...
ANIn Ahmedabad March 2023 |Achieving Agility across the Enterprise by Kuldeep...ANIn Ahmedabad March 2023 |Achieving Agility across the Enterprise by Kuldeep...
ANIn Ahmedabad March 2023 |Achieving Agility across the Enterprise by Kuldeep...
 
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALSKapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
Kapanowski Final_FUNDAMENTALS
 
Agile_Organization.pptx
Agile_Organization.pptxAgile_Organization.pptx
Agile_Organization.pptx
 
Business Wide Agile Transformations
Business Wide Agile Transformations Business Wide Agile Transformations
Business Wide Agile Transformations
 
Agile @ Scale
Agile @ ScaleAgile @ Scale
Agile @ Scale
 
Building A Performance Culture
Building A Performance CultureBuilding A Performance Culture
Building A Performance Culture
 

Recently uploaded

The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard BrownThe Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
SandaliGurusinghe2
 
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable developmentBeyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
Nimot Muili
 
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamrainternship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
AllTops
 

Recently uploaded (16)

Group work -meaning and definitions- Characteristics and Importance
Group work -meaning and definitions- Characteristics and ImportanceGroup work -meaning and definitions- Characteristics and Importance
Group work -meaning and definitions- Characteristics and Importance
 
Safety T fire missions army field Artillery
Safety T fire missions army field ArtillerySafety T fire missions army field Artillery
Safety T fire missions army field Artillery
 
Persuasive and Communication is the art of negotiation.
Persuasive and Communication is the art of negotiation.Persuasive and Communication is the art of negotiation.
Persuasive and Communication is the art of negotiation.
 
The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard BrownThe Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
The Psychology Of Motivation - Richard Brown
 
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable developmentBeyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
Beyond the Codes_Repositioning towards sustainable development
 
digital Human resource management presentation.pdf
digital Human resource management presentation.pdfdigital Human resource management presentation.pdf
digital Human resource management presentation.pdf
 
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamrainternship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
internship thesis pakistan aeronautical complex kamra
 
How Software Developers Destroy Business Value.pptx
How Software Developers Destroy Business Value.pptxHow Software Developers Destroy Business Value.pptx
How Software Developers Destroy Business Value.pptx
 
Gautam Buddh Nagar Call Girls 🥰 8617370543 Service Offer VIP Hot Model
Gautam Buddh Nagar Call Girls 🥰 8617370543 Service Offer VIP Hot ModelGautam Buddh Nagar Call Girls 🥰 8617370543 Service Offer VIP Hot Model
Gautam Buddh Nagar Call Girls 🥰 8617370543 Service Offer VIP Hot Model
 
Marketing Management 16th edition by Philip Kotler test bank.docx
Marketing Management 16th edition by Philip Kotler test bank.docxMarketing Management 16th edition by Philip Kotler test bank.docx
Marketing Management 16th edition by Philip Kotler test bank.docx
 
Siliguri Escorts Service Girl ^ 9332606886, WhatsApp Anytime Siliguri
Siliguri Escorts Service Girl ^ 9332606886, WhatsApp Anytime SiliguriSiliguri Escorts Service Girl ^ 9332606886, WhatsApp Anytime Siliguri
Siliguri Escorts Service Girl ^ 9332606886, WhatsApp Anytime Siliguri
 
W.H.Bender Quote 62 - Always strive to be a Hospitality Service professional
W.H.Bender Quote 62 - Always strive to be a Hospitality Service professionalW.H.Bender Quote 62 - Always strive to be a Hospitality Service professional
W.H.Bender Quote 62 - Always strive to be a Hospitality Service professional
 
Spring-2024-Priesthoods of Augustus Yale Historical Review
Spring-2024-Priesthoods of Augustus Yale Historical ReviewSpring-2024-Priesthoods of Augustus Yale Historical Review
Spring-2024-Priesthoods of Augustus Yale Historical Review
 
Information Technology Project Management, Revised 7th edition test bank.docx
Information Technology Project Management, Revised 7th edition test bank.docxInformation Technology Project Management, Revised 7th edition test bank.docx
Information Technology Project Management, Revised 7th edition test bank.docx
 
International Ocean Transportation p.pdf
International Ocean Transportation p.pdfInternational Ocean Transportation p.pdf
International Ocean Transportation p.pdf
 
thesis-and-viva-voce preparation for research scholars
thesis-and-viva-voce preparation for research scholarsthesis-and-viva-voce preparation for research scholars
thesis-and-viva-voce preparation for research scholars
 

