Larry Apke
Agile Expert
www.agile-doctor.com
larry@agile-doctor.com
Larry Apke is a Managing Consultant, a Certified Scrum
Master (CSM) and a Certified Scrum Professional (CSP).
For the last six years he has been a hands on Scrum Master
for multiple companies and dozens of teams. He has give
dozens of talks every year to many different groups. His
two life’s passions are Agile and his family. His new gig is
working as an Agile coach with USAA in San Antonio.
• A framework is a real or conceptual structure intended to
serve as a support or guide for the building of something
that expands the structure into something useful.
• A methodology is a system of practices, techniques,
procedures, and rules used by those who work in a
discipline
• Agile is the Agile Manifesto (4 values) and the 12 agile
principles - http://agilemanifesto.org/
• Agile is a philosophy or a series of concepts`
• Agile Manifesto values states, “Working software over
comprehensive documentation“
• First Qualifier – Comprehensive
• Second Qualifier – “That is, while there is value in the
items on the right, we value the items on the left more. “
• What Agile is really looking for is the appropriate amount
of documentation necessary for end user value – “Our
highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early
and continuous delivery of valuable software. “
• “…early and continuous delivery of valuable software. “
• “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. “
• “…maintain a constant pace indefinitely. “
• “At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and djusts
its behavior accordingly.”
• You cannot just “do” agile, you must “be” Agile
• Version One Survey 2011 – Reasons for failed agile projects - 44%
Due to Broader Organization Not Adopting Successfully
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“Lack of Understanding of Broader Organizational Change
Required” – 11%,
“Company Philosophy or Culture at Odds with Agile Values” – 9%,
“External Pressure for Waterfall” – 8%,
“Lack of Cultural Transition” – 6%,
“Insufficient Training” – 5%
“Lack of Management Support” – 5%
• Agile is a philosophy or set of concepts
• Scrum is a framework who purpose is to allow for
achievement of Agile philosophy
• Scrum’s success is a blessing and a curse – so much so that
when people even mention Agile most people
automatically think of Scrum
• Version One Survey – 52% use Scrum only, with 68% using
Scrum mixed with something else
• Scrum may not be the best way for a team to achieve agility
• As a framework simply “doing” the ceremonies around
scrum will allow the team to understand the impediments
in the way of the team increasing performance.
• Without the ability or will to change, to remove the
impediments, you will merely have a greater visibility into
problems.
• A greater visibility of problems with no solutions will only
increase frustration from the team which often results in
negative behaviors (and less productivity).
• Transparency and predictability are the immediate
benefits
• Patrick Lencioni – Five Dysfunctions of a Team – First
Obstacle – Absence of Trust – 100% can lead to
misrepresentation
• So instead of trying for 10 stories and getting 9, I may try
for only 7 or 8. Yes I get 100% done, but I do not get as
much done.
• Teams will be reluctant to take stories where all is not
known. Getting stories started takes longer so value is not
delivered to customer.
• Team morale will suffer even though a viable product is
being built.
• A project manager is someone who manages the project
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and the team and is the person accountable to the business
for accomplishing the project objectives.
A product owner is closest to project manager.
A scrum master is a coach, a facilitator, someone who helps
remove the impediments.
A scrum master ensures that the scrum framework is
followed.
Over time a good scrum master empowers the team to a
point where he or she is no longer needed.
• A team without a P.O. has no vision, focus, etc.
• A P.O. owns the backlog. It is very difficult and inefficient
to have multiple owners.
• There are numerous parties interested in what the team
does – stakeholders – with competing interests. They need
to speak to development with one voice.
• P.O. is sometimes referred to as the “single wringable
neck.” While I disagree, the P.O., because they are
responsible for backlog content and order, has the
accountability for the direction of the team.
• Scrum is not chaos. It is a highly disciplined approach to
software development.
• A highly functioning Scrum team will spend some time each
sprint “grooming” the stories likely for the next sprint.
• Changes to the work planned for sprint after team has
committed result in too much work, too little understanding or
both.
• At the very least additional “emergency” work must be balanced
by a corresponding reduction of planned work, ie one point in
one point out. The team is responsible, the team must choose.