4/17/2013

Agile Roles vs. Traditional

About Me
Sally Elatta

Sally@AgileTraining.com

President Agile Transformation Inc |

AgileVideos.com

Leading Agile Transformation Coach, Trainer and Speaker

Background: Java/.Net Software Architect
Certified Scrum Professional, ScrumMaster, IBM, Microsoft
Trained thousands and helped coach dozens of teams on Agile
Agile Expert for PMI.org Learning Community of Practice
I am simply a transformer. Someone who is really passionate
about transforming individuals, teams and organizations to
doing what they do better. I believe in Servant Leadership as
the way to lead change and create a culture of empowered
collaborative high performing teams.
1
2
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

Brainstorming Workshop

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

The Traditional Way

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

The Agile Way

orem ipsum dolor sit
amet, co nse ctetur

orem ipsum dolor sit

amet, co nse ctetur

orem ipsum dolor sit

amet, co nse ctetur

orem ipsum dolor sit

amet, co nse ctetur

orem ipsum dolor sit

amet, co nse ctetur

orem ipsum dolor sit

amet, co nse ctetur

Backlog
Interested

Committed
5
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

From Silos to Collaboration

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

Characteristics of Agile Teams

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

The Leadership Triangle

Business Vision
What? Why?

Release
Plan

How
Process
Facilitator

Technical
Vision
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

Agile Roles Product Owner

Product Owner: responsible for maximizing the
business value delivered by the team.
ONE person responsible for the backlog and story
priority
Accepts or rejects work
Helps define Done
Knowledgeable, empowered, engaged!
Co-located with team as much as feasible
Manages stakeholder and sponsor expectations
Motivates team, celebrates success!
9

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

Traditional Project Manager

Manages the project through developing detailed

project plans upfront at the task level.

Heavy use of project management tools.
Heavy upfront planning, may engage key SMEs and
resource managers for estimates and contribute
estimates themselves.
Manages tasks, holds weekly status meetings and may
visit team members at desk to find out task status.
Takes care of addressing any major team issues.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

10

4/17/2013

Traditional Project Manager ..

Might manage several projects at a time.
Accountable for project success and failure.
May use Command and Control to direct the team on

what to work on next and when to get it done by.

May be involved in the daily decision making related to
the requirements, architecture and other aspects of
the project.
More experience with Waterfall development as
apposed to Iterative development.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

11

Agile Roles ScrumMaster

ScrumMaster: responsible for facilitating the
Scrum process and ensuring the team is delivering
value.
Process Facilitator
Helps builds self organizing teams
Removes impediments, escalates when needed
Helps team inspect and adapt process
Empowers the team through Servant Leadership
Helps create visible information radiators
Protects the team from disturbances
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

12

4/17/2013

Agile Roles The Team

The Team: responsible for turning the product
backlog items into increments of value each
sprint.
Cross-Functional, 7 +-2
Self Organizing, Collaborative
Committed
Generalizing Specialists
Deliver Value in Small Chunks
Focused on Customer, Build in Quality
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

13

Information Radiators

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

14

4/17/2013

Information Radiators

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

15

Team Role Solution Lead

Lead: responsible for translating the business vision
into a technical vision then supporting the successful
execution of the vision.
Understands business needs, acts as a consultant and
partner for the business.
Collaborates with others to find simple solutions that meet
tactical and strategic business needs.
Communicates the technical vision and architecture.
Supports the developers through execution by coaching

and direct involvement.

Plans ahead and removes technical impediments.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

16

4/17/2013

Sample Architecture Designs

Agilemodeling.com
Agilemodeling.com
Copyright Scott Ambler
Copyright Scott Ambler

17
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

Generalizing Specialist
A Jack of Many Trades a Master of a Few.
NOT Generalists! Dont go from one extreme to

the other.
Willing to help with other tasks to achieve the
teams goal.
Maintains the quality standards of work.
Example:
Analyst who can help with testing.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

18

4/17/2013

Traditional Business Analyst

Acts as liaison between the business and IT.
Will meet with various stakeholders at the beginning of

a project to elicit requirements in detail.

Requires business to sign off on requirements upfront
on the detailed requirements.
Collaborates on the project heavily upfront then again
during testing to validate requirements were met and
possibly during development to clarify ambiguity.
Success measured based on level of details and signoff
from customer.
19
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

The Agile BA
The glue between the PO and the Team
A master of Agile Requirements Gathering

(writing stories, breaking them down, ordering,

writing acceptance criteria).
Expert on Agile Modeling methods.
Excellent group facilitation skills.
Gathers the details one or two iterations ahead.
Pairs often with team, co-located and dedicated
as core member.
Generalizing Specialist.
20
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

Process Diagram: Alternative Paths

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

21

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

22

UI Flow - Sample

Scott Ambler
www.AgileModeling.com

4/17/2013

Traditional Developer
Engaged on the project after planning and requirements are

completed. Designs the system in detail upfront.

