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Agile Methodologies and Chaos Revisited

Agile Methodologies and Chaos Revisited. William (Bill) Myers Cinergy Corporation Information Builders Summit 2004 User Conference May 2004.

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Agile Methodologies and Chaos Revisited

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  1. Agile MethodologiesandChaos Revisited William (Bill) Myers Cinergy Corporation Information Builders Summit 2004 User Conference May 2004 * The statements and opinions herein are those of the individual author. They are provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for decision making. William (Bill) Myers

  2. Introduction • Audience & Flow • Agile Methodologies • Philosophy & Methods • Management & Coding • General Agile reporting • Questions • Follow-up questions at end • Appendix • Links • Additional Details / starts at References slide • Additional points • Supplemental Handout William (Bill) Myers

  3. What is Agility • Ability to adapt • to Changing circumstances • to Changing requirements • Impact • Improves business climate • Provides competitive edge • Quick gratification • Customers & Developers • Faster Return on Investment William (Bill) Myers

  4. Point of View - Concerning Risk • Traditional Methods • Risks for IT • Errors • Delivery on budget, on time, on scope • Business risks generally ignored • Agile Methods • Business risks • Competitive timeliness • Effectiveness / the right thing • IT risks • Errors • Budget, time, scope William (Bill) Myers

  5. Agile Methodologies / Perspective • How to Decide • Relationships & Responsibilities • 80 / 20 rule • Feature driven • Customer stories • Baseline high level • Emerge/Converge • Reduce reporting risks Note: Crystal Methodology IS NOT RELATED to the reporting product William (Bill) Myers

  6. What is Agile Development? • Set of policies and conventions • Controls risk • Puts project into safety zone • Agile Methodologies • Changing environments • Philosophies • Products, Personal relationships, Timing, Documentation • Methods • Approach & Principles • Project management • Programming – low level practices • Traditional Methodologies • Rigid, knownenvironments • Static processes • Structured Methods • Waterfall project management & clones William (Bill) Myers

  7. Agile Philosophieshttp://www.agilealliance.org • Agile Manifesto • Individuals and interactions • over processes and tools • Working software • over comprehensive documentation • Customer collaboration • over contract negotiation • Responding to change • over following a plan Quote from consortium: “While there is value in the items on the right (sub-topics above), we value the items on the left (major topics) more”. William (Bill) Myers

  8. General Agile Principles • Deliver something useful to customer • Nothing counts until you deliver software • Deliver frequently • Four to eight weeks • Encourage collaboration • “Active customer involvement is imperative!” – find a champion • Daily meetings – very short • Provide technical excellence • Rely on the skills of your people • Do the simplest thing possible • Balance flexibility and structure • Self-correcting teams • Don’t let people suffer • Install when business needs it & technically feasible William (Bill) Myers

  9. Agile Manifesto - Highlights • Nothing counts until you deliver software • Deliver every four to eight weeks • Direct contact - customers & developers • Daily contact and communication • Let champions drive projects • Maintain a constant pace • Agile processes enhance quality • Teams self-correct • Never forget the goal - software William (Bill) Myers

  10. Adaptability Scale RememberSarbanes-Oxley William (Bill) Myers

  11. Project Management Styles • Command & Control • Defined process • Plan what you expect – make predictions • Enforce the predictions • “Change Control” • to manage change • Leadership – Collaboration • Empirical process • Start with a plan • Change plan frequently • Inspection & Adaptation • To control change William (Bill) Myers

  12. Waterfall Methodsand clones • Process • Sequential • Analysis, design, construct, test, implement • Rigid • Paper intensive • Good with 1960’s mainframes with cards • When Useful • Known processes • Hardware & vendor software upgrades • Little creativity required William (Bill) Myers

  13. Many Agile Methods • What methodology to use ? • Crystal & Crystal Light( helps with decision ) • Project management • Scrum ( broadest, variable end-point ) • DSDM Model ( construction oriented ) • Lean Development (domain, 80/20 approach ) • Feature-Driven Development - FDD (most structured) • Adaptive • Extreme Programming – XP • Programming oriented • Extreme Programming - XP • Customer Stories, programs, working conditions • Agile reporting ( core & option ) William (Bill) Myers

  14. Agile Methodologies • Agile Software Development Ecosystems • Reference book & web site • by Jim Highsmith • http://www.jimhighsmith.com • Tom DeMarco: • Agility: 1 • everything else: 0 • Numerous books • Highlights only William (Bill) Myers

  15. Observations - Agile Conference • Easy to go wrong • Mis-interpretation, mis-implementation, missed point • No silver bullet • One size does not fit all • Beware too much documentation • Offload legal requirements from developers • Always “on time, on scope, on budget” • Leads to mediocrity ( no risks taken ) • Cultural change • from - military Command & Control • to – cooperative Leadership & Collaboration • Productivity leaps • 77 function points / month when industry average 2 pts / mo • WebFocus fits agile development very well William (Bill) Myers

