Building Quality Culture in Agile Software Development discusses how to build a quality culture in agile transformations. It outlines how organizational culture and leadership influence quality and how agile transformations impact processes, teams, and governance. The document recommends strategic initiatives to transform culture such as establishing a quality vision, clear communication, process improvements, empowering teams, continuous delivery, quality analytics, and training. The key takeaways are that building quality culture requires leadership, communication, empowering people, process improvements, technology enablement, and analytics.

1. Building Quality Culture in Agile
Software Development
Dr. Kaali Dass, CSQE, PMP, PhD.
Cisco Systems, Inc.

2. Agenda
Organization Culture
Agile Transformation
Quality Culture
Building Quality Culture
Key Takeaways
Q & A

3. Cisco Confidential 3© 2013-2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Organization Culture
Seen
Hidden

4. Organization Culture & Leadership
Dr. Edgar Schein
Organization Culture
System of shared actions, values,
and beliefs that develops within an
organization and guides the
behavior of its members
Leadership
Culture and leadership are two sides
of the same coin and one cannot
understand one without the other

5. Culture Types
Ref: Engelen, A., Flatten, T. C., Thalmann, J., & Brettel, M. (2014). The Effect of Organizational Culture on Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Comparison
between Germany and Thailand. Journal Of Small Business Management.
Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework, by: Kim S. Cameron; Robert E. Quinn
• Getting Job Done
• Meeting Goals
• Competitive
• Formalized
Structure Governance
• Formal Rules
• Stability
• Entrepreneurial place
• Take Risks
• Innovation
• Growth
• Extended Family
• Loyalty and Tradition
• High Cohesion and
Morale
Clan /
Collaborate
Adhocracy /
Create
Market /
Compete
Hierarchy /
Control

6. Elements of Culture
Vision Mission
Goals Values
Ref: Leadership Conversations: Challenging High Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders, Alan B, Richard S & Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and
Purpose, Rajendra, S., Jagdish, S, David, W

7. Customer Value Chain
Design &
Production
Ownership
Sales
Pride
Customer
Satisfied
Support
Minimum or
Zero Issues
“Culture Plays a Key Role in Organization’s Growth and Profit”

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Agile Transformation

9. Agile Vs Waterfall
Release
Features
A + B + C
Test
Features
A + B + C
Code
Features
A + B + C
Design
Features
A + B + C
Plan
Features
A + B + C
WaterfallAgile
Plan
Design
Code
Test
Working Product
Feature A
Plan
Design
Code
Test
Working Product
Feature B
Plan
Design
Code
Test
Working Product
Feature C
Many Months to see value
Incremental Value for Every 2-3 Weeks

10. Quality Team and Focus
Quality Control Team
Testing After Development
One Team
Testers Embedded With
Development
Quality Control
/
Testing Team
Entire Team
and
Business Owner
Well Planned
Quality Control
Testing Efficiency
Test While Development Test
Driven Development (TDD)
Prevention
Continuous Improvement
AgileTraditional
Quality Teams
Ownership
Focus

11. Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
and Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors
and
Partners
Process Technologies

12. From
Long term Investments
Plan ahead, Detailed plan, and Execute
Resistance to change in Scope and Requirements
Ownership aligned towards SDLC
To
Continuous Planning
Continuous Delivery
Adapting to change in environment /
Marketplace
Close Partnership between Business and IT
Entire Team responsible for Delivery
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
and
Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies

13. From
Technologies to align with Software Development
Life Cycle(SDLC)
Discrete and Low Automation
Less Integration
To
Continuous Delivery
Continuous Quality
Continuous Security
High Level of Automation
Integrated Process Automation
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
and
Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies

14. From
High Level of Governance and Reviews
Checkpoint Reviews
Centralized Release and Quality Control
To
Limited Governance and Reviews
Less or No Check Points
Decentralized and Automated Release Control
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
And Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies

15. From
Contract based on Scope / Time / Cost
Statement of Requirements / Strict Change Control
Long Term Project / Milestone based delivery
Contract Driven
To
Goals Based, Incremental Solutions
Product Vision, Outcomes, Speed,
Performance
Series of ‘Mini Projects’
T & M, Fixed Price, Hybrid, Story Point Billing
Model
Customer Dirven
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
And Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies
http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-to-write-supplier-contracts-for-agile-software-development

16. From
Release Management, Review & Approval Process
Change Management Process
Time Consuming and Complicated
Centralized
To
Simplified Process
Unified and Integrated Process
Automated Process
Decentralized
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
and
Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies

17. From
Medium to Large Teams
Tasks are assigned based on skills and capacity
Closely Monitored and Controlled
Team focus on tasks
To
Small Teams 5-7 Members
Tasks are picked-up based on skills and
availability
Self Managed Teams
Integrated One Team focus on outcome
Agile Transformation: Key Changes
Governance
and
Control
Planning
Team
Structure
Vendors and
Partners
Process Technologies

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Quality Culture

19. Quality and Culture
“Culture is not one of the things
you do, it is everything.”
Quality is the result of carefully
constructed Cultural Environment. It has
to be fabric of the organization, not the
part of the fabric.
Philip B
Crosby
Louis V. Gerstner

20. Leaders influence Culture and Change
Learn Fast and Learn Often…
Guillermo Diaz
Chief Information Officer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Continuous
Innovation
Empowered
And
Accountable
Risk Taking
and
Continuous
Learning
Continuous
Improvement

21. Source: Three Experts on Quality Management, TQLO 92-02
Quality Management
Customer Satisfaction
Current And Future
Needs
Process Improvement
Leadership Approach
More…
W. Edward Deming
Fitness For Use
Free From Deficiencies
Customer Focus
More…
Joseph M Juran
Zero Defects
Cost Of Quality
Conformance To
Requirements
Focus On Prevention
More…
Philip B Crosby
Commitment From Leadership
Quality Culture
Education And Training
Measurement
Key Messages

22. Cisco Confidential 22© 2013-2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Building Quality Culture

23. Strategic Initiatives For Transformation
Reference: Enabling Organizational Change Through Strategic Initiatives(2014), pmi.org

24. “People to Control” to “Platform for Change”
 Strict Control And
Monitoring
 High Governance
 Check Points And
Release Gates
 Create An Environment And
Platform For Change
 Self Empowerment
 Less Governance
 Team Ownership &
Decision Making

25.  Quality Vision And Strategy
 Quality Starts In Board Room (Dr.
Deming)
 Support Quality Initiatives
 Walk The Talk
 Align Quality To Org Vision And
Strategy
 Awards And Recognitions
 Culture Assessment
 Address Sub-culture Issues And
Challenges
 Foster Business And IT Partnership
And Collaboration

26.  Clear Communication Strategy
 Consistent Communication At All
Levels Of Leadership
 Multiple Communication Channels
 Tailored To Reach Various Global
And Sub Units Within Organization
 External Communication (Vendors
And Consultants)
 Build Community For Collaboration
And Share Best Practices

27.  Re-evaluate Release Management,
Quality Management, Support
Management Processes
 Simplify And Improve
 Re-evaluate Governance And
Control
 Change Management Strategy
 Retrospective And Learn From
Failures
 Continuous Improvement On
Quality
 Define And Adopt Maturity Model
To Suit Your Organization

28.  Continuous Delivery Platform
 Continuous Quality, Test
Automation
 Training And Adoption
 Performance, Security, And
Resiliency
 Standards And Best Practices
 Quality Knowledge Management
 Integrated CD Tools To Support
TDD, MBT, RBT

29.  Embrace Culture Of Quality
Ownership
 Empowered To Make Quality
Improvement Decisions
 Training And Development On
Quality
 Reward And Recognition
Process
 Train The Trainer And
Mentorship
 Leading Quality By Sharing
Various Innovation And Best
Practices
 Knowledge Base

30.  Quality Analytics To Take Action
 Quality Analytics To Guide And
Improve
 Uncover “Known Unknowns” And
“Unknown Unknowns”
 Shift Left – Focus On Prevention
 Reactive To Proactive To
Predictive
 Integrate Industry Standards
 Consistent and Unified Reporting,
And Measurement

31. Key Takeaways
Leadership Technology
Communication People
Process Analytics

32. 1. The Handbook for Quality Management, Second Edition : A Complete Guide to Operational
Excellence by: Thomas Pyzdek; Paul Keller
2. Making Sense of Change Management, 4th Edition by: Mike Green; Esther Cameron
3. The Corporate Culture Survival Guide: New and Revised Edition by: Edgar H. Schein
4. http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/agileculture.php
5. Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, Second Edition
by: Rajendra S. Sisodia; Jagdish N. Sheth; David B. Wolfe
6. Organizational Behavior, 13th Edition, by: Mary Uhl-Bien; John R. Schermerhorn Jr.; Richard N.
Osborn
References

33. kdass@cisco.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaalidass

34. Thank you!