The document presents insights on effectively managing remotely distributed agile teams within a Scrum framework, focusing on key concepts like partner management, the partner relationship lifecycle, and roles and responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of communication tools, planning, and monitoring for successful project execution across time zones. Additionally, it provides best practices for web-based meetings, cultural considerations, and tools that enhance collaboration in a distributed environment.

1. February 2016
Working with Remotely
Distributed Teams on an
Agile/Scrum Project
Dr. Scott S. Elliott
© 2016 Presented by

2. © 2016 Page 2Presented by
Scott S. Elliott
• Former Engineer & Executive for HP Test &
Measurement (now Keysight Technologies)
• Led New Product Development & Manufacturing
• Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Board Member
• Founded and led TechZecs LLC for 15 years
• PhD EE from the University of California
• Contributing Author
scott.elliott@techzecs.com +1.415.830.5520

3. © 2016 Page 3Presented by
Learning Points Burn-Down
Review Scrum Terms
Qualify & Monitor Agile Partners
Project Planning & Monitoring
Execution Across Time Zones
Collaboration
EffectiveTool
Backlog of
Points
One Hour Sprint
We will introduce
Some simple, graphical
tools

4. © 2016 Page 4Presented by
Agile Development Terminology (Scrum)
• Backlog & Grooming
• Burn Down Chart
• Customer Owner or Product Owner
• Information Radiators
• Planning Poker
• Release
• Retrospective
• Scrum
• Sprint
• Stand-Up Meeting
• Story Points
• Timeboxing
• Task Board
• User Stories & Epics
Epics Backlog In Process Done
User & Technical Stories
#1 As a Nurse,
I needto. . .
Mary
Hamid
Sue
Phil
Bob
Zhan

5. © 2016 Page 5Presented by
Typical Sprint Agenda (2-4 Weeks)
Before Sprint
• Overall Project Goals & Status
• Results of previous Sprint(s)
• Collect & Prioritize User Stories
Sprint Planning (1/2 day)
• Desired Sprint Outcome (Scoping)
• Estimate Task Durations (Story Points)
& Risk
• Plot dependencies / Critical Path
• Prioritize the Backlog & Plot Burn
Down Target
During Sprint
• Daily Stand-ups
• Monitor the progress (Burn Down)
• Do the work individually or in teams
End of Sprint
• Review objectives and
accomplishments
• Review overall Project
• Conduct Sprint Retrospective

6. © 2016 Page 6Presented by
Software Scrum Team (Typical)
Scrum
Master
Product
Manager
Architect
Coder
Coder
Tester
Runs Sprint Process
Leads Stand-ups
Leads Retrospectives
Keeps metrics
Defines Requirements
& User Stories
Leads Release Mtgs
Defines Solution
Architecture
Top-level Interactions
Implementation
Planning
Execution
Regression Testing
Solution Verification

7. © 2016 Page 7Presented by
• Partner Management Basics
• The Partner Relationship Lifecycle
• Roles & Responsibilities
• Qualifying and Monitoring
Partners
• Setting up a Distributed Agile
Team
• Distributed Team Meetings
Teaming with Distributed Partners

8. © 2016 Page 8Presented by
The Partner Management Lifecycle
Partnership
Activity

9. © 2016 Page 9Presented by
Roles & Responsibilities in the Partner Lifecycle
• Each phase of the Lifecycle
may require different
leadership roles
• Confused roles can cause
confused expectations in any
phase
• Roles can be clarified with a
Circle-Dot chart
Role 3
Role 4
Role 2
Role 1 Lead/Co-Lead
Involved
Informed
Not Involved

10. © 2016 Page 10Presented by
Circle-Dot Diagram for R&Rs
Process/Phase
Role

11. © 2016 Page 11Presented by
• The Procurement Specialist forms a
team to qualify potential partners
• Choose 6 to 8 parameters that are
important for project success; example:
o Proven Programming capabilities
o Work in an Agile/Scrum environment
o Excellence at test and debug
o Built-in quality documentation
o Reasonable cost of partnership
o Business stability
• Visit Partner and perform due diligence
on the above parameters
Qualifying & Monitoring the Partner

12. © 2016 Page 12Presented by
• Here are 6 axes
• 0 to 5 scale
• Acceptability
criteria defined
Qualifying & Monitoring Tool

13. © 2016 Page 13Presented by
Qualifying & Monitoring the Partner

14. © 2016 Page 14Presented by
Partner Communications Map Tool
Exec
Pro-
cure
FM
PL
TL
SME
1
SME
2
Account
Manager
Contract
Manager
Resource
Manager
Lead
Program.
2
Lead
Program.
1
Relationship
Health
Compliance
Business
Competence &
Availability
Daily
Technical
Daily
Technical
Technical
Coord
Technical
Progress
Schedule &
Budget
Resource
Coord
Partner
Performance
Prime Co. Development
Partner

15. © 2016 Page 15Presented by
Webinar Points Burn-Down
Review Scrum Terms
Qualify & Monitor Agile Partners
Project Planning & Monitoring
Execution Across Time Zones
Collaboration
EffectiveTool
Backlog of
Points
One Hour Sprint

