Breaking the Scaled Agile Framework into simple parts S.A.F.e Demystified Breaking the Scaled Agile Framework into simple parts DATE: October 10, 2016 PRESENTED BY: Robert Shaw PRESENTED TO: Agile Philly Group ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

About Me Robert Shaw 21 + Years in Software Development Strong Background in Test Automation and Performance Engineering 5+ years Building and Leading Agile Teams Current Role: Lead Agilest & QA Architect Certifications: SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) Certified Scrum Master (CSM) Certified Lean Kanban Practitioner (CLKP) Certified Scrum Professional (CSP – Pending Review) rshaw@frontlineed.com LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/qarobshaw Twitter: @RobertShawQA ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Frameworks vs. Rulebooks 01 Quick Background SAFe & Reasons for Scaling Frameworks vs. Rulebooks Teams & Ceremonies at Scale Cadence and Problem Solving at Scale Questions? 02 03 04 05 ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Quick Background SAFe and Common Scaling Problems ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

So… What is SAFe At First Glance It Appears Messy Confusing And Kind Of Cool! Most Folks are Familier with This.... The Big Picture.. ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

YUP! This was me the First Time I tried to figure our the Big Picture.. ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

So then what is it? Framework and Patterns to better align Strategy to Execution Portfolio Value Streams Programs/Trains Teams Based on a combination of Lean and Agile principles It is NOT A PURE Agile Framework -- GASP! (Oh the horror!) Point 1 Start be effective for groups of 50-125 with a simple implementation. Capable of Scaling across multiple groups of that size. 500 -1000 + technical professionals Point 2 They Acknowledges that Not Every Level of a Company WANTS or SHOULD be Agile. (DUCK AND COVER) Has a Large LEAN influence especially in the Higher ‘Executive Planning’ levels. ** SAFe Does not expect your C-Suite To start Running Scrum ** SAFe Does not rely on one Agile Framework (SCRUM ALONE) ** In Fact it has very little impact at the team levels.. (But not NONE) ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Business Results over Method Debates Scaled Agile Discussion Ground Rules There are other Frameworks available LeSS, DaD, Nexus, Scaled Scrum etc.. Any discussion about scaling agile is highly polarized. Everyone HATES everyone else's scaling ideas. Point 1 Many of these rely on a Higher Degree of Agile purity or Adoption At and Above the TEAM level. To Start, I agree in Theory – That many organization can benefit from Embracing Agility at the TOP I also know that some top level leaders see agile as that Hippie/Voodoo Stuff that development does. I also Recognize that in many companies Executive Meetings don’t look like this.. The folks over at Scaled Agile Framework – Openly Embraced and Acknowledged this…. And decided NOT to Force or Expect Adoption at more SR. levels. Choosing to Leveraging a HIGHER percentage of LEAN Practices

Roots, Past, Present and Future Agile Systems Engineering Lean Product Development Lean Thinking 2012 2013 2014 2.0 3.0 1.0 Field Experience at Enterprise Scale 4.0 2015 Initial Version 1.0 – Created by Dean Leffingwell, Requirement Guru, Was a driving force behind the Rational Unified Process. The Intent was to Better Align Strategy to Execution..

So Then What is SAFE? For Profit Company Strong Training and Certification Program Well designed Support Materials Well designed Rollout Materials Field Tested Invests Heavily in Field Research Publishes White Papers (Positive and Negative) Most other Agile Governance Bodies are Non Profit - They are FOR PROFIT – (Best Practices Suggestions – Gets in the way of the actual framework.. )

Reason for Scaling ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Growth & Complexity A FUNDED / CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAM WE should all be somewhat familiar with this.. The basic Scrum Team Pattern. A FUNDED / CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAM DELIVERS WORKING SOFTWARE IN SHORT INCRIMENTS PRIORITY CAN BE Adjusted every 2-4 weeks Works Very Well for single team performance!

