Enterprise-Scale Agile Software Development (Applied Software Engineering Series)

384 Pages·2009·3.82 MB·English

by  James Schiel

Titles in the
Auerbach Series on Applied Software Engineering
Phillip A. Laplante, Pennsylvania State University, Series Editor
Enterprise-Scale Agile Software Development
James Schiel
1-4398-0321-9
Requirements Engineering for Software and Systems
Phillip A. Laplante
1-4200-6467-3
Building Software: A Practioner’s Guide
Nikhilesh Krishnamurthy and Amitabh Saran
0-8493-7303-4
Global Software Development Handbook
Raghvinder Sangwan, Matthew Bass, Neel Mullick, Daniel J. Paulish,
and Juergen Kazmeier
0-8493-9384-1
Antipatterns: Identification, Refactoring, and Management
Phillip A. Laplante and Colin J. Neill
0-8493-2994-9
Software Engineering Quality Practices
Ronald Kirk Kandt
0-8493-4633-9
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schiel, James.
Enterprise-scale agile software development / James Schiel.
p. cm. -- (Auerbach series on applied software engineering)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4398-0321-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Agile software development. 2. Scrum (Computer software development) 3.
eXtreme programming. I. Title. II. Series.
QA76.76.D47S2957 2009
005.1’1--dc22 2009037003
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the CRC Press Web site at
http://www.crcpress.com
Contents
Preface .........................................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgments .........................................................................................xv
Biography ....................................................................................................xvii
1 Introduction ...........................................................................................1
Web Site.......................................................................................................2
About This Book ..........................................................................................2
A Balancing Act ...........................................................................................3
Audience ......................................................................................................3
Success Factors .............................................................................................3
Suggested Readings .....................................................................................5
Endnotes ......................................................................................................6
2 Why Agile? .............................................................................................9
Myths about Agile Development .................................................................9
Reasons to Stay Away from Agile ...............................................................12
How Your Organization Will Benefit from Agile .......................................13
Improved Software Quality ..............................................................13
Improved Organizational Commitment ...........................................14
Reduced Waste .................................................................................14
Improved Customer Relationships ....................................................15
Summary ...................................................................................................16
SeCtIon I SettIng the Stage for a tranSItIon
3 Transitional Concepts ..........................................................................21
What Is Agile Development? .....................................................................21
Workflow ...................................................................................................22
Product Backlog .........................................................................................22
Prioritization .....................................................................................23
Grooming .........................................................................................23
Sprinting ....................................................................................................24
v
vi  Contents
Beta Test ....................................................................................................25
Defects .......................................................................................................25
Workflow Summary ..................................................................................25
The Product Backlog ..................................................................................25
Written in a Manner That Can Be Groomed … ...............................27
Under Constant Reprioritization and Continually Emergent ...........31
Endnotes ....................................................................................................32
4 Transition Barriers ...............................................................................33
People Barriers ...........................................................................................33
Organizational Barriers ..............................................................................36
Endnote .....................................................................................................39
5 Management in an Agile Environment ................................................41
Getting Management Ready for the Transition ........................................42
An Effective Organizational Arrangement for Scrum Teams .....................45
Hiring New Scrum Team Members ...........................................................48
The Care and Feeding of Scrum Teams .....................................................50
Tampering ........................................................................................51
Ignoring ............................................................................................51
Improve Organization Performance ..................................................52
Improve Scrum Team Performance ..................................................52
Improve Employee Performance .......................................................53
Support Scrum Teams ......................................................................54
Care and Feeding: Summary .....................................................................54
SeCtIon II PlannIng the tranSItIon
6 Create the Transition Team ..................................................................59
The Transition Team Lead .........................................................................62
The Executive Sponsor ...............................................................................62
7 Define the Organizational Agreements ................................................65
Document the Agreements ........................................................................68
Endnotes ....................................................................................................74
8 Determine Transition Goals .................................................................75
Measuring and Monitoring the Transition .................................................76
Improved Productivity through Reduced Defects .....................................77
Improved Performance through Increased Feature Value ...........................79
Setting Control Limits to Manage Corrective Actions ...............................81
Avoiding Organizational Dysfunction Caused by Measurements ..............83
Summary ..................................................................................................84
Endnotes ....................................................................................................85
Contents  vii
9 Create the Transition Backlog ..............................................................87
Bringing the Transition Team Together .....................................................87
Endnote .....................................................................................................89
SeCtIon III StartIng the tranSItIon
Exciting and Really Challenging ................................................................91
Basic Approach ..........................................................................................92
10 Beginning Transition Sprint 1 .............................................................95
The Sprint Schedule ...................................................................................96
The Transition Backlog ..............................................................................97
The Structure of the Transition Backlog ....................................................98
Grooming: Reducing Backlog Items to Sprint Size ....................................99
Sprint Planning ........................................................................................100
What’s the Big Difference between Hours and Points? ............................104
Building the Sprint Backlog .....................................................................106
When Teams Attack! (The Backlog, That Is) ..................................106
When Undercommitment Is the Order of the Day .........................108
Committing to Work in the First Transition Sprint .................................109
Sprint Reviews for Transition Sprints .......................................................110
Sprint Retrospectives for Transition Sprints .............................................111
