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Growing and Sustaining An Off-Shore Scrum Engagement

Growing and Sustaining An Off-Shore Scrum Engagement. Edward Uy & Nikos Ioannou Kelley Blue Book. Agenda. KBB Background Five Dysfunctions of a Team Starting Small Growing the Teams Hyderabad, India Beijing, China Learnings Q & A. Background. KBB has been working with Scrum since 2005

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Growing and Sustaining An Off-Shore Scrum Engagement

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  1. Growing and Sustaining An Off-Shore Scrum Engagement Edward Uy & Nikos Ioannou Kelley Blue Book

  2. Agenda • KBB Background • Five Dysfunctions of a Team • Starting Small • Growing the Teams • Hyderabad, India • Beijing, China • Learnings • Q & A

  3. Background • KBB has been working with Scrum since 2005 • Began expansion to all development teams in 2007 • Moderate Scrum experience level • Currently 18 teams/200 users • 5 Dysfunctions of Team introduced in 2006 • Primary development efforts • KBB.com • Dealer Products • Some internal tools and systems

  4. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Inattention to Results Avoidance of Accountability Lack of Commitment Fear of Conflict Absence of Trust The Five Dysfunctions of a Team By Patrick Lencioni

  5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Inattention to Results Avoidance of Accountability Lack of Commitment Fear of Conflict Absence of Trust Avoidance of Accountability The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable for their behaviors and performance. Absence of Trust The fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the building of trust within the team. Inattention to Results The pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective success. Lack of Commitment The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to. Fear of Conflict The desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of productive, ideological conflict.

  6. Team Building • Personal Sharing Exercise • Each person on the team “answers” 3 questions for the team • Where did you grow up? • How many siblings? • Describe a challenge you had to overcome in your youth • “Mini-360s” • Team members rotate and discuss one thing that he/she does really well; and one thing they would like a person to improve on

  7. Team Building Doesn’t Always Translate

  8. Starting Small

  9. Starting Small • Both teams were assigned low effort, low complexity, low risk enhancements • China team: small internal web based tools for supporting KBB.com • India team: relatively small enhancements for an Auto Dealer Web application • Product and technical resources were assigned to support the teams by answering questions and removing roadblocks • The Learnings • Software deliverables met business expectations and timeliness • However, not some technology requirements

  10. Hyderabad Team - Growing • The Epic: Retiring a legacy dealer software by enhancing an existing web application • Setting-up a combined on-shore/off-shore team • The process – adjusting over time • Weekly combined code review sessions • Interdependent stories from the epic backlog • Common development environment • Automated build/deploy processes and testing • Daily combined scrum calls followed by a technical call • SharePoint discussion board • Solid results meeting both business and technical expectations!

  11. Hyderabad Team – The Challenge • Changes on the nature of work • Need for fast turnaround on smaller enhancements • Need for frequent releases to production • No more large epic work in the product backlog • On-shore team was stretched to meet aggressive timelines • Resulted in poorly written stories • And there was minimal technical support time available to support the offshore team • The Impact to the off-shore teams performance • Results did not meeting product owner expectations • Low quality work without the onshore support • Poor sprint planning, daily scrum and retrospective meetings

  12. Hyderabad Team – Adjusting • It is all about building cohesive teams • On-shore Team travelled to India to re-introduce Scrum and the Five Dysfunctions of a Team model • Immediate Improvements - signs of effective sprint planning, review, and retrospective

  13. Hyderabad Team – Adjusting • Realistic story sizing = realistic expectations

  14. Hyderabad Team – Adjusting • Let’s try that again…

  15. Hyderabad Team – Adjusting • A good retrospective is the essence of scrum • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team model is the foundation for productive and effective meetings

  16. Beijing Team – The Challenge (挑战) • Challenges with finding and retaining technical management/ leadership needed for: • More complex design work • Complex integration and impact assessment • Resulted in requiring more technical on-shore support time • Hierarchical culture • Everyone tests…yes, really! • Scrum is for the entire team…not just the “leads”

  17. Beijing Team – Adjusting (调节) • Changed the focus of work to site optimization, UI compliance, testing automation • More frequent exchanges and longer stays • Technical standards • Scrum Training • 5 Dysfunctions reinforcement • Stories are more well-written and clear • Vendor is providing English language training after hours to continually improve skills

  18. Beijing Team - Adjusting • Resulted in: • Getting issues out faster during calls or SharePoint discussion boards • All team members now feeling like they can provide input at Planning Meetings, Daily Scrums, Reviews and Retrospectives • Better team deliverables and velocity • Beijing team members want to work on KBB teams

  19. Additional Team Building Discoveries • Vendors wanted to please the client • Off-shore teams didn’t reveal issues quickly enough and resulted in poor daily Scrum and retrospective meetings • None of the off-shore team members had ever had direct contact with the client before; this structure was new to them, and therefore the leads ending up being the spokes person for the team • Continual reinforcement of Scrum principles and 5Ds is necessary for everyone - on-shore and off-shore teams • We had to make sure company values and attitude toward Scrum and 5Ds were embraced • Support of off-shore takes time and it is important to make sure the time is allocated!

  20. Final Thoughts • We’re a small technology shop • We are focused on making every interaction as effective as possible. • Off-shore teams need to understand KBB culture and what is important to us • Its more than Client – Vendor relationship. It is an extension of an on-shore team. • We make adjustments all the time and will continue to do so.

  21. Thanks! Edward Uy euy@kbb.com Nikos Ioannou niouannou@kbb.com

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