  16. Reasons for Failure • One Size Methodology Fits All • Intolerant Methodology • Embellished • Do frivolous tasks • Ignore necessary tasks • Heavy • Untried • Tried Once • Limited applicability • Champion • Failure to Tune • Distractions • Dates can’t be met William (Bill) Myers

  17. Crystal Methodology – Theory ( NOT RELATED to Crystal Reporting ) • Self-adapting "shrink-to-fit," software development methodologies • Different set of policies & conventions for each project • Projects are sensitive to people issues • Crystal is people-centric • other methodologies may be: • process-centric • architecture-centric • tool-centric • Keys • Communication intensive • Masses of paper do not improve communication • Experiment based • Requires feedback loops • Theory of Methodologies William (Bill) Myers

  18. Crystal – Communication • Effectiveness of different methods • Courtesy of Alistair Cockburn • http://alistair.cockburn.us/crystal/articles/cpanfocisd/characterizingpeopleasnonlinear.html People are Non-Linear First-Order Components in Software Development William (Bill) Myers

  19. Crystal - Model • Model • Risk to end-user, Size, Complexity • Tables present questions to ask • To establish processes & controls • When to change • Weight is costly • Heavy methods for large teams • More ceremony for critical deliverables • Avoid frivolous tasks • Efficiency is expendable • Non-bottleneck activities & Rarely used items • Crystal Methodologies • Reference books & web site • Alistair Cockburn – Author • http://alistair.cockburn.us/crystal William (Bill) Myers

  20. SCRUM • Principles • Do the right thing (from customer’s view) • Deal with reality, not artifacts or fixed plans • Short iterations • Usually four weeks • Be prepared to implement at the end of an iteration • Allow changes • Keep everything visible • Concentrate on time remaining - not time spent • Highlights and pinpoints responsibilities • Self organization • Creates sense of obligation and teamwork • Extensive collaboration • Changes role of Project Leader • Certification available William (Bill) Myers

  21. SCRUM • Broad application • Iterative, lightweight project management method • Software AND non-software projects • Based on manufacturing Process Control theory • Adaptable • Can be implemented • Beginning of a project • Middle of a project • Product development effort that is in trouble • More information • Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle • http://www.controlchaos.com/ William (Bill) Myers

  22. SCRUM – Concepts Courtesy of Ken Schwaber http://www.controlchaos.com/Scrumo.htm William (Bill) Myers

  23. SCRUM • Full visibility • Priority list • Items in development cycle ( sprint ) • Short, daily meetings ( 15 minutes ) • Work hours remaining in sprint • Assignments, who & what • Responsibility & Authority • Anyone can add to priority list • Business manages priorities • Developersdetermine what can be done • Project Leader removes impediments • Removes developers from politics William (Bill) Myers

  24. SCRUM - Impact • Backlog • Scope Creep – no such thing • No request ever lost • It may never get a high enough priority • Business owner only one who can remove it • Return on Investment • Install option available • Software completed to date available / immediate return • Option to stop • Save development costs • Perfect for fixed price projects • Reorder deliverables list – no cost • Substitute deliverables with equal effort – no cost • “Stop Development” clause easy to apply • Big competitive advantage William (Bill) Myers

  25. Scrum - Definitions • Product Backlog • Prioritized list of items • Business Product Owner – sets priorities • List of Functional requirements, Nonfunctional requirements, Issues • Contains preliminary estimate • Changes constantly • Items in a sprint: locked down • Time-box • Period of time that can not be exceeded • Sprint • Time-box of 30 days • Sprint backlog defines delivery list • Product item • Internal support item (i.e. database, system doc) • Work remaining & burndown graph William (Bill) Myers

  26. Scrum - Players • Scrum • Product Owner • Adds items to product backlog list • Set priorities • Team • Determines sprint list • Develops software • Stakeholder • Funded project, will use it, affected by it • Requests enhancements • ScrumMaster • Responsible for Scrum process • Removes impediments • Other interested parties • IT Management • Manpower allocation • Budgets & Billing • Senior Business Management • Best use of corporate resources William (Bill) Myers

  27. Scrum - Milestones • Sprint Planning meeting ( two 4 hour segments ) • Product owner & Team: identifies backlog items to be delivered in 30 day sprint / Team commits • Team plans details in Sprint Backlog • Daily Scrum Meeting ( 15 minutes ) • Team: Review prior day, identify impediments, plan day • Sprint Review Meeting ( 4 hours ) • Team: demonstrates completed functionality- to Product Owner and other interested parties • Sprint Retrospective meeting ( 3 hours ) • Team: how to improve next sprint ormake more enjoyable William (Bill) Myers

  28. SCRUM: database - goals • Software development • Collect new requests • Manage product backlog • Manage Scrum process • Reduce administrative load on developers • Reduce or eliminate most status reporting needs • Support Management • Provide data for manpower planning • Provide status to everyone • Priority in queue • Currently being worked on • Remaining effort • Provide historical information • Time tracking mechanism for billing • Answer “What did you do for us last year” William (Bill) Myers