AWB - 03 - Agile framework

  • 1. 81 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM Chapter 3 AGILE FRAMEWORK V1.0
  • 2. 82 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM Contents WHAT I WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER?...................................................................................................................................................................... 84 AGILE AT A GLANCE .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 85 GET TO KNOW THE AGILE CORE ........................................................................................................................................................................... 88 AGILE MANIFESTO.................................................................................................................................................................89 AGILE PRINCIPLES..................................................................................................................................................................91 UNDERSTAND THE AGILE ECOSYSTEM .......................................................................................................................................92 FOCUS ON THE ESSENCE...................................................................................................................................................................................... 93 PRIORITISATION AND VALUE................................................................................................................................................93 EMPHASIS ON BUSINESS VALUE ...............................................................................................................................................94 EARLY FEEDBACK AT A SUSTAINABLE PACE..................................................................................................................................95 BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS .......................................................................................................................................................97 FLEXIBILITY TO ACCEPT CHANGES..............................................................................................................................................98 PLANNING AND SHORT CYCLES.................................................................................................................................................99 REQUIREMENTS AND USER STORIES........................................................................................................................................100 RELATIVE ESTIMATION..........................................................................................................................................................101 IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES.................................................................................................................................................................... 102 AGILE RETROSPECTIVES ........................................................................................................................................................102 SIMPLICITY .........................................................................................................................................................................103 MINIMUM VALUABLE PRODUCT ............................................................................................................................................104 TESTING.............................................................................................................................................................................105 CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION ..................................................................................................................................................107 SUPPORT PEOPLE & INTERACTIONS ................................................................................................................................................................... 108 CROSS-FUNCTIONAL, STABLE, SELF-ORGANIZED AND MOTIVATED TEAMS ......................................................................................108 MOTIVATION AND TEAMS.....................................................................................................................................................110 COACHING PROCESS.............................................................................................................................................................111 CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP .............................................................................................................................112 SYNERGIES AND EMPOWERMENT ...........................................................................................................................................114 UNDERSTAND THE AGILE UMBRELLA................................................................................................................................................................... 116 SCRUM AT A GLANCE............................................................................................................................................................116 EXTREME PROGRAMMING ....................................................................................................................................................119 VISUAL MANAGEMENT & KANBAN .........................................................................................................................................120 ITS CORE PROPERTIES ...........................................................................................................................................................121
  • 3. 83 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM Agile framework Agile offers an approach of driving software initiatives in companies where project management relies mostly on communication, facilitation, quality time for introspection, quick feedback receiving from clients and a close integration between IT and Business.
