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Agile vs Waterfall
At our last CIO Breakfast Forum for 2008 in November we presented and discussed Agile Practice. We specifically looked at the use of the Scrum project management methodology and a practical implementation in an enterprise. There was a lively discussion and unfortunately we went over our usual time limit. This looks like a topic that may evolve into other conversations.
A Certified Scrum Master (CSM) discussed and presented Scrum and highlighted some of the differences between the agile project approach and the more traditional waterfall life cycle based process of project management. He discussed the Scrum techniques and how organizations can overcome some of the constraints that impede communication and delivery. Improving project delivery is a typical concern and priority for Chief Information Officers (CIO) and the questions raised highlighted some of the areas of concern pertaining to adopting Scrum.
What is Agile About?
For those who have been exposed only to structured methods, corporate policies and procedures perhaps one can view the agile practice as a more natural or postmodern way of working. Given the large percentage of information technology (IT) related projects and in particular software development projects that fail, it may not be surprising that a number of alternative approaches have been developed and evolved over time. When eXtreme Programming (XP) was introduced by Kent Beck, many programmers embraced the XP set of practices that contributed towards better team dynamics. XP was embraced by programmers as a more natural fit to the dynamics of software development. The Agile Manifesto has been supported by many professionals who have adopted the agile set of principles that among other things places people over process.
And fundamentally, that is what agile is about, people. While many corporate organizations strive for an agile enterprise and look to automation as the means to implementing strategy, a truly agile enterprise is dependent on people. Processes, efficiencies, automation and information-flow are important to large organizations but processes, documents and machines cannot "connect the dots" in the way people can. Responding to the external social environment of an enterprise or solving problems that cut across the internal silos of an organization requires human intelligence.
Scrum is a project management approach that supports the agile practice. It encapsulates the practical methods that are relevant to managing projects. While XP promoted agile to software developers, Scrum has introduced agile into the project management world and into the enterprise. Scrum "packages" the method of agile project management and places emphasis on aspects such as the time boxed 2 to 4 weeks iterations called "sprints", the daily 15 minute stand up meetings, the functional requirements encapsulated as "stories" and the white board of stories and tasks. Scrum is to the product owner and customer what XP is to software programmers. It exposes everything and improves just about every aspect of organizational work - team dynamics, communication, problem solving, estimation, collaboration, transparency, agility or responsiveness to change. As demanding as it seems, it drives the business-IT interactions because the customers and products owners can see the benefit.
But what is truly radical about Scrum and XP in an enterprise environment is the liberation of common sense. Often the negative impact of establishing structured rules around processes is that it creates unnatural walls that inhibit humans from addressing problems that range from simple to complex and systemic. The Scrum Master or Coach plays the role of a Project Manager and is responsible for among other things removing "impediments". If the scope of work needs to change today, the Scrum Master and the Team deal with it. There is no hang up about "Scope Creep". There is no rule that says you can't speak to someone else or have to go through specific lines of communication.
Policies, procedures and standards drive governance, quality and efficiency through processes. But values, principles and practices provide humans with the intrinsic tools to solve problems and work towards a common objective. The agile practice is about building strong teams and strengthening individuals. Kent Beck outlined a set of values, principles and practices that constituted XP. Many people focused on XP practices such pair-programming and working 40 hour weeks (as opposed to programmers sitting in front of their computers for 12 hours a day and then burning out). But XP values such as "courage" are as important to the agile team dynamics. If a programmer does not have the courage to speak out or to estimate according to what he really thinks it will take, he may often get bullied into doing work that in the end does not achieve the outcome that is expected.
The rest of the review provides some context in terms of agile practice in project management and software development and covers:
1. How Does an Organization Start to Adopt Agile?
2. Can Agile Scale?
3. Does Agile Require Specialized Roles?
4. Roles required for agile software development teams.
Finally, we considered the strategic and operational nature of agile practice. The strategic benefits are obvious if it enables organizations to implement the programs that will achieve their strategic objectives. But can the agile practice work for operational functions? We shared some experiences of agile in non-IT operational environments. But this could also be an interesting follow up discussion on agile in IT operations and service management. We look forward to further conversations on topics related to agile practice.
