MMAG - Meetupfiles.meetup.com/1708426/Agile Adoption in the...Scrum, Kanban DBA, PAs, BAs 2 - 4...

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Joseph Hersheywww.linkedin.com/in/jhershey

@jhershey

@AgileAndBeyondElizabeth Henderson@elizhender

@MMAgile

Mei Lim@emwhyng

www.linkedin.com/emwhyng

emwhyng@gmail.com

Brendon Thiedewhatbrendonthinks.com

MMAGhttp://www.meetup.com/Mid-Michigan-Agile-Group/

Agile Adoption in the Organization ...

MMAG

… Comparative Style

MMAG

Mid Michigan Agile Group

MMAG

Joseph Hersheywww.linkedin.com/in/jhershey

@jhershey

@AgileAndBeyondElizabeth Henderson@elizhender

@MMAgile

Mei Lim@emwhyng

www.linkedin.com/emwhyng

emwhyng@gmail.com

Brendon Thiedewhatbrendonthinks.com

MMAGhttp://www.meetup.com/Mid-Michigan-Agile-Group/

Planting a Seed

Joe Hershey

Software ConsultantOM Computing, llc

➔ Software (working)➔ Trail Running➔ Biking➔ Hiking➔ Giving Service

AND….

Planting a Seed

State of MichiganBureau of Lottery 2009

SUITEState Unified IT Environment

KISS

5 Things

5 Things / Start Small / Start Simple

1. Walk together2. Ask forgiveness not permission3. Don’t fight the power4. Spread the word5. Deliver SUCCESS

1) Walk Together

2) Ask for forgiveness before permission

3) Don’t fight the Power

4) Spread the Word

5) Deliver Success

Take Aways

Take Aways / Lessons Learned

● It’s a people change● It’s a slow process● You need to be situationally aware● Smile, it’s not that bad● It’s not about you

Joe Hershey

Agile something something Kanban

• About• Our Story - Good stuff and bad• What works for us• What’s next

About• Our team: 10 devs and over 50 software systems.

• Numbers• Average length of time working at MSU: < 6 years• Average age of ASP applications: 14 years• Average age of Java applications: 4 years

Part 1 - we try Scrum...• On a big project • User stories• Sprints• Burndown charts• Stand-ups• Retrospectives

Reality hits...• Things aren’t so rosy

on the big project.• Priorities and support

demands affect the timeline.

• Scrum/Agile becomes an excuse for things not going well.

Good Stuff• Vendors come in and talk

about agile.• Project team went to a

day in the life of agile• Devs are curious

Bringing Agile Back…

Part 2 – Kanban• Accept that priorities

change• Make work visible• Encourage

communication (via Standups)

• Streamline reporting

Part 3 – Refining the process• Protect the pipeline• Trello• Reporting

• Reducing the number of interactions

Why it works for us• Priorities change daily, if not hourly• Our team has shared values and mindset• Allows individuals to make business value decisions

between differing customers and needs.

What’s next• Reporting up - What are important metrics?• Reducing developer reporting• Focus on the pipeline• Continuous Improvement - streamlining Trello

and standups

Lessons Learned• Don’t give up• Work within the system• Be inclusive• It’s a journey, not a destination• Communicate

THIS DOES NOT FEEL AGILE…

Mid-Michigan Agile Group

M. Lim

About Me

○ Senior Project Manager at MESSA

○ 17 years at MESSA IT

○ Past lives: Developer, analyst, team leader, IT PM, Scrum Master

○ CSM, PMI-ACP, PMP, CTFL

○ Mom of 2 teenagers

○ Researcher, school volunteer, culinary adventurer

About MESSA and ITSS

○ 3rd party non-profit health insurance administrator based in East Lansing

○ Serves:

○ 78,000 members

○ 300+ employees

○ 600+ affiliates

○ Celebrated 50th anniversary in 2010

○ ITSS Applications:

○ Unionized IT shop

○ 19 PAs, 8 BAs, 4 QAs

Information Technology Support Services

Why AGILE?

Application development circa 2010

o Changing requirements

o Unrealistic schedules/moving targets

o Lack of business involvement

o Results not always predictable

o Recommended by consultant assessment and IT Director

InfoQ.com

Start-Up

○ What is Agile???

○ Started Scrum on in-flight CRM project

○ Failed on many levels

○ A year later, started another Scrum team

○ More planning, site visit

○ “Why is this so textbook?”

○ Despite internal struggles, progress was astounding

Myscrumhalf.com

Good stuff

○ Early success

○ Visibility

○ Reflected on failures

○ Whole team – cross the finish line together

○ Product owner sees urgency and always in the know

○ “I want this team to work on my project!”

Struggles

○ Lack of business involvement

○ Issues not given time of day

○ Not my job

Not my department

I’m a developer, I don’t test

Don’t send it to me if it’s still

broke…

Just tell me what to do

“Culture is what people do when no one is looking.”

Herb Kelleher, Chairman Southwest Airlines2006 PeopleInk

o Top-down hierarchy

o Silos

o Waterfall-entrenched practices

Even though we try, we can’t let go …

The Journey

1.5

1.5

2 – 4

1

ScrumBut

0

End of project

3

2

5 - 10

3

Scrum

QA Manager

Late in project

3

2

3 - 10

6

Scrum

Architect, QA PAs

Mid-project

11 + (all)

8

2 - 10

6

Scrum, Kanban

DBA, PAs, BAs

2 - 4 weeks or when ready

Agile Projects

Agile Teams

IT personnel /project

Business Units Involved

Framework

New Positions

Releases

2010 2011 2012 2013 ++

What Helped

○ Education

○ Agile orientation, team coaching, mentoring, training

○ Enable collaboration at all levels

○ Cross-functional team design exercises at project start

○ Co-located, open workspaces

○ Reflect and Adapt

○ Align with Business

○ Business Analyst CoP: Core ways to work yet support uniqueness, creativity

• Competitive Advantage for the agile business

• Product Management

• Agile Portfolio Management

• Agile Team Management

• Architecture Leadership

• Agile Engineering

• Multi-Team Agile Project Coordination

Process Transformation

Management Transformation

Organizational Transformation

Business Model Transformation

What’s Next

• Servant Leadership

• Recruiting

• Career Paths

• Budgeting

• Communities of Practice Research and Learn, when the time is right, evolve!

Indicates Work In Progress

Lessons Learned

○ Change yourself

○ Show the path, lose the religion

○ Get people behind you early

○ Persist - we win as an organization

○ Find sounding board (MMAG)

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you

win.”- Gandhi

Contact Mei Lim@emwhyng

www.linkedin.com/emwhyng

emwhyng@gmail.com

Thank You!

FROM AGILE TO AGILEBRENDON THIEDE - VERTAFORE

WHO IS VERTAFORE• 40+ years serving the insurance and securities markets• Over 1,300 employees• 8 U.S. offices and 3 offshore offices• 20,000+ agency, MGA, state, and carrier customers • Subscriptions with 300,000+ producers

WHO I AM• With Vertafore for 6 years

• Software Engineer• ScrumMaster• SAFe Program Consultant• Release Train Engineer

• Runner• Husband• Father

HOME GROWN – BASELINE

• Small scale• Ambitious• Unsupported

HOME GROWN – BASELINE• It worked• Local ownership• Stagnant

THE EDICT – TOP DOWN• Desire for transparency• Desire for consistency• Lots of assumptions

THE EDICT – TOP DOWN• Different• Rules over concepts• Inflexible

LASTING CHANGE – HEARTS AND MINDS• Personal• Customized• Teams are empowered

LASTING CHANGE – HEARTS AND MINDS• Lots of work• Requires trust• Sustainable

LESSONS LEARNED• Process without understanding fails• My co-workers want control• We need Agile expertise• Shared experience can give shared solutions• We are moving in a direction, but not to a destination

THE JOURNEY FORWARD• Dedicated ScrumMasters• Shared cadence• Team retrospectives• Value on education• Support; vertical and horizontal

Compare and Contrast

MMAG

Mid Michigan Agile Group

MMAG

Joseph Hersheywww.linkedin.com/in/jhershey

@jhershey

@AgileAndBeyondElizabeth Henderson@elizhender

@MMAgile

Mei Lim@emwhyng

www.linkedin.com/emwhyng

emwhyng@gmail.com

Brendon Thiedewhatbrendonthinks.com

MMAGhttp://www.meetup.com/Mid-Michigan-Agile-Group/