  • 4. 84 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM What I will learn in this chapter? AGILE FRAMEWORK I know why Agile and its benefits. I know how Agile works and its practises. I know the other frameworks. AGILE iN AXA KNOW THE AGILE ESSENCE - VALUES & PRINCIPLES - Roles - Support people - Teams´ structure - Mindset change KNOW PRACTISES & CONCEPTS - Prioritisation - Business Value - Sustainable pace - Short iterations - User Stories - Mandatory meetings - Etc. UNDERSTAND THE AGILE UMBRELLA - Scrum - Visual Management - Extreme Prog.
  • 5. 85 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM In Agile, we use small cycles (iterations) to get a quick feedback from clients. Frequent feedback help to assure, that we are heading the right direction. Agile at a glance Agile focuses on closer collaboration between business experts and development Teams. Business and IT speak different languages so both need to reach an agreement on how to make communication efficient, regular and mutually beneficial. Agile also uses stable motivated teams and time for reflexion in order to learn and improve the processes. The whole framework is governed by a group of basic principles and values, which support people and their processes and are the essence of everything done in here. While in traditional methodologies when the number of features and time is fixed the quality and costs are variable, in Agile the approach is different as we consider that features can vary but quality is not negotiable.
  • 6. 86 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM I want you to have in mind that Agile is NOT a way to implement quick-and- dirty solutions as many people can think. Keep reading to know more  AGILE at a glance By having that in mind, Agile manages very well typical project risks, things that require strong discipline and architecture governance. These are some of the Agile characteristics:  Help develop products in short lifecycles.  Deliver in a “test and learn” approach (continuous revisions and feedback).  Early check the real business impact and make quick adjustments.  Based on explicit values and principles.  It is all about teamwork. We recognize that most effective software processes cannot be defined up front and it is a continuous improvement process that never ends.
  • 7. 87 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM AGILE at a glance In some methodologies a simple set of practises can be sufficient to start implementing a new approach. In Agile the story is slightly different as you need more than just training but a deep cultural change. Let’s review some Agile concepts:  Close Collaboration between IT and Business People.  A number of core and explicit values and principals which support the way we do things.  Quick feedback from clients to check we are heading the right direction  Technical quality is not negotiable.  Quality time to learn and improve.
  • 8. 88 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM GET TO KNOW the Agile core In order to promote change, Agile implements a group of values and principles that govern the way that things are done. Are you wondering why you need Values and Principles?  To help people execute and stay consistent with their duties.  To define boundaries that unify the organisational culture.  To help people stay aligned.  To promote healthy and positive values to be followed by individuals inside the company.
  • 9. 89 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM GET TO KNOW the Agile core AGILE MANIFESTO The Agile Manifesto or “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” is a formal proclamation of 4 key values and 12 principles to guide an iterative and people-centric approach to product development. They are the core and everything we do is influenced by them. As sophisticated tools are available, the focus shifted from the people to the tools and processes. It is still people who produce any result, and consequently, the focus should be placed on people and communication. Being more diligent about listing in a schedule all of the tasks necessary to accomplish product deliverables gives a sense of safety. Unfortunately, no amount of big upfront planning can prevent changes in design and scope. Agile then emphasizes on working software as primary measure of progress ( “working” meaning that it satisfies end user needs). It does not mean that documentation is not necessary but we truly believe that it should be pragmatic considering its purpose and the re-use that its consumer will do with it (e.g. ease system understanding for maintainability).
  • 10. 90 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM GET TO KNOW the Agile core Agile focuses on the activity of planning rather than a fixed plan. Products are dominated by change: requirements, environments, interactions with other systems, etc. There is no product where things never change and allowing clients to see and play with a product helps mature ideas and collaboratively find new ways to solve a problem. Software contracts have all the details right from what requirement are going to be delivered and how to handle changes. Any modification that comes later to the contract, a negotiation process goes through a big bureaucratic process to ensure that each part get what they believe is best. Agile focuses on learning organisations and believes that what a customer initially wants can be different from a collaborative idea in time. Agile teams focus on delivering value and collaborating with the customer to get the best approach. A good way to think about these key concepts is that they define preferences, not alternatives, encouraging a focus on certain areas. In order to achieve an Agile mindset, people need to know and fully understand the values and their connotations.
  • 11. 91 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM GET TO KNOW the Agile core AGILE PRINCIPLES Agile principles encourage people follow some healthy practises to make things better and keep the value all along the chain. The majority of them are common sense, but unfortunately, really easy to forget when you have the finger in too many pies. Take a look and think how you could implement them in your workplace:  Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.  Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.  Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.  Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.  Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.  The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development Team is face-to-face conversation.  Working software is the primary measure of progress.  Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.  Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.  Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.  The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.  At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly. Applying the four values and following properly the 12 principles is something which takes time but leads to better outcomes and it is a great starting point for the paradigm shift.
