The BEST agile process

A discussion of XP, Scrum, Kanban and TSP

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THERE ARE NO BEST PRACTICES

ONLY GOOD PRACTICES IN CONTEXT

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LARRY
MACCHERONE
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What is Agile?
Reference + Measured error

Controller

System input

System output

System

Measured output

Sensor

VALUES
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TRADITIONAL/DM AIC
PROCESS FEEDBACK FORMAL, AND CAN BE HEAVY WEIGHT

AGILE

LIGHT BUT OFTEN

PRODUCT AND DESIGN FEEDBACK PLAN FEEDBACK

EARLY, OFTEN, AND CLOSE TO THE CUSTOMER FREQUENT BUT QUICK COLLABORATION

DOMINANT VALUE PLANNING/CONTROL

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Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and turns into a racket.
~Christopher McDougall
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AGILE

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REDUCTION IN COORDINATION COSTS (XP)

How is agile different?

CHANGE IN FEEDBACK EMPHASIS (SCRUM)

REDUCTION IN EVOLUTION COSTS (KANBAN)

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XP
FOCUS: ENGINEERING PRACTICES BEST AT: REDUCTION IN COORDINATION COSTS
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Build the thing right!

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XP: Reduces coordination costs

Continuous integration Test driven development
Test-first design Comprehensive test suites

Also:
Coding standard Whole team Pair programming Collective code ownership

Simple design Refactoring System metaphor

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Simple design
1. All tests must pass
2. No code is duplicated 1. Passes tests (given TDD) 2. Minimizes duplication

3. Code is selfexplanatory
4. No superfluous parts exist

3. Maximizes clarity (great identifiers)

4. Has fewer elements

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SCRUM
FOCUS: PROJECT MANAGEMENT BEST AT: CHANGE IN FEEDBACK EMPHASIS
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Build the right thing!

AGILE

PROJECT

LIFECYCLE
release 1 release n

Project Inception
Discovery Assessment

Iteration 0
Set up Project Infrastructure

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

Iteration n

Target System

Incremental delivery in time-boxed iterations

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SCRUM

MECHANICS

Daily Meeting

Iteration 2-4 Weeks

Product Backlog

Iteration Backlog

Product Increment

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DAILY STAND-UP
What did you work on yesterday?
What are you committing to today? Do you have any impediments?
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POTENTIALLY SHIPPABLE PRODUCT

Demo and get feedback EVERY SPRINT!!!

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Burndown chart

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SCRUM

ROLES

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Scrum framework
Vision
Daily Scrum Meeting Burndown Chart

Daily
Release Planning Planning Meeting Revisit Release Plan Review Product Backlog Create Sprint Backlog Commit to 2-4 weeks of work Sprint Retrospective

2-4 weeks
Sprint Review (Demo)

Product Backlog Prioritized Features desired by Customer

Product Increment
Sprint Backlog
Product Backlog Items assigned to Sprint Emergent list of estimated tasks

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KANBAN
FOCUS: INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BEST AT: REDUCTION IN EVOLUTION COSTS
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Go faster! Get better!

A kanban

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Characteristics of the Kanban Method

0. Start where you are
1. Visualize workflow 2. Limit WIP

3. Make management policies explicit

4. Manage flow 5. Improve collaboratively
Adapted from Kanban by David J. Anderson

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0. Start where you are

1. Visualize workflow

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1. Visualize workflow

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2. Limit work in process (WIP)

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3. Make policies explicit

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4. Manage flow:
watch WIP

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5. Improve collaboratively:
measure outcomes

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5. Improve collaboratively:
use data for decision making

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The Team Software Process (TSP)

Where does it fit?

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XP

Build the thing right

Aspects of agile

Product evolution also (TSP, design, design patterns)

Coordination costs
Improve
How is agile different?

Build the right thing

Feedback emphasis

Evolution costs

Kanban

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Scrum
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I recommend
1.

Adopt XP engineering practices.

Add peer review. Add design patterns and possibly more design/design review.

2.

If you are doing product design and new to agile, adopt Scrum.

3.
4.

If you are doing IT work, or have a mature agile culture, or cant accept all of Scrums changes, adopt Kanban.
If you need CMMi, adopt TSP.

5.
6.

If safety is critical, consider Crystal.

Buy Rally Software.

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LARRY
MACCHERONE
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Credits
Kanban content. Rick Simmons.(rsimmons@rallydev.com)
Scrum content. Various at Rally Software. XP content. Mostly from Kent Beck. Simple design. Alistair McKinnell, Declan Whelan.

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