? Growth & Complexity CO. Needs CO. Needs Coordination Coordination Dependency Coordination Dependency Coordination Dependency Coordination

Focus & Coordination {Patterns} Planning Falling /Staying into SILO’s Dependencies, Dependencies and More Dependencies What about the bigger picture? Out of Sync? Teams are BUSY but Real Value slows Key Point 1 Silo’s – Team Planning and Focus often narrows to work already on a teams backlog ?? True.. Anyone seeing this..? Bigger Picture Increasing LAG develops between what the organization needs vs. time to execute. Teams are busy, but are they BUSY on the Right Things?

Fractals A fractal is a never-ending pattern. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems In SAFe once you see it, there are familiar patterns that work at the team level repeated at a larger scale. Were not going to get to all of them.. But we will unpack the main ones.. ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Framework Fractal ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Why is Scrum considered a Framework and not a process? Question… Why is Scrum considered a Framework and not a process? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Frameworks Def. – Described as the abstract, logical structure of meaning that guide the development of the study. Scrum Guide is a framework that helps teams learn agile principals What happens when team mature and need to adapt? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

The Bigger Agile Picture Alignment Vision Goals Strategy Execution Architecture The Bigger Agile Picture SAFe is a Framework not a Rule Book. Based on Agile and Lean practices It’s purpose is to align strategy and execution Contains Extra Best Practices Like scrum there are areas you can adapt and and areas better left alone. Frontline Education

TEAM Fractal ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

What are the attributes of an agile team? Question… What are the attributes of an agile team? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Agile Teams Sticky Team Has Ideal Size: 7 (+/- 2) Teams often uses a framework (Scrum/Kanban) to estimate, plan and organize work. Contains the Right members to complete work Teams uses technical best practices to optimize the speed of deliver (XP, CI, CD, Automation etc..) Teams are funded vs. projects Teams delivers value from a prioritized backlog Teams work to limits technical debt Teams are empowered to Solve Problems Keep W.I.P limits in check! Teams owns how to deliver quality Working Software ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Value Stream And Trains A Value Stream is aligned unit work or line of business (Product, Suite, etc) A Train is a “Team of Teams” aligned to deliver for a Value Stream One or more trains can work together to deliver inside a Value Stream. Value Streams are funded to deliver a stream of value. Trains are long lived and sticky to value streams ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Value Stream And Trains A Train has an Ideal Size (50—125) Trains pull work from a prioritized backlog. Aligned to Organization Priorities Teams on a Train use their framework for executing on work. Scrum / Kanban Trains invest in engineering practices to improve quality and delivery speed. Trains keep W.I.P in check ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

What are the classic Scrum Team roles? Question… What are the classic Scrum Team roles? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Scrum Team Roles Scrum Master Product Owner Scrum Team They help their team run Scrum Product Owner Responsible for the ROI on a teams efforts and prioritization. Scrum Team Cross Functions group that gets it done! ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Train Roles RTE – Release Train Engineer They are like the scrum masters of the train. They help the teams on the train stay in sync. Coordinates train level ceremonies. System Arch/Eng. – Help the teams on the train align to the Technical Vision. Project Management - Help the teams on the train align to the Business Vision Business Owners – A group of 3-5 stakeholders that help support and steer the train. In the same way that SM, PO & TM stay ahead of the current sprint The RTE, SA, PM Look at the roadmap ahead of the train at the Value Stream Level. ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Train Roles At the Team level the Classic Scrum roles are still in Play with the Same responsibilities. Systems Team – Chartered Teams that support the train with Integration and Deployment Activities Lean Agile Leaders & Communities of Practice These are philosophies & best practices (Not People) to develop within your train. What about shared services? UX DevOps Release Management ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Ceremonies Fractal ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

