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Are you failing at being agile? #digitallabin

Are you failing at being agile? #digitallabin

In these past few years, agile methods became a vital part in the software development process, but are they really applicable for all types of projects and team sizes?

A while ago, our company changed the way we approach project development because the team noticed that standard SCRUM-ish methods aren't fully compatible for us, so we developed our own, modified version of agile. In this talk, I will showcase how powerful this approach is and how you can use it to find problems, and eventually resolve them.

Antonio Peric-Mazar

September 28, 2019
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  1. Antonio Perić-Mažar CEO @ Locastic Co-founder @ Litto Co-founder @

    Tinel Meetup Co-founder @ Blockada t: @antonioperic m: [email protected]
  2. Locastic Helping clients create web and mobile apps since 2011

    • UX/UI • Mobile apps • Web apps • Training & Consulting www.locastic.com @locastic
  3. “We do a daily standup in the morning; we are

    an Agile shop”. - no, you are not
  4. • Software development agency • 20+ employees • More than

    one project running at same time • Different clients, different locations of clients Context
  5. Scrum is a great option when you’re a team at

    a software vendor with a clear focus to deliver a specific product.
  6. Scrum is a great option when you’re a team at

    a software vendor with a clear focus to deliver a specific product. External dependencies (clients)
  7. If you are doing SCRUM, you are not Agile company,

    you need to have Agile mindset.
  8. • Flexible budget + Project idea • Fixed budget +

    Project idea • Flexible budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/ prototypes) • Fixed budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/prototypes). Type of projects
  9. • Flexible budget + Project idea • Fixed budget +

    Project idea -> AVOID! • Flexible budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/ prototypes) • Fixed budget + Project specification (and/or wireframes/prototypes). Type of projects
  10. If the scope, the deadline and the price have already

    been set at the beginning, it no longer makes sense to try and implement an agile framework such as Scrum.
  11. • Huge level of trust • Easily overcome as soon

    as one has completed an agile project together • Requires education of the client and huge level of empathy on both sides • Today is much easier to sell it then 5 years ago, it is almost a standard • Empathy, understanding and patience on both sides Time&Materials model
  12. • It should be clear at first glance what feature

    the task is related to • Description of a task should always begin with its purpos • A task should always be written in a way that is relevant for the whole tea • A task should list all important steps for completing it • Criteria should be very specific and related to the task, and should contain real testable example • Each task should contain a direct link to a wireframe and/or design view Anatomy of a Task
  13. The Law of the customer an obsession with delivering value

    to customers as the be-all and end-all of the organization.
  14. The Law of the small team a presumption that all

    work be carried out by small self -organizing teams, working in short cycles and focused on delivering value to customers—and
  15. The Law of the network a continuing effort to obliterate

    bureaucracy and top-down hierarchy so that the firm operates as an interacting network of teams, all focused on working together to deliver increasing value to customers
  16. • People and project are more important then process (methodology)

    • Scrum is just a framework that we adjusted to ourself • It is a philosophy not a process • It is probably the best solution at the moment for chaotic systems • It is easy to learn in theory, but it is very hard to practice it, especially with external parties (clients) How we see Agile today
  17. • Agile is way of thinking, and it should be

    integrated to each part of the team/company: • it should be a way of thinking • a way of writing the tasks • a way of signing the contracts • a way of doing business development • and etc. How we see Agile today
  18. • it is good for organisation and task management •

    it delivers new features constantly, client can see the progress and client is more involved in entire process • usually clients are more happy • if everything is setup well, it is very easy to rotate team members Advantages
  19. • client is part of development process, and software development

    is no longer strange thing for them • there is no bunch of documentation • entire team is more focuses on delivering high quality product Advantages
  20. • It is very hard to get client on location

    all the time • Product owner role is very hard, and usually clients don’t have person who is ready to take that role • in this situation team need to have one more person who will do training and consulting to help client with assignments • Client almost always wants to know price and deadlines • in this case sometimes SCRUM/AGILE is not possible and it becomes just a show Disadvantages
  21. • Sometimes clients don’t get the concepts of agile, as

    they are used in traditional processes • If team and client are not on the same location, it makes process slower • Client is usually more involved in the beginning • It is not for inexperienced teams Disadvantages
  22. • Lean Development • Extreme programming, pair programming • BDD,

    TDD, DDD… • CI/CD • Automation of processes (testing, deploying, etc) Agile is not just SCRUM
  23. • increased number of releases • reduced number of bugs

    • better and more quality metrics per teams • design process are drastically improved • moral of teams and people is increasead • clients are more happy Results
  24. “I’m sick of it. I can’t wait for the day

    when everyone realises how much of a fad-diet, religious-cult-inspired, money-making exercise it is for a group of consultants. I can’t wait for people to wake up to the fact that the only good parts of Agile are just basic common sense and don’t need a ‘manifesto’ or evangelists to support them.”. - the rant of Luke Halliwell some ten years ago