  • 12. 92 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM GET TO KNOW the Agile core UNDERSTAND THE AGILE ECOSYSTEM After the values and principles have been understood by everyone, the focus should be placed on certain areas to make sure Agile implementation is successful. Based in The Agile Star concept, www.proyectosagiles.org These 8 regions in the Agile Star are important to discuss in order to start moving the wheel and making people aware of the parts to improve.
  • 13. 93 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence PRIORITISATION AND VALUE As you certainly know, individuals have their own interests and it is not usual for them to compromise their needs for someone else’s benefit. Agile is always focused on prioritising well from the perspective of how valuable a requirement is, in order to remove incongruences/misunderstandings and create a consistent list of features (Product Backlog). This is what I teach when explaining to prioritise:  There are no two requirements with the same priority.  Reaching an agreement on the meaning of Business Value is needed.  I show many techniques in Agile to help clients prioritise elements.  Development Team may point out the cost, technical risk, or other trade-offs associated with a specific requirement and you might need to decide if it isn’t as essential as any other feature.
  • 14. 94 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM We use business value to make sure that:  In the middle of the project the most critical objectives were achieved.  Elements delayed are less critical requirements (simplify, postpone or eliminate them). FOCUS ON the essence EMPHASIS ON BUSINESS VALUE Making these priority decisions is an essential customer’s responsibilities in the Agile customer- developer partnership (IT & Business). We are Business Value oriented and we always try to deliver as much of this as possible without compromising people, quality or piling a huge bunch of technical debt. This approach helps you identify all the mandatory parts of your system (must), needed (should) and optional (could). Working really tight together allows people understand how worth something is and why is needed. A direct consequence is that everyone sees the progress and what is coming up next. While Business focuses on the value of things and verifies the real result, IT makes sure that quality is high and the productivity is stable.
  • 15. 95 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence EARLY FEEDBACK AT A SUSTAINABLE PACE We deliver Product increments quickly in order to get enough feedback from clients and verify assumptions. For that to happen, it is essential for teams to be able to sustain an average pace into the coming future. Development Team and Business should also be aware of the effect of taking too much on-board and establish a conversation if that were the case. When you can’t work at a sustainable pace, you deliver less value and create a higher level of software debt and energy deficit. To achieve this, Agile plans short development cycles of product increments (1 to 4 weeks) in order to divide complexity, increase project visibility (on results and speed) and help take better decisions while reducing risk of project overrun. As you can see, we do not really worry about trying to define all requirements perfectly from the beginning as things will change and there will be a lot of learning during the project.
  • 16. 96 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence Additionally, everything is elaborated iteratively and incrementally in order to avoid Analysis paralysis, bad anticipated decisions and rework. An important advantage of this tactic is that you always have a “ready to ship” tested product (early and continuous Q/A) as opposite to risky big bang approaches where testing and acceptance are at the end. Early releases of “Minimum Valuable Products” or MVP are ready in order to get feedback from real customers. MVP´s are always “Good enough” and never the “best” late solution.
  • 17. 97 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS In here, we try to diminish assumptions for our “product list” as they produce a false sense of safety and increase uncertainty/risk. For that reason, we get a closer look into reality in order to validate emerging hypotheses (Lean Startup approach). Many Agile requirements are treated as assumptions (or hypotheses) that must be validated by rapid experimentation in the marketplace. The aim is to eliminate wasteful practices, increase value and diminish risk. Temporary indicators are also created in order to make faster and wiser business decisions while keeping assumptions and impact low.
  • 18. 98 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM These are some of the practises Agile uses to assure flexibility: - Agile Planning and short cycles. - Agile requirements and User Stories. - Agile Estimating. - Pairing in cross-functional teams. Strong integration & communication between IT and Business. .. FOCUS ON the essence FLEXIBILITY TO ACCEPT CHANGES We believe that no requirement is taken for granted as reality is a dynamic system. People, markets, demands, all things are in constant movement and change. We have to accept this in every aspect of our work. The closer we fix a requirement to the implementation time the better (last responsible moment). The goal is to deliver valuable software to support the customer’s competitive advantage supported by wiser decisions and short cycles.
  • 19. 99 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence PLANNING AND SHORT CYCLES As we mentioned before, planning is short in order to support flexibility. The focus is on the planning activity rather than on the plan itself. Straight after the planning finishes an iteration starts. We believe that learning is encouraged more from getting started than it would be from a continued planning phase. The positive value of this way approach is that ROI continues to deliver greater returns over time than does the traditional way. Extracted from http://www.agilenutshell.com