What are the ceremonies for a scrum team? Question… What are the ceremonies for a scrum team? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Agile Teams Sprint Planning * Backlog Review & Prep Daily Scrum Team reviews team performance and adapts to get get better * Backlog Review & Prep Team agrees on the Goals of the next sprint and pulls the right work to solve them. Best Practice – Not a Ceremony Daily Scrum Investing a % of time to ensure the upcoming work in ready for the team. Short daily meeting for teams to priorities and progress, making any adjustments as needed. Sprint Demo Team reviews the work completed in a sprint with stakeholders for approval and feedback. Team Retrospective ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Value Stream And Trains Program Increment = Train Sprint PI Planning- Multi Team planning event where team set Goals and coordinate work. System Demo – Train Level demo for stakeholders where integrated work from all teams is shown working together. Inspect and Adapt – Train Level retrospective. Making the Train Better! Scrum of Scrum / Art Syncs – Quick Team of Teams meeting, Check Progress, Priorities and Make Adjustments Demos Retro Planning ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Time Box Fractal ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

What are the most common time boxes? Why are they important? Question… What are the most common time boxes? Why are they important? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Scrum has a Cadence Scrum has a Cadence Kicks Off with Sprint Planning Every Day there is a Daily Scrum At the end of Sprint we Demo The Team conducts an inspect and adapt session Every Sprint – The priority of the backlog can be evaluated If work did not fit in this sprint – The next one starts in 2-4 weeks Scrum has a Cadence Sprint Planning Sprint Demo Team Retrospective

SAFe has a Cadence Scrum has a Cadence Kicks Off with PI Planning Twice a Week there is a Scrum of Scrums. Once a Week there is a Release Sync. At the end of Sprints Integrate and Demo At the end of a PI we Retro Every PI – The priority of the backlog is evaluated and Adjusted If work did not fit in this sprint – The next one starts in 4-6 Sprints SAFe has a Cadence PI Planning Systems Demo Inspect and Adapt

Program Increment Planning Scrum of Scrums Release Management Scrum of Scrums Release Management Scrum of Scrums Release Management Scrum of Scrums Release Management Scrum of Scrums Release Management Sprint Planning Sprint Demo Team Retrospective Sprint Planning Sprint Demo Team Retrospective System Demo System Demo Sprint Planning Sprint Demo Team Retrospective Insect and Adapt Session

PI Planning Event

PI Planning Event Activates Business Vision Feature Overview Architecture Overview Team Breakout Sessions Dependency Wall (All Through the Event) Risk Capture and Mitigation Confidence Vote This is a 2 day event.. Day 1 Communication (Business Vision, Feature Overview, Architecture, UX ..) Team Break Out and Planning Start Building Dependency Wall Risk Capture and ROAM (Resolved, Owned , Accepted & Mitigated) Leadership Re-Work (If Needed) Day 2 Communicate Adjustments Break Outs Continue Confidence Vote

Value Stream And Trains Program Increment = Train Sprint PI is a Time Box of 4-6 Sprints The train’s calendar can be published well in advance Work is planned to fit inside team or team’s capacity Work is re-prioritized at the Business Owner / Stakeholder level. Frequent alignment of Execution to Strategy. Sprint Sprint Sprint Sprint Plan Sprint Sprint Sprint Retro Plan ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Agile Triangle Time is Fixed – PI Cycle Length Cost is Fixed – We fund the Team of Teams in a Value Stream Scope – Manage the Team of Teams Capacity with commit and stretch goals. Best Practice: Like Scrum teams should never commit to 100% capacity. Do any of these patterns seem familiar? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Problem Solving Fractal ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Question… All things scale! What types of problems would you expect when scaling up agile? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018

Silver Mirror Trick Question Agile/Scrum wont solve problems on it’s own. It creates a level of transparency where problems are forced to the surface to be dealt with. As a SAFe Principle, we want to take an economic view and make sound decisions at all time. SAFe organizes around Value Streams to understand and deliver value. Value Streams come from LEAN – Think Concept to Cash or Lines of Business

Problems Scale Too Shifting from Product Planning to Organizational Value Planning Lack of Modern Testing & Development Practices Dev. Ops Weakness Not Respecting W.I.P – Bag Stuffing Dysfunctional Collaboration In Scrum … Silver Mirror – In SAFe the Mirror Still Exists – You have to be willing to Face and Solve organizational problems. It will buy you some time, but eventually you have to keep adapting… These are some of the things that will quickly come to the surface, You have to commit to adapt

Any Questions? ©2016 Frontline Education Confidential & Proprietary September 17, 2018