16. © 2016 Page 16Presented by
Project Planning & Execution – for Distributed Agile Development
Needs
• Seamless Communication tools with Global
Visibility of
o The latest Prioritized Customer
Stories
o Overall Project Boundaries
o Sprint Boundaries
o Sprint Burn Down
o Task Queue and Priorities*
o Everyone else’s plan*
o The Critical Path*
o Near Critical Paths*
o Resource Availability*
• Ability for each team member to easily
update his/her plans and progress*
• Recalculation of Critical Path after updates*
For a co-located team, these communications happen
at the daily stand up meetings and frequent side
conversations
For a globally distributed team, the * items are much
more difficult to coordinate (even co-located)

17. © 2016 Page 17Presented by
Tool Set for Distributed Agile Development
Recommended Tools:
• Standardized web meeting tool for
o F2F Communication
o Screen or App sharing
o Meeting documentation
Recommend Zoom, Webex or GoToMeeting
In addition Chat software can be handy for
quick side conversations (Skype, Google Chat,
WeChat, Jabber, etc.) – Standardize!
• Seamless Communication tools with Global
Visibility of
o The latest Prioritized Customer Stories
o Overall Project Boundaries
o Sprint Boundaries
o Sprint Burn Down

18. © 2016 Page 18Presented by
Best Practices for Web-based Meetings
• Specify who needs to attend
• Investigate for cultural diversity and
sensitivity for participants
• Decide upon the type of meeting:
• Determine agenda
• Define topics
• Allow for enough time for each agenda item
• Set break times to accommodate telephone
calls, restroom trips, and refreshments
• Set start time and end time
• Select communication method and specify
infrastructure requirements
• Prepare materials
BEST
PRACTICE

19. © 2016 Page 19Presented by
Best Practices for Web-based Meetings
No “Speakerphone Conference Call!”
• Poor quality communication
• Remote folks are “second-class”
participants with no visual cues
BEST
PRACTICE
Ask everyone to use his/her PC in a quiet
place with headset – same footing!

20. © 2016 Page 20Presented by
Webinar Points Burn-Down
Review Scrum Terms
Qualify & Monitor Agile Partners
Project Planning & Monitoring
Execution Across Time Zones
Collaboration
EffectiveTool
Backlog of
Points
One Hour Sprint

21. © 2016 Page 21Presented by
Remote, Cross-Cultural Teaming
• Every region & company has a
unique culture
• Working symbiotically is not
automatic
• Steps to build a NEW working
culture
– Get everyone physically together at
least once if practical, then
Either F2F or Remote:
– Discuss the cultural norms of each
party – differences and similarities
– Ice-breaking exercises
– Develop guidelines for the new culture

22. © 2016 Page 22Presented by
Collocated Scrum Space
• Reference Epics and
Product Backlog
• Prioritized Story & Task
Backlog (readiness &
criticality)
• WIP & Who
• Completed Stories
• GANTT with Critical Path
• Progress Metrics (Burn-
Down)
Epics Backlog In Process Done
User & Technical Stories
#1 As a Nurse,
I needto. . .
Mary
Hamid
Sue
Phil
Bob
Zhan
Capacity?

23. © 2016 Page 23Presented by
Tool Set for Distributed Agile Development
• Shared, Distributed Project Planning Tools
o Dynamic resource & work visibility
Prioritized Task Queue
o Visibility of Critical and Near Critical
Paths
o Capacity for backlog tasks
o Team Member planning and
updating done by team members
• Seamless Communication tools with Global
Visibility of
o Task Queue and Priorities
o Everyone else’s plan
o The Critical Path
o Near Critical Paths
o Resource Availability (Capacity)
• Ability for each team member to easily update
his/her plans and progress
• Recalculation of Critical Path after updates
Also need shared file systems for
Controlling documents, code, drawings
• Shared Wikis
• SharePoint
• Secure Cloud storage sites
• Etc.

24. © 2016 Page 24Presented by
The Daily Web Huddle
15 minutes or so, depending on team size, at
a mutually agreed time.
Agenda - Each person answers three
questions:
1. What did you do since the last Huddle?
2. What will you do before the next
Huddle?
3. What obstacles are you facing?
Rules:
• No discussion
• Concise, crisp updates
• Anything requiring further discussion
goes on “Parking Lot” for assignment to
subgroups
• Everyone show up and don’t skip days!
BEST
PRACTICE

25. © 2016 Page 25Presented by
Playbook Tool – Distributed Project Management
Outline Created by
Project Manager
Critical and Near Critical Paths displayed
Automatically & Dynamically
Details Supplied
by Team Members
http://playbookhq.co/

26. © 2016 Page 26Presented by
Playbook – Distributed Project Management
Plan
View
Prioritized
Backlog
“Huddle”
View
Resource
Availability
http://playbookhq.co/

27. © 2016 Page 27Presented by
Webinar Points Burn-Down
Review Scrum Terms
Qualify & Monitor Agile Partners
Project Planning & Monitoring
Execution Across Time Zones
Collaboration
EffectiveTool
Backlog of
Points
One Hour Sprint
Q&A

28. © 2016 Page 28Presented by
Summary
• Partner Management Basics
• The Partner Relationship
Lifecycle*
• Roles & Responsibilities*
• Qualifying and Monitoring the
Right Partner*
• Setting up a Distributed Agile
Team
• Distributed Team Meetings
• Tools for Agile Partner Projects*
*Some simple, graphical tools
Provided

29. © 2016 Page 29Presented by
For your kind attention
Scott Elliott
TechZecs LLC
San Francisco
scott.elliott@techzecs.com
+1.415.830.5520
Connect with me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dr-scott-elliott/0/15a/a09