Rachel Davies gave a presentation on surfing the agile wave. She introduced herself and asked attendees about their experience with agile. Her presentation covered why companies are attracted to agile, how to get started with pilot projects, common mistakes like rushing in or only implementing certain parts of agile, and how agile affects many areas of a company. She discussed agile values from the manifesto and principles like prioritizing customer satisfaction and frequent delivery. The presentation concluded with suggestions on what support is needed for successful agile adoption, like improving build pipelines, empowering teams, and being patient as change takes time.

1. WELCOME
Workshop Room 2
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Rachel Davies - Surfing
the Agile Wave
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2. Surfing the Agile Wave
by Rachel Davies
Introductions
About me:
• Independent consultant / trainer
• Used Agile approaches since 2000
• Author of “Agile Coaching” book
About you:
• Not tried Agile yet?
• Just got started with Agile?
• Been Agile for a while?
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3. Desire
Many companies attracted to Agile benefits:
• Getting software out earlier
• Being responsive to customers
• Lightweight approach
They are often struggling to cope with pace
of change and being able to predict what
will be ready when.
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How do we get started?
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4. Try It
Most companies start with pilot
projects to prove approach can
work for them.
• Often safe candidates
• Isolated from mainstream issues
Make do with current infrastructure:
tools, environment, organisation
structure
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Jumping In
Subsequent Agile projects don’t get the same
attention:
• Not ideal candidates for Agile
• Core principles ignored
• Support for Agile is weak
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5. No Time
Rushing so not doing things properly
Cargo Cult
Looks Agile
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6. Scrum But
Only do the easy parts
Submerged Obstacles to Agile
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7. Agile is pervasive
Agile can have impact on many areas:
• Team composition
• Office furniture
• Build environments
• Hiring policy
• Line management
• Incentives
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Traditional Approach
Phases of activity focused on a fixed-
scope release.
• Divide the work
• Resist change
• Communicate via documents
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8. Agile is not speeding this up
• Agile is not a case
of “do less, go faster”
• Mistake to think
replacing:-
– Process
– Role descriptions
– Tools
– Templates
– Training
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Agile is ..
Make a little,
sell a little,
learn a little
Concurrent activity to create continuous flow of
releases.
• Develop iteratively
• Cross-functional teams
• Frequent releases © Agile Experience Ltd
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9. Agile depends on Teamwork
Real-time interactions rather than process orchestrated
via artefacts. © Agile Experience Ltd
Agile Values
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping
others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools
Working software over Comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over Contract negotiation
Responding to change over Following a plan
While there is value in the items on the right,
we value the items on the left more.
www.agilemanifesto.org
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10. Agile Manifesto Principles (1)
• 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.
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Agile Manifesto Principles (2)
• 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.
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11. Agile Manifesto Principles (3)
• 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
behavior accordingly.
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What Support Is Needed?
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12. Get Serious about Delivery
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Environment matters
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13. Broken Pipelines
• How we build
software needs
attention to improve
flow.
• Often the pipeline to
live is broken and
requires manual
intervention to get
software out to
customers.
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Teamwork relies on Motivation
• Make vision and
benefits clear
• Permission to try new
approach
• Empower team to
make choices about
how they work
• Build awareness and
responsibility
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14. New Skills Take Time
Becoming agile requires:
• Understanding principles
• Time to practice
• Coaching to avoid old habits
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Strive for Quality
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15. Encourage Experiments
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Take Time to Reflect
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16. Be Patient
Change takes time
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Further Reading
Mike Cohn
• “Succeeding with Agile”
Rachel Davies Liz Sedley
• “Agile Coaching”
James Shore Shane Warden
• “The Art of Agile Development”
Jez Humble Dave Farley
• “Continuous Deployment”
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17. Any Questions?
Get in touch
– Email: rachel@agilexp.com
– Twitter: @rachelcdavies
– Blog: http://agilecoach.typepad.com/
– Web: http://www.agilexp.com
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