  29. SCRUM – Process Flow William (Bill) Myers

  30. SCRUM – Database Model William (Bill) Myers

  31. SCRUM: demo app – Priority Page William (Bill) Myers

  32. DSDM Model • Principles • Iterative & incremental development • Changes during development are reversible • Requirements baselined at high level • Minimum details to continue • Testing throughout lifecycle • Developers AND business users • More Information • Developed in UK • Grew out of RAD approach • http://www.dsdm.org/ William (Bill) Myers

  33. Lean Development Model • Most strategic oriented of Agile methods • Principles • Domain instead of point solutions • 80% today better than 100% tomorrow • Everything is changeable • Minimal is essential • Needs determine the technology • Best value for money • More information • http://www.poppendieck.com/ • http://www.leanconstruction.org/ William (Bill) Myers

  34. Adaptive Software Model • Software development • Complex adaptive system • Like stock market or flock of birds • Circumstances generate emergent capabilities • Total skills exceeds sum of parts • Only emergent capabilities tames complexity • Software organizations: Must create the proper circumstances for emergence of superior capabilities William (Bill) Myers

  35. Adaptive Software Model • Principles • Leadership – Collaboration • Speculate, collaborate, learn • Drop militaristic Command and Control (stifles emergence) • Cycle through phases many times, converging • Tasks not listed in plan • Components at end of plan are listed • Mission directed, feature driven, iterative time boxed, risk driven, change tolerant William (Bill) Myers

  36. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) • Process • One-time • Quick, high value, low dollar • Develop overall domain model • Build feature list • Plan by feature • Iterative • Design by feature • Two week cycles building components • More information • http://www.featuredrivendevelopment.com/ • http://www.nebulon.com/fdd/ William (Bill) Myers

  37. Extreme Programming - XP • Project management • Collect customer stories • Estimate & prioritize • Small iterative development cycles • Development • Test-first development • Write test cases before coding • Collective code ownership • Refactoring • Pair programming • Daily standup meetings • Many processes & rules • More information • http://www.extremeprogramming.org • http://www.objectmentor.com/home William (Bill) Myers

  38. Agile - Review • Positives • Software delivered • No death marches • Dangers • Process itself becomes the goal • Placebo effect • Key point is missed • SCRUM • Immediately useful • Becoming broadly popular • Classes around the world • Hundreds certified William (Bill) Myers

  39. Reporting Population • Super User • Technical skills • Understands their piece of the data • May be tactical or strategic • Strategic User • Executive or analyst • Needs highly summarized and graphed snapshots • Limited technical skills • Tactical User • Needs up-to-minute detailed data to do their job • Limited technical skills William (Bill) Myers

  40. Normal Report Development Process • Demand that customer predict the future • Forecast list of needed reports • Requires visualization / no data available • Data may support 20,000,000 variations • Design signoff in blood • Early code freeze • Rigid Change Control • More signoffs • Complain about scope creep • Accuse users of changing their mind • List all changes as bugs • Falsely implies a defective product Requirements List William (Bill) Myers

  41. Agile Reporting • Bounded Chaos • Random actions inside of the boundary • Self Building • Developer builds 90% • User checks options • Program finishes writing itself • Program creates report • Broad Scope • Can replace millions of fixed reports • Requirements can be hazy up front William (Bill) Myers

  42. Agile Reporting - Definitions • Report (definition) • Any output where user can not change data in database • More than printer • Core & Options • Core – on every report, fixed • Options – added to report based on user’s selections: columns & totals • Filters • Limits input data • Medium • Web page, paper, excel, pivot table, PDF file, lists, graphs, etc • Measures • Changes the core - unusual William (Bill) Myers

  43. IBI Sample - ggorder2.fex • As Installed • Units by Product • For one date • Agile Modification • Add &sort1 • Standard front-end • Add dollar value • Immaterial to agile William (Bill) Myers

  44. Core & Option - Web Page • Shows total sales of each product by state & sales rep • Checking no boxes: one number only William (Bill) Myers

  45. Agile ggorder2.fex • Core only • Boxes checked • None William (Bill) Myers

  46. Agile ggorder2.fex • Same fex • No changes • Boxes checked • Vendor Name • Product William (Bill) Myers

  47. Agile ggorder2.fex • Same fex • No changes • Boxes checked • Product • Totals • Store Name William (Bill) Myers

  48. Agile ggorder2.fex • Same fex • No changes • Boxes checked • State, City, Store Name (totals), Vendor Name, Product • Options • 362,889 formats • ONE program • Risks managed William (Bill) Myers

  49. Agile Reporting – Core & Options • Core • Units Ordered • Options • State • Contact • Product • Package • Totals on: Contact, State William (Bill) Myers

  50. Core & Option Executive Demo • IBI Sales Prototype • Used Production databases • Not standard IBI demo • Specs and Core & Option HTML were supplied • 4 Days development • Clear to all • Reports • Simple list – Volumes & Dollars (agile core & option) • Delta – Change since yesterday (agile core & option) • Complex Delta – Changes of averages • 3-D Graphs • Pies with drill downs William (Bill) Myers

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