  • 20. 100 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence REQUIREMENTS AND USER STORIES Instead of fixing a requirement at the very beginning of the project, a more flexible idea is used: Agile requirements are an open opportunity to establish a conversation, learn and explore new ideas that can be closed at the very last responsible moment. In here, a requirement is considered “closed” or ready just before developing it (Last responsible moment). In the meantime, you can grow, exchange points of view, make changes and assure that the best approach at that time is taken. Agile also uses a way to write requirements called User Stories that are mainly used to establish a common ground of understanding between people. Check Chapter 4 for more details.
  • 21. 101 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM FOCUS ON the essence RELATIVE ESTIMATION For some business domains may emerge the need of creating detailed estimates that could withstand scrutiny from “scientific” teams. These estimates are generally based on the current knowledge with some contingency for the “known unknowns”. As you can imagine, it is almost impossible to really predict the unexpected and offer flexibility. As we see the world, this can stop teams from deliver what clients truly want on time. Agile uses different techniques (relative estimation) which are normally reinforced by people generally located in the same place and sharing common ideas/goals. The approach allows synergies in the team, creates knowledge and experiences to help achieve the best solution in the shortest time. Check Chapter 5 for more details.
  • 22. 102 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques AGILE RETROSPECTIVES We emphasise on regular reflection as a mean to sustainable product development pace and continuous learning. We have seen that iterations (Sprints) pressure may reduce opportunities for the on-going learning and reflection. Reflexion is done here regularly to help optimize teamwork, communication, learn more and get long term results during the lifetime of a product. The focus is on improving and assuring that you are always tuning to the best practices while on the move. This is done by a periodical meeting called Retrospective where the Team reflects on what happened during the last cycle and identifies actions for improvement going forward. The retrospective is team-driven, and members should decide together which decisions to take and how they will be implemented. The outcome of retrospectives is to feed the actions or things to be improved back to the Team or any other activity in the company that is obstructing from delivering more value. Extracted from the book Agile Retrospectives – Making Good Teams Great - Esther Derby and Diana Larsen There is a formal five-step process to carry out this meeting which is detailed in chapter 7.
  • 23. 103 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques SIMPLICITY We believe that maximising the amount of work not done brings huge benefits. In order to achieve that, Agile needs the following positive actions: - People co-located as much as possible to achieve synergies. - Things that do not produce value removed. - Work in progress limited. - Things tested, automated, and good code practises as part of the ecosystem (i.e. Extreme Programming). - A Minimum Valuable Product defined. You should keep implementation to a barely minimum while maintaining the value. Always support straight communication, simple processes, barely but sufficient tools and an early reduction or elimination of actions/behaviours that do not add explicit value.
  • 24. 104 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques MINIMUM VALUABLE PRODUCT We love maximising the validated learning for the least amount of effort. A minimum valuable product (MVP) is the most pared down version of a product that can still be released. An MVP has three key characteristics: - It has enough value that people are willing to use it or buy it initially. - It demonstrates enough future benefit to retain early adopters. - It provides a feedback loop to guide future development. The mandatory part is that early adopters should be able to see the vision or promised final product and provide the valuable feedback needed to guide developers forward. Identifying a MVP then is a crucial activity in Agile.
  • 25. 105 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques TESTING In order to maintain a high quality product while keeping things simple, Agile recognises that:  In order to get a high quality product, testing is an integral and necessary part of software development.  Testing is a feasible activity to automate and never done in separated phases but along with coding.  Test-driven development is used As teams are cross-functional, Testers offer their expertise in eliciting examples of desired behaviour from clients, collaborating with the development team to turn those into requirements and finally working software. Testing and coding are done incrementally and iteratively, building up each feature until it provides enough value to be released into production (Minimum Viable Product).
  • 26. 106 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques These are some of the advantages but not limited to:  The whole team is responsible for quality.  Communication is improved.  Defects are easy to understand and fix.  Fewer changes are needed between fixes as code between coding and testing is close.  Flexibility to incorporate new requirements As we mentioned before, Agile testing involves all members of the team, with special expertise contributed by testers, to ensure delivering the business value desired by the customer at frequent intervals and at a sustainable pace.
  • 27. 107 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM IMPLEMENT effective techniques CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION Continuous integration is a software engineering practice in which isolated changes are immediately tested and reported on when they are added to a larger code base, without human intervention, in order to detect fails. We recommend this practise to provide safe and rapid feedback so that if a defect is introduced into the code base, it can be identified and corrected as soon as possible. Inspired by simple-talk.com As the product is continuously tested, client always receive high quality “update”: This improves the relationship between Business and IT and help manage expectations as people know that software is working from the very first execution.