Reads requirements documentation and goes through BA for
additional clarification from customer.
Driven by documented requirements, not test cases as they dont
exist yet.
Mostly works independently to get assigned tasks completed.
May or may not write automated unit tests.
Success is usually measured based on getting coding completed.
Testing is the concern of the testing team.
Mostly works on Front end Business logic Data logic areas of
specialty.
23
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

The Agile Developer

Engaged from the beginning of the project. Helps during

planning, backlog creation, sizing, ordering and dependency

identification.
Uses Test Driven Development, focused on passing the
acceptance tests for each story and getting it to DONE.
Heavy focus on automated unit testing, continuous integration,
automated builds, use of mock data and design patterns.
Focused on getting a full slice of a story DONE not partial
completion. Frequent code check-ins
Pair often with other team members including customers.
Eliminates technical debt, builds quality in.
Core team member, dedicated, co-located.
Generalizing Specialist.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

24

4/17/2013

Collaboration and Pairing in Action!

25

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

Traditional Tester
Part of a separate testing group that is usually

engaged towards the end of the project.

Requires complete documentation on requirements in
order for them to develop test cases.
Works closely with the developers to clarify
requirements.
Tests everything at the end. Tries to break the system
and find system defects.
Success is measured based on % of tests covered.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

26

4/17/2013

The Agile Tester

Engaged early during the project, part of the core team.
Participates in requirements gathering and acceptance test

writing with PO early.

Defines additional system tests for each story. Prioritizes
testing based on business value with a focus of getting a
Story to Done.
Performs testing iteratively throughout the project.
Automates testing to create a suite of repeatable
regression tests. Tracks defects by story.
Core team member, dedicated, co-located.
Proactive about removing testing impediments.
Generalizing specialist.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

27

Sample Acceptance Test Cases

A customer can pay for shopping
cart items using a credit card
Test with VISA, MasterCard and American Express (pass)
Test with Diners Club (fail)
Test with bad and missing 3 digit codes (fail)
Test with expired cards (fail)
Test with a purchase amount over the card limit (fail)

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

28

4/17/2013

Traditional Sponsor and Business

Stakeholder
Projects may have one sponsor, usually higher in the

organization chart, funds the project but is not involved in the

details.
Multiple business stakeholders are involved to provide input
and requirements.
Often, there is no one decision maker.
Engaged at the front of the project and then towards the end.
Usually receive weekly status reports from PM on how the
project is doing and if any issues need their attention. (Red,
Green)
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

29

Agile Roles Sponsor and Stakeholders

Sponsor and Stakeholders are responsible for
helping the product owner align the team
deliverables with the overall company needs.
Engage closely with Product Owner to help
define needs, impacts and desired outcomes.
Attend team demos and provide feedback.
Be available to answer questions.
Respect the Agile rules.
Remove impediments.
Recognize the teams accomplishments.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

30

4/17/2013

Traditional Manager Role

Task management, prioritization and assignment for resources

in their functional unit.

Resource allocation on projects. Determining capacity,
availability and who can be allocated to each project.
Team development, career mentoring, one on one coaching.
Focused on growth of functional unit.
Leadership style maybe directive or empowering dependent on
background.
Establishing standard tools and processes for specific area.
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

31

Agile Roles - Management

Focus on People Development and Process

Improvement instead of Task Mgmt and Fire
Fighting.
Limit resource shifting/multitasking.
Help by removing impediments.
Empower the team through Servant Leadership.
Provide the team with tools they need.
Challenge the status quo by moving away from
This is the way weve always done it.
Collaborate with other managers and business
customers to break down silos.
Lead a Community of Practice or a cross-functional
stable team.
32
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

4/17/2013

Multi-Team View

PULL from the Backlog

Program
Plan

Program Leadership Team

33

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

YOUR Questions?

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

34

4/17/2013

Get Engaged and Informed!

Download this presentation & giveaways :

www.tinyurl.com/agiletraining
Learn Agile with www.AgileVideos.com!
Want Agile Training for YOUR Team? Email
Sales@AgileTraining.com
Sally@AgileTraining.com
Twitter.com/sallyelatta
Linkedin.com/in/elatta

Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

35

Leaders in Agile Training,

Coaching and Agile
Transformation!
3636
Copyright Agile Transformation Inc.

36