For the full post see : http://eaforum.ning.com/?xgi=1rh62K1
A brief registration is required to gain access to the website as it's limited to members only.
A Certified Scrum Master (CSM) discussed and presented Scrum and highlighted some of the differences between the agile project approach and the more traditional waterfall life cycle based process of project management. He discussed the Scrum techniques and how organizations can overcome some of the constraints that impede communication and delivery. Improving project delivery is a typical concern and priority for Chief Information Officers (CIO) and the questions raised highlighted some of the areas of concern pertaining to adopting Scrum.
What is Agile About?
For those who have been exposed only to structured methods, corporate policies and procedures perhaps one can view the agile practice as a more natural or postmodern way of working. Given the large percentage of information technology (IT) related projects and in particular software development projects that fail, it may not be surprising that a number of alternative approaches have been developed and evolved over time. When eXtreme Programming (XP) was introduced by Kent Beck, many programmers embraced the XP set of practices that contributed towards better team dynamics. XP was embraced by programmers as a more natural fit to the dynamics of software development. The Agile Manifesto has been supported by many professionals who have adopted the agile set of principles that among other things places people over process.
And fundamentally, that is what agile is about, people. While many corporate organizations strive for an agile enterprise and look to automation as the means to implementing strategy, a truly agile enterprise is dependent on people. Processes, efficiencies, automation and information-flow are important to large organizations but processes, documents and machines cannot "connect the dots" in the way people can. Responding to the external social environment of an enterprise or solving problems that cut across the internal silos of an organization requires human intelligence.
Scrum is a project management approach that supports the agile practice. It encapsulates the practical methods that are relevant to managing projects. While XP promoted agile to software developers, Scrum has introduced agile into the project management world and into the enterprise. Scrum "packages" the method of agile project management and places emphasis on aspects such as the time boxed 2 to 4 weeks iterations called "sprints", the daily 15 minute stand up meetings, the functional requirements encapsulated as "stories" and the white board of stories and tasks. Scrum is to the product owner and customer what XP is to software programmers. It exposes everything and improves just about every aspect of organizational work - team dynamics, communication, problem solving, estimation, collaboration, transparency, agility or responsiveness to change. As demanding as it seems, it drives the business-IT interactions because the customers and products owners can see the benefit.
But what is truly radical about Scrum and XP in an enterprise environment is the liberation of common sense. Often the negative impact of establishing structured rules around processes is that it creates unnatural walls that inhibit humans from addressing problems that range from simple to complex and systemic. The Scrum Master or Coach plays the role of a Project Manager and is responsible for among other things removing "impediments". If the scope of work needs to change today, the Scrum Master and the Team deal with it. There is no hang up about "Scope Creep". There is no rule that says you can't speak to someone else or have to go through specific lines of communication.
Policies, procedures and standards drive governance, quality and efficiency through processes. But values, principles and practices provide humans with the intrinsic tools to solve problems and work towards a common objective. The agile practice is about building strong teams and strengthening individuals. Kent Beck outlined a set of values, principles and practices that constituted XP. Many people focused on XP practices such pair-programming and working 40 hour weeks (as opposed to programmers sitting in front of their computers for 12 hours a day and then burning out). But XP values such as "courage" are as important to the agile team dynamics. If a programmer does not have the courage to speak out or to estimate according to what he really thinks it will take, he may often get bullied into doing work that in the end does not achieve the outcome that is expected.
The rest of the review provides some context in terms of agile practice in project management and software development and covers:
1. How Does an Organization Start to Adopt Agile?
2. Can Agile Scale?
3. Does Agile Require Specialized Roles?
4. Roles required for agile software development teams.
Finally, we considered the strategic and operational nature of agile practice. The strategic benefits are obvious if it enables organizations to implement the programs that will achieve their strategic objectives. But can the agile practice work for operational functions? We shared some experiences of agile in non-IT operational environments. But this could also be an interesting follow up discussion on agile in IT operations and service management. We look forward to further conversations on topics related to agile practice.
For the full post see : http://eaforum.ning.com/?xgi=1rh62K1
A brief registration is required to gain access to the website as it's limited to members only.
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