Is Agile worth it? What value can being Agile bring to your organization? Done right, Agile software development methodologies can help your organization deliver greater value to customers and other stakeholders more efficiently and with reduced risk. Done wrong, Agile methodologies become an endlessly iterating feature factory, facing an ever-growing backlog. In this interactive session, attendees discussed: - How to identify what’s most valuable to build next - How to ensure that the features you build are not just functional, but used and valued - How to measure and effectively communicate the value that you create Led by Alan Albert of MarketFit, this session at Agile Vancouver explored theory, examples, and exercises showing how to unlock the power of discovering, creating, and communicating value.

1. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Alan Albert
marketfit.com
alan@marketfit.com
linkedin.com/in/alanalbert
@a_albert

2. A story of failure
[ mine ]

3. From this… To this…
Greater functionality
More configurable
Easier to learn and use
Faster

4. School board: New multi-million $ software
delays start of school year across metro area
DAILY NEWS
Costs and duration of delay unknown

5. “ You're going on an apology tour! ”

6. Bugs? No
Missing features? No
Slow performance? No
Hard to use? No
Bugs?
Missing features?
Slow performance?
Hard to use?
Discovering
where we went wrong

7. What I learned…
sparked a journey that led me here today

8. Who are we?
• Who is personally doing Agile (in some form)?
• Whose organization wants you to become Agile?
• Whose organization is currently Agile? Waterfall? Both?
• Who wants their organization to become Agile?
• What is your role?
Software engineer? Product Owner? Scrum Master?
Product Manager? Agile Coach? Manager or Exec?

9. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

10. Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Good Agile / Bad AgileGood Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Good Agile / Bad Agile

11. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

12. Why are organizations skeptical of Agile?
?

14. You say you want a revolution?

16. From US Dept. of Defense
Defense Innovation Board
DIB Guide: Detecting Agile BS
Oct 09, 2018

18. Much of the time, it can look like we’re off course
Really? Image Credit: Henrik Kniberg

19. More reasons to be skeptical
When asked, many agile teams can’t accurately
commit to…
• What the end product will look like
• How full-featured it will be
• When it will be done
• How much it will cost to build
Most agile teams will admit…
• We expect to fail along the way

20. Sh*t anti-agile people say
• “Agile development doesn’t fit in our Waterfall organization”
• “With Agile, we can’t make commitments to customers”
• “When they say they’re an agile shop, I assume
they have no structured development process at all”

21. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

22. How do we know Agile when we see it?
?

23. What is Agile?
Agile modeling
Agile unified process (AUP)
Disciplined agile delivery
Dynamic systems development method (DSDM)
Extreme programming (XP)
Feature-driven development (FDD)
Lean software development
Rapid application development (RAD)
Adaptive software development (ASD)
Lean startup
Kanban
Scrum
Scrumban
Crystal
SAFe

24. 12 Principles of the Agile Manifesto
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's
competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter
timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get
the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face
conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a
constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

25. What is Agile?
It doesn’t matter how we define our development process.
If it actually is valuable, we should be able to prove it.

26. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

27. 38%
63%
77%
What % of new products fail?

28. >80%
$29.5 billion spent creating features that aren’t used
Fail
What % of new products fail?
No improvement after shift from Waterfall to Agile

29. If our current best practices are so good,
why is our failure rate so high?
Admitting the problem

30. How do we know bad Agile when we see it?
?

31. Waterfall
Discover
Design
Develop
Test
Release
Learning comes too late

32. Release
Pseudo agile (incremental waterfall)
Discover
Design
Develop
Test
Learning still comes too late

33. Agile
What are we
learning here?

34. Changing the Product to Find a Fit
CUSTOMERS
?
PRODUCT
x
x

35. !
Convincing the Market to Want our Product
CUSTOMERS
?
PRODUCT
$

36. Why build before we measure?

37. Why sprint before we know the right direction?

38. Why fail fast?
Why not focus on succeeding sooner?

39. B2B Products & Services
B2C Products & Services
Not for Profit
Startups
SMB
Fortune 500
Cognitive Psychology
Computