Teamwork and agile methodologies

Teamwork & Agile MethodologiesStefano Paluello– PaSteSoft (www.pastesoft.com)

In the 90s more than 75% of the IT projects was delayed, was MORE expensive than expected or the project failed (was closed before an end)Why do we need Agile?

In the 90s more than 75% of the IT projects was delayed, was MORE expensive than expected or the project failed (was closed before an end) A part of the (few) released in-time projects was poorly developed (last minute check-in), tested bad, in few words “bad quality”Why do we need Agile?

In the 90s more than 75% of the IT projects was delayed, was MORE expensive than expected or the project failed (was closed before an end) A part of the (few) released in-time projects was poorly developed (last minute check-in), tested bad, in few words “bad quality”Why? What was wrong with those projects?Why do we need Agile?

The “Waterfall” model:Before Agile…

Cyclical, spiral, model (eg.:MSF)First improvement

Iterative and incremental development (eg.: RUP)Another step closer…

Definition: Scrum is a “process skeleton”, which contains set of practices and predefined roles (Wikipedia)What is Scrum?

Definition: Scrumis a “process skeleton”, which contains set of practices and predefined roles (Wikipedia)Scrum is based on Sprint, a short time (2/4 weeks) focused effort toward fixed goals (listed in the Sprint Backlog)What is Scrum?

Definition: Scrum is a “process skeleton”, which contains set of practices and predefined roles (Wikipedia)Scrum is based on Sprint, a short time (2/4 weeks) focused effort toward fixed goals (listed in the Sprint Backlog)All the Sprint Backlog together compound the Product Backlog, the list of all the requirements or changes for the next productWhat is Scrum?

On a Scrum team there are two different kind of “Role”: the “chicken” and the “pig”.Committed or involved?

On a Scrum team there are two different kind of “Role”: the “chicken” and the “pig”.The “pigs” are actually committed to build the software or to accomplish the tasksAll everyone else are the “chicken”, involved or simply interested in the project (they can provide needs, desires, ideas, feedback and so on…)Committed or involved?

The “pig” roles are the most important, the ones that actually perform the work.Scrum Master is a coach/fixer/gatekeeper of the team, whose primary job is to facilitate the delivery of the Sprint. The SM is not the leader but acts as a shield or a buffer between the team and all the external influencesPig roles

The “pig” roles are the most important, the ones that actually perform the work.Scrum Master is a coach/fixer/gatekeeper of the team, whose primary job is to facilitate the delivery of the Sprint. The SM is not the leader but acts as a shield or a buffer between the team and all the external influencesScrum Team perform the actual work of design, develop and test. Normally consist on 5-15 people. The team member decide how the work is arranged and how assignments are distributed. There are no set project roles (this not prevent to be an expert)Pig roles

Product Owner is often a customer but also an internal person as a Project Manager. The main task of the PO is to manage the Product Backlog that it will be a public document/to-do list, so everyone is aware of what to except in future releases. The PO also ensures that the Scrum Team is doing “the right thing” from a business perspective.This role requires knowledge about engineering, marketing and business processesPig roles (2)

People not part of the process but interested on it.Stakeholders ManagersOther team playersGuestsChicken roles

Make a BacklogThe Product Owner compiles all the requests and specifications. A prioritized list is made and ordered according to the customer/market’s requests and the foremost items will compose the Sprint BacklogSprint PhaseIt starts with the PO and the Scrum Team creating the Sprint Backlog prioritizing and setting the right time for every item. All the phase last from 2 to 4 weeksThe process

Daily ScrumA very short (max. 15 minutes) daily meeting between the Scrum Master and the Scrum Team. Every partecipants should answer three questions:What have you done since last meeting?What will do between this and the next meeting?Is there anything blocking or slowing down your job?Anyone can attend and listen to this meeting, but only the “pig roles” may speak.A good way to handle the meeting could be in a shared area in the office with all the people standing up (this is my favorite part  )The process (2)

Demonstration (Review meeting, max 4 hours)The functioning software is showed up to Stakeholders, Product Owner and other teamsThe not completed/working software is analyzedEvaluation (Retrospective meeting, max 3 h.)All the team reflects on the past Sprint, making a continuous process improvementTwo questions have to be answered: What went well during the sprint?What could be improved in the next sprint (or went bad in last)?The process (3)

OK, Scrum isagile but is still full of meetings! Daily meetings:Daily ScrumIt’s timeboxed (15min) and starts always at the same time!All people are welcomeScrum of Scrumusually after the daily scrumOne person from each team can attend (usually the Scrum Master )Useful specially with big projects or to allow clusters of team to integrate their workMeetings

Other meetings:Sprint Planning MeetingSelect what work is to be done and details the Sprint Backlog with the entire teamSprint Review MeetingReview the work deployed, analyzing the not-working and presenting the working oneIt’s timeboxed (4 hour)Sprint RetrospectiveAll team reflect on the past sprint, making continuous process improvementIt’s timeboxed (3 hour)Meetings (2)

We’re still Agile, but we need some documents too…Sprint burn down chartUpdated by the team daily progress for a sprint Product BacklogA prioritized list of high level requirementsSprint BacklogA prioritized and detailed list of tasks to be completed during the SprintArtifacts

Scrum is a very powerful method focused on a good team working, on improve interaction communication and collaboration and that aims to reduce wasted and waiting time to increase productivity and the ability to adapt to changes…… Wow, nothing else? So.. Is it all? After this all our projects will be in time and good? I hope so, but…The end?

Scrum is a method for project management and is a part, important but still a part, of the Agile “world”.Scrum is good for a lot of reasons, but it doesn’t take care about “how to” make the things, it ignores the “engineering” part!Ok, so Scrum is crappy?!?No, wait… Scrum is quite good, but with some other Agile friends could be really good!What Scrum is and it’s not..

Adding some technical practices to a Scrum process could really help the team to achieve the best result with the Agile methodologies.Some of the most famous, used and useful practices are:eXtreme Programming (XP)Test Driven Development (TDD)Continuous IntegrationScrum and its friends

It’s a method based on twelve practices, focused on how to work.The most important practices are:pair programming, two people share the same computer, where the less skilled one will work with the “senior one” standing on his shouldersTest case production, that lean on the TDD principleseXtreme Programming (XP)

Red, Green, Refactor principles:Write a test (Red, the test will fail cause there isn’t any code to test yet)Write the code to pass the test (green)Insert your code into your application and architecture (Refactor, let your code adhere to your guidance and program structure)Test Driven Development

Maintain a code repositoryAutomate the buildAdd automated tests (build self-testing)Everyone commits every dayEvery commit should be built Keep the build fast (and the automated test too)Deploy and test in a clone of the production environmentEveryone can see the result of the latest buildAutomate deploymentContinuous Integration

Teamwork and agile methodologies

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