The Secrets of Repeatable Success

1. The Secrets of Repeatable Success Adam Gilmore Solutions Architect & WW ALM Community Lead Microsoft Services June 27th 2011

2. Overview • What do I mean by ALM? • How do Microsoft Services deliver solutions? • What makes us different? • How do we improve?

3. Application Lifecycle Management From Concept to Cash Governance Development Operations Dave Chappell Associates Deployment End of life Idea

4. ALM Practice Areas • Governance • Project Management • Requirements Management • User Experience • Architecture & Design • Code Quality • Data Management • Quality Assurance • Configuration Management • Deployment & Operations

5. Microsoft Services What do we do? • 10,000 employees • 88 countries • 60,000 partners • Support and consultancy to Enterprise customers • Delivery of “Tier 1” systems

6. Typical lifecycle problems In my experience • Unpredictable delivery • Inconsistent process • We’ll know when we get there • Business fire and forget • Can be Development-centric

7. Microsoft Solutions Framework How do Microsoft Services deliver solutions? • MSF Core is not a methodology • It’s a framework • It requires instantiation for the specific solution domain • Not a magic sauce • Not specific to software development • Although Visual Studio Team Foundation Server provides two instantiations which are specific to software development • MSF for Agile Software Development • MSF for CMMI® Process Improvement

8. MSF Core • A collection of best practices gathered from the product groups and the field • V1.0 released in 1994 • V5.0 released in 2010 • Open Group accredited in 2011 • Key elements • Mindsets (key concepts) • Foundational Principles • Models

9. Mindsets • Internalise Qualities of Service • Focus on Business Value • Learn Continuously • Take Pride in Workmanship • Foster a Team of Peers • Advocate for your Constituency • Deliver on your Commitments • Practice Good Citizenship • Look at the Big Picture

10. Principles • Work towards a Shared Vision • Foster Open Communications • Establish clear Accountability • Partner with Customers • Empower Team Members • Stay Agile, Expect and Adapt to Change • Invest in Quality • Learn from all Experiences • Deliver Incremental Value

11. Models • Team model • Based on advocacy creating natural checks and balances • Process model • Appropriate level of governance • Iterative, versioned releases • Risk model • Proactive risk management

12. Team Model Solution Delivery Solution Design Solution Definition Solution Construction Solution Usability & User Readiness Solution Validation Solution Deployment

13. Product Management User Experience Test Program Management Development Advocacy Business Focus Users Operations Support Customer Project Team Project Sponsor Solutions Architects Release / Operations Operations Architecture Technology Architects Technology Focus

14. Scaling Down – combine roles Possible Unlikely Not recommended

15. UserExperience ProgramManagement Program Management ProgramManagement Development Development Development Catalog Fulfillment Site Engine & Design UserExperience Test Test ReleaseManagement UserExperience Test Scaling Up – Feature Teams

16. Process Model

17. Agile Process Model Essentially Scrum but with more guidance and tooling

18. Risk Model Risk management is everyone’s job

19. MSF Highlights • Envisioning track • Forming a vision • Opening up possibilities never before imagined • User experience as a first-class citizen • An area often neglected in other approaches • Base line early and freeze late • Expecting change • Iterative development • Rehearsal for go-live

20. MSF Highlights • Ship every day • Build is not enough • A team exercise • Build hand-off • Repeatable platform builds • Triage • One representative per discipline • ‘Quaker’consensus • Underpins Agile & Lean methods

21. What makes MSF different? • Explicit roles and responsibilities • Explicit scaling • Explicit start and end • Explicit risk management • Works for fixed scope projects

22. How do we improve? Baseline process and improve it empirically • Write it down and capture knowledge (Wiki, Visio, checklist, video…) • Consistent process allows consistent measures • Model your process in your tools • Apply Plan-Do-Check-Act to improve continuously

23. How do we improve? Learn and improve agileadj - able to move quickly and easily leanadj- having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump • Agile helped avoid building the wrong thing right • Lean focuses on building the right thing better Effective and Efficient

24. Agile The 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

25. Lean The Toyota Way • Applying Lean Manufacturing philosophy to software development • Demand – understand what the business demands are – what and when • Value – design your process focussing on value delivery • Flow – increase flow by increasing quality and removing waste • The Toyota Way • Respect for People • Continuous Improvement

26. Lean Visual Management

27. Lean Visual Management

28. Lean Waste reduction Coordination Cost Failure Load Value adding activity Transaction Cost Transaction Cost If you could, would you do it more often? David J. Anderson

29. Case Study – Systems Integrator Software Factory Doing a lot more for less • Migrating 1000’s of citizen developed applications for their customer • Wanted to be agile -actually wanted to be effective and efficient • Applied MSF Mindsets and Principles to the teams and process • Full Visual Studio 2010 rollout – automated end to end process • Applied Lean approach to the governance • Understand demand • Design a process to deliver against the demand • Keep it simple!!!

30. Case Study – Public Sector Business Intelligence I’m glad you didn’t build what I asked for • Customer used to big requirements up front • Biggest risk was building the wrong thing right • Focussed on envisioning • Rapid inspect and adapt • MSF mindset and principles + Scrum-ban process • Use of visual management and TFS 2010

31. Conclusions Secrets of our success? • Establish Mindsets and Principles – and live them • Think of the whole • Focus on quality • Define your process • Continually improve • Use tools to identify and reduce waste

32. Resources

33. Thank You Any questions? adam.gilmore@microsoft.com