How to Implement Agile in Your Organization Bobbie Shrivastav, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, CSP Sr. Project Manager - Classroom Technologies – Center for Creative Leadership VP of Communication and Marketing – NC Piedmont Triad Chapter of PMI

Discussion Points Personal Agile Journey What is Agile? Why is it Important? Examples of Agile Implementations in Local Organizations Best Practices – Implementation of Agile Learning Exercise Q/A Started my project journey – started very waterfall – Felt very safe; methodical – Type A - checklist Get all your requirements up front – spend weeks/months with business unit; have alignment meetings; design sessions; document design; development; formal code reviews; testing case development; test; uat; testing review sessions; production Saw a need to change the model – When we were at UAT – business would always complain that they expected something different or they had changed their minds; management could have changed; people could have changed Started to introduce a Kanban system for very small tickets – Once every two weeks – got everyone locked up in a conference room; ordered pizza for lunch; worked on resolving tickets that weren’t production support but small enhancement items (BU rep, Dev Team, Manager); Business was very happy Started to notice middle size projects go to “Shadow” IT teams – Business had the budget and found software or hired people; loss data control; potential security threats Started to introduce prioritization models for business to provide a weight; introduced “Standups” Felt dissatisfied as to how to crack this issue until I read an article on Agile – Heard the terminology and thought it was just another Fad but the article resonated; Wanted to try to be Agile but couldn’t due to lack of management support to give-up the gathering of full requirements Did Kanban/flavor of a Scrum-Fall; Left for another opportunity; Had great opportunities at other organizations to help implement Agile

What is Agile? “Light weight software development approach as a reaction against Waterfall oriented methods which were criticized for being heavily regimented and overly documented” via @AssistKD “Agile is primarily a means to leverage change where the alternative is to restrict it.”..via @eleybourn “Deliver projects in a more flexible and time efficient way” via @CristineDurand Source: http://www.agilemanifesto.org/ Transparency Inspect Adapt “.. based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams” via cPrime “..  time boxed, iterative approach to software delivery that builds software incrementally from the start of the project, instead of trying to deliver it all at once near the end” via Agilenutshell

Why is Agile Important Cheaper/Faster – Deliver Business Value Early and Frequently. Less “Pork”. Flexible in Responding to Business Needs – Allow Change in Priorities and Requirements based on Market/Customer Needs Transparency and Visibility into Project Progress - Ongoing Feedback from Stakeholders Higher Quality – Business Collaboration and Communication Success Variables Team Capabilities – Willingness to apply the engineering and project management disciplines Management Support – Willingness to trust the team and allow for self-organization Organization buy-in - Willingness to support by providing a “Product Owner” Stakeholder Involvement – Willingness to provide consultation and feedback throughout the project life-cycle Based on a recent State of Agile Survey from Version One – 52% of projects are now using Agile methods Evolving business needs Less waste – no scope creep as business needs are prioritized continuously and eliminates unwanted features Agile is not a silver bullet

Agile Implementation Examples

Top 3 Reasons for Agile Implementation Clarity and Transparency into Project Status Less “Late Churn” on Requirements Strengthen Team Performance Agile Journey Hired a Process Improvement Consultant – Consultant Sold Agile to Senior Management Developed a Steering Committee with Cross Team Members Senior Management Decided to Fund a Pilot Project Hired an Agile Coach and Formed the Team Trained the Team and Co-Location Sprint 0 – Working Team Agreements, Wire-Framing, Stakeholder Engagement, Backlog Creation, Prioritization (Business Value), Estimation, Initial Release Plan Started Sprint 1 (Sprints were 2 weeks long; Budget was for 10 sprints) Wean the Team from Agile Coach around Sprint 4 Lessons Learned Hire the Right Coach Middle Management needed to be included as part of the “Selling” Team Empowerment was Contagious and Stakeholders Enjoyed the Process May have to Adapt or Change to Organization’s Governance Model Recent Version 1 study shows that 61% of Management decide on Agile

Top 3 Reasons for Agile Implementation Adding the Right Business Value Forming and Strengthening Business Relationships Strengthen Team Performance Journey Observations – Each Team had a Different Approach Initially, used Light-Weight Framework Due to Team Size – Kanban Trained Product Owner and Development on Agile, Scrum, and Kanban Used Sticky Notes to Document Backlog and Kanban Board Gathered Backlog Items and Prioritized with Product Owner Started Implementing Scrum Rituals As Team Matured, Moved to TFS and Reviewed Metrics (Burn-down) on a Regular Basis Moved to Scrum Lessons Learned Integration Issues with Other Teams – Waterfall/Agile Velocity Increased – Team Engagement High Stakeholders Look Forward to Demos Requests for More Projects than Capacity Educate All Necessary Parties Involved early – Sprint 0

Martin Messick’s Journey in his Organization

Best Practices Top 5 Ways to Help Implement/Scale Agile in Organization Executive Sponsorship Training Program/Workshops Implementation of a common tool Internal Agile Support Group Full Time Agile Coach Top 5 Ways that Eases Agile Adoption Buy-in from Technology and Business Grassroots Commitment Consistent Understanding of “What Agile Is” and its Processes Pilot Groups and Knowledge Sharing Build One Successful Team and Divide Experience Top 5 Reasons for Failed Agile Projects None of Projects Failed Company Philosophy not Aligned with Agile Core Values External Pressures to Follow Waterfall Broader Organizational or Communications Problem Lack of Experience with Agile Methods Stats from – VersionOne– 8th Annual State of Agile Survey 55% of Agile Methodology used is Scrum Why Agile Projects Fail – 13% stated company philosophy or culture at odds with core agile values; 10% - External pressure to follow traditional waterfall processes; 10% - Broader organizational or communications problem; 11% - Lack of experience with agile methods

Learning Exercise Start a Backlog of Questions/Discussion Points – Each Person will Write a Minimum of 1 Question on a Sticky Note Develop a Backlog Prioritize Backlog – Each Person has 2 Dot Votes Based on the Current Backlog Start the Discussion with Highest Dot Votes Discussion will Last Up to 5 Minutes As a Group, We will Vote to Continue Discussion or Move to Next

Questions/Answers