Agile processes -- particularly SCRUM and Kanban -- are the best proven way to deliver high-quality software on-time and on-budget. Here are some basics to get started in bringing Agile to your organization!

1. AgileProject Management

2. Traditional Project Management
Waterfall• Spec everything up front
• Rigid timelines
• Tight estimation of task duration
• Fixed timeline + unexpected discoveries + business changes +
unplanned bugs = deathmarch

3. Don't
Have a
Deathmarch

4. The Agile Way• Delay specifics until task is ready
• Interfaces change as you learn
• Flexible timelines respond to emerging needs
• Bugfixes
• Unexpected customer needs
• Respond to other market players
• Firm up task duration when you're in it

5. Stand-up
• 2-5 minutes
• First thing in the morning
• Simple agenda
• What did I do yesterday
• What am I doing today
• Do I have any blockers?
• Anything else: parking lot

6. PO & Scrum Master
• PO owns the meaning of "done"
• Create stories to meet business needs
• Establish any requirements
• Review & accept stories when complete
• Scrum Master owns the process
• Ensure stories are agile chunks
• Ensure nobody has too much work
• Defend the process

7. Agile Stories
Discussion, not a specification
• Title: declarative phrase that defines goal
• Who does what, for what business purpose
• e.g. "Editor can tag story as breaking news to highlight in news
feed"
• Description: minimal if any

8. Agile Story Sizing
• Sized by team when work begins
• Not rigid
• Sized relative to other stories, not to a specific # of hours/days
• Common sizing:
• T-shirt sizes
• Fibonacci
• Oversized stories: split up

9. SCRUM vs. Kanban
• Common Agile project management methods
• SCRUM is most likely work environment
• Kanban is better for Production Project
• Least process overhead

10. SCRUM
• Sprints or Iterations - timed chunk of work
• Usually 2 weeks, sometimes 1 or 4
• Commit to scope of work at beginning of Sprint
• Focus is on velocity
• Expected # of story points per Sprint
• Start sprint with planning, end with retro

11. Kanban
• Continuous workflow
• Pull a new story when one is done
• Focus is on WIP
• Limit the # of stories that can be worked on at once
• Force completion of stories
• No (official) planning, may have retros

12. Retro
• Every 1-2 weeks, max 30 minutes
• Go over what happened, do it better next time
• Describe the last work segment in 1 word
• Vote on winning word
• +/-
• Vote on most significant + and -
• How to do the + again
• Brainstorm fixes for - & Allocate responsibility for fix

13. Do it again next week
And the week after that
But a little better next time
Continuous Improvement, Man
(aka Kaizen)