  • 28. 108 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions CROSS-FUNCTIONAL, STABLE, SELF-ORGANIZED AND MOTIVATED TEAMS Agile teams have an essential characteristic: they are self-organised, cross-functional and stable. A truly cross-functional team has all of the necessary skills to complete requirements during an iteration (including testing) and jointly manages the way to do so. This creates synergies that increase productivity and creativity, while promoting knowledge sharing and reducing dependencies on specific individuals. Stable means team members have time to grow with each other. You should challenge yourself to keep teams motivated through each day. Team members benefit by learning across their roles, have a close contact with Business and challenge each other to provide accurate estimates as they become familiar with everyone’s skills. These mature teams have better predictability and truly help Product Owner and stakeholders set realistic expectations.
  • 29. 109 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM Remember that in order for people to work in this way, you need a focus on the Agile values and Principles. SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions There are 3 proven characteristics that improve your chances of creating a great team:  Find individuals that historically positively collaborated together and are willing to “test and learn” new work approaches.  Look for people with an open-minded attitude.  Hunt for collaborative individuals that have not yet worked together.
  • 30. 110 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions MOTIVATION AND TEAMS It’s not the manager’s job to motivate people but to create the right conditions for that to happen. We believe that motivation is not just about the financial incentives but 3 main areas need to be supported:  Autonomy - People want the freedom to work how they like, to set their own rules and conditions. This is why command-and-control/micro-managing employees is not our way. You need to pay attention to the way that people work to see how they can feel more comfortable.  Mastery - Individuals want to improve their skills, continuously learn and get better at what they do. Make sure you reassure what can bring them knowledge and considered worth by them.  Purpose - Everyone wants to contribute to something bigger. Make sure people can see the huge impact their product and contribution is having on the organisation or client. When employees have autonomy, mastery and purpose, extraordinary Teams are created and great things happen; they are happy with their jobs, they are engaged and they deliver peak performance.
  • 31. 111 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM I, as an Agile Coach, can bring assistance in many areas and help everyone develop new expertise. I can also provide valuable feedback and advice and assist the transformation from being a group of individuals to a high performance Team. I am here to make your journey towards Agile more pleasant  SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions COACHING PROCESS We recommend expert support in change management and practices adoption when rolling out Agile. An initial training is fine but discipline and hands-on coaching “in the trenches” to get teams on board is a crucial. Remember that she can jump in at any phase of the project and help members with values, practices and techniques.
  • 32. 112 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM As a Manager, I always help the rest of management understand what Agile is and its benefits. I always explain: - Why to focus on customers and Business Value. - The power of synergies between motivated teams to achieve constant learning and offer a superior solution to the market. - The importance of growing people and empowering teams to take decisions. - The benefits of quick feedback loops and predictable delivery to achieve value quickly. - Move the right pieces to remove organizational roadblocks to reduce complexity and unnecessary processes. SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AND SPONSORSHIP Last but not least, leaders and management should fully support and help anchor transformation in order to empower the synergies between IT and Business.
  • 33. 113 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions We suggest you to identify specific people in charge of sponsoring Agile. A good sponsor is an individual in the organisation who believes in the change and has the authority to work with the leadership team and middle management to communicate about your ideas, explain why they are important, and establish a timeline for affecting the change. We call these individuals Agile Champions and are key people in the organisation. A main duty for them is to help managers understand:  What the roles are in the new process.  Why to ask for help/support to make things happen.  Intervene with potential people to alleviate their fears and concerns.  What the vision and a strategy are, or create one if needed and align it with the change drivers.
  • 34. 114 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM As positive collaboration is not an option but a real need, you need to empower the following 3 areas:  Business involvement in a regular basis as a crucial aspect.  Transparency and trust as an essential asset.  Empowerment to the team to take decisions as an important value. SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions SYNERGIES AND EMPOWERMENT We have seen that an Agile organisation emphasises collaboration between IT and Business as the main currency to increase the value creation flow. Both parts constitute a team as they share the same problematic and goals and finally all fail or succeed. For this to happen, synergies and communication need to be stressed. When people don't trust the information they are receiving, the goal is diluted. There are 3 factors that you can put in place to improve communications:  Physical proximity - The closer people are to one another the greater the opportunities for communication are.  Temporal proximity– The closer people are to the same time the better the communication is (i.e. distributed teams).  Amicability – How likely is someone to hear the thoughts of another person with good will and to speak without malice.
  • 35. 115 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM SUPPORT PEOPLE & interactions The most effective communication is person-to-person, face-to-face, particularly when enhanced by a shared goal and product. As you move further away, your communication deteriorates and becomes less effective. The ability to answer questions in real time is a key focus as helps provide people with the most accurate answers and allows the learning process to proceed in the right direction.
  • 36. 116 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM UNDERSTAND the Agile umbrella SCRUM AT A GLANCE Scrum is one of the frameworks that are part of Agile, it is widely used in this book and popular in the Agile World. The main advantage is that it offers a group of practises and tools that allow early feedback, flexibility and time to market while supporting people.
  • 37. 117 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM Scrum Master MmMaster Product Owner Product Owner  Unique representative of all stakeholders and users.  Facilitates priorities agreement in the Business side based on Biz strategy and ROI.  Regularly accepts the completed product.  Collaborates with the Development team in requirement analysis and detailing. Scrum Master UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella Scrum is based on experience and learning rather than theory. Let’s take a look at their basic concepts: - Product backlog: A full list of prioritised requirements that defines a product. - Small cycles with ready functionality: Usable product that meets the clients’ business goals (working software/product) - Visual Management: Tools to create an environment where things are obvious from the minute you walk into the area. - Regular interaction between business and IT. - Quality time for reflection. There are also mandatory meetings such as the Sprint Review, Daily Scrum, and Retrospectives; most of them are time-boxed (with a fixed time) and all have a clear objective. Scrum defines the following 3 roles:  Develops a high performance, motivated and self-organized team, including Bz and IT, that collaborates and improves continuously.  Process responsible, transmits the Agile values and principles.  Facilitates meetings, makes the team flow and creates synergies.  Removes impediments that the team cannot solve by itself.
  • 38. 118 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM  Cross-functional and self-organized.  Estimates requirements and provides a solution.  Presents the results to the Product Owner. Development Team UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella We may also consider some extra roles in order to make it more functional to a large corporation reality. Experts that collaborate on a part-time basis and communicate directly with the Development Team. They are permanent team members.  This is role is still needed due to the complex environment and that the organization is on its way to agilization.  Coordinates relationships with third parties and other plans (Communication, trainings, HW & SW provisioning, etc.)  Removes impediments that are out of the scope of the SM (mainly organizational).  Financial, terms and scope control.  Project reporting. Development Team Extended Team Extended Team Project Manager Project Manager
  • 39. 119 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM All these things allow me to do my job better! UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella EXTREME PROGRAMMING Extreme Programming (XP) is a widely extended methodology that assures simplicity in the code. XP helps developers keep code clean, simple and flexible to accept changes while maintaining the highest standards. The whole idea here is to offer techniques to write simple code and change the design plan accordingly if a need arises in the future. As a rule of thumb, people start with the simplest solution and just add extra functionality whenever needed. Extreme programming is widely used in Scrum and other agile frameworks.
  • 40. 120 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella VISUAL MANAGEMENT & KANBAN It is not new that when you see something you can understand it better. Visual management is a practise widely used in Agile that makes important information visible to everyone, help establish conversations, create synergies by helping people thinking together and align people. We believe that you need to make things visible through setting common and visual representation of facts/processes in order for things to change. Visual management presents information in an easy to understand way by using visual signals instead of text. Agile teams are self-organised, they are empowered to decide how to solve a problem. As command-and-control or micro-management patterns are not the desired option for us, Kanban can avoid a close control on people as everyone knows what is happening. Go to Chapter 10 “Kanban Techniques” for more details.
  • 41. 121 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM UNDERSTAND the agile umbrella ITS CORE PROPERTIES I have found that Kanban allows people work better as they agree on 5 core properties that also you can follow: 5. Visualize the workflow 6. Limit WIP 7. Manage Flow 8. Make Process Policies Explicit 9. Improve Collaboratively For more details – please refer Chapter 10 (Kanban Techniques) and Chapter 3 for additional techniques.
  • 42. 122 Agile White Book – AXA Emerging Markets EMEA-LATAM REMEMBER  Agile requires quick feedback loops and close collaboration between Business and IT.  Values and Principles are the core of Agile framework.  Focus on Business value and small increments and integrated testing.  Techniques such as Extreme Programming and Kanban are practices widely adopted by Agile. DEEPEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE  Agile Alliance  Scrum Alliance BENEFITS  Business value is the main motivator when taking decisions.  Features are delivered incrementally, enabling some benefits to be realised early as the product continues to develop and changes to be accepted in order to get the best possible product.  Testing is integrated throughout the lifecycle, enabling regular inspection of the product as it develops.  Teams have quality time to reflect about their work.  Agile keeps an organization honest and helps them to meet their goals by transparent communication and small cycle loops.