Continuing beyond Transition Sprint 1 ...................................................112
Endnotes ..................................................................................................113
11 Create the Transition Budget .............................................................115
Training and Coaching ............................................................................116
Software and Hardware ...........................................................................117
Facilities ...................................................................................................121
Travel .......................................................................................................122
People ......................................................................................................123
Summary .................................................................................................123
Endnote ...................................................................................................124
12 Develop the Transition Communication Plan ...................................125
Project Information Storage .....................................................................127
Endnote ...................................................................................................129
13 Create the Training Plan ....................................................................131
Basic Concepts .........................................................................................131
Agile Project Structure .............................................................................133
Roles in an Agile Project ..........................................................................134
Matching Skills to Roles ..........................................................................136
Skills Become Training Modules .............................................................137
viii  Contents
The Training Modules .............................................................................139
Defining the Tracks .................................................................................139
Executing the Tracks ...............................................................................139
The Role of Coaches in the Agile Transition ............................................144
Team Coaching Requirements ........................................................146
Overload the Scrum Teams ......................................................................147
Scrum Masters and Scrum Product Owners ............................................148
Prove Your Skill First ...............................................................................148
Summary .................................................................................................149
Endnote ...................................................................................................150
14 Facilities Planning ..............................................................................151
Team Rooms ............................................................................................152
Size .................................................................................................152
Location .........................................................................................153
Noise ..............................................................................................154
Setting Up a Team Room ........................................................................154
Employee Directories ...............................................................................156
Employee Telephones ...............................................................................157
Private Spaces ..........................................................................................157
Server Rooms ...........................................................................................157
The Facilities Plan ....................................................................................157
Endnotes ..................................................................................................158
15 Selecting the Pilot Projects for the Agile Transition ..........................159
Define Your Goals ...................................................................................160
Set Organizational Expectations ..............................................................162
Selecting Your Pilot Project ......................................................................167
Obstacles to a Successful Pilot Project .....................................................169
Dysfunctions Come with the Territory ...........................................170
Team Co-location ...........................................................................170
Lack of Expertise or Necessary Skills .....................................170
Improper Development Metrics .............................................170
Setting Your Project Up for Success .........................................................171
People First .....................................................................................171
Everyone Needs to Know Their Job ................................................172
Introduce XP Practices Carefully ....................................................172
Get a Good Product Owner ...........................................................172
Keep It Visible ................................................................................173
Never Skip the Retrospective ..........................................................173
Summary .................................................................................................174
Endnotes ..................................................................................................175
Contents  ix
16 Tools in the Agile Enterprise ..............................................................177
Continuous Integration/Build .................................................................179
Requirements ..................................................................................179
Sample Products .............................................................................180
Automated Testing ...................................................................................180
Requirements ..................................................................................180
Sample Products .............................................................................181
Sprint and Backlog Management .............................................................181
Requirements ..................................................................................181
Sample Products .............................................................................182
Team Communication .............................................................................182
Summary .................................................................................................183
Endnote ..................................................................................................183
17 Managing Customer Involvement ......................................................185
Selecting the Right Customer ..................................................................186
Is the Candidate Qualified? ............................................................186
Is the Candidate a Potential Threat? ...............................................187
Will the Candidate Cooperate? .......................................................188
Managing the Involved Customer ............................................................189
The Helpful Customer Strategy: Involve .........................................190
The Not Useful Customer Strategy: Watch .....................................191
The Not Helpful Candidate Strategy: Protect .................................191
The Helpful Trouble Customer Strategy: Collaborate .....................191
Managing Customer Involvement in a Large Organization .....................192
Summary .................................................................................................194
SeCtIon IV CreatIng the agIle organIzatIon
18 Agile Project Management—Getting Started ....................................197
Scheduling in an Agile Project .................................................................198
Scheduling Challenges .............................................................................198
Determining the Project’s Estimated Costs ..............................................198
Planning and Staffing ..............................................................................203
Specialization and the Unbalanced Backlog ............................................204
A Balancing Act .............................................................................206
Architecture Definition ............................................................................209
Unprepared Backlog Items .......................................................................209
Getting Your Project Started ....................................................................210
Creating the Release Goals .............................................................211
Create/Update Defined Processes and Policies ................................213
Create/Update the DONEness Definition ......................................213