Learning agile is a journey on which you meet waterfall on regular bases. This presentation suggests some tools and ideas for coping.

1. Making your organization
more agile - Agile meets
waterfall
Karoliina Luoto, Codento · 5 November 2014

2. Karoliina Luoto + Codento
Consultant for
Agile consulting and coaching
Digital service concepting
Before: product owner, collaboration
strategist, communications specialist
Specializes in client/supplier
methodology facilitation
And works in actual software development
too

3. Can waterfall and agile
Co-exist?
Photo: Leon Riskin, Flickr

4. Are you doing agile?
Let’s take a test
Photo: Karoliina Luoto

5. How agile is your agile?
One possible set of agility criteria:
1. End users are a constant part of the development process
2. The development team has power to make decisions
3. Requirements strech, the schedule/budget doesn't
4. The requirements are described on top level, lightly and visually
5. The development work is done in small increments that can be
developed further
6. Focus on regular delivery of working product parts
7. Finishing each requirement before moving to next one
8. 80/20 rule: focus on search of 20 % solutions that can fulfill 80 % of the need
9. Testing throughout the project – test early, test often
10. Collaborative approach from _all_ players in the project
Criteria credits: Allaboutagile.com

6. It takes 2-4 years to learn agile
Agile Fluency Model
0
Start:
Building
code
1 Focus
Team
on
business
culture
shift
value 2 Deliver
Team
business
value Skills shift
3 Optimize
business
value
3 Optimize
for systems culture shift
Organization
© 2012 James Shore and Diana Larsen, Agilefluency.com

7. Do you have a waterfall
level?
How does that one work?
Photo: Boy-piyaphon, Flickr

8. How is the waterfall doing?
The Good Waterfall Test
1. Are the decision-makers giving clear criteria for success?
2. Are the requirements well defined and clear?
3. Is the development team provided with all the information they need?
4. Can the development team choose its working methods inside the
given requirements?
5. Is the change management process working properly?
6. Does the main decision-maker put effort in measuring the results and
ensuring the schedule?
7. Is the testing/acceptance planned and resourced properly?
Criteria credits: Karoliina Luoto

9. How to negotiate between
Agile and waterfall?
Photo: World Trade Organization, Flickr

10. Understand and address
The cultural differences
Photo: Franco Folini

11. Project level negotiations
Problem: Product owner is distant
Solutions:
1. Daily standups or technology can be used for product
owner communication
2. Proxy product owner is better than no product owner
3. NO EMAIL

12. Project level negotiations
Problem: Third parties in waterfall
Solutions:
1. Product Owner, Scrum Master or someone from the
development team learns the third party change request
procedures day one
2. After that, third party assistance needs are anticipated as part
of development backlog grooming and release planning

13. Decision-making level negotiations
Problem: Steering groups want
predictability
Solutions:
1. Have a methodology kick-off with the steering group
2. Have value vs. cost indicators (analytics help)
3. Involve them in release planning

14. Best of both worlds
What you can always use
Photo: W10002, Flickr

15. How to gain from agile ideas
No matter the project model
Restrict to vision and requirements
Reduce vision risk by piloting and testing
Reduce project risks by chopping elephant projects into
smaller projects or product purchases
Manage supplier risk by contract optimization or openness
– but don’t skip communication
Measure value and incentivize wanted results
Be open for the bad news – you’d rather hear them
Learn

16. So: What defines
A good project?
Suggestions?
PPhhoottoo:: kKaarrloal_iikn.a, FLluicoktro
Some of mine:
1. Clear vision
2. Transparency
3. Predictability
4. Intelligence

17. Success
Is not a methodology choice
Photo: massdistraction, Flickr

18. Thank you!
www.codento.com
karoliina.luoto@codento.com · @totoroki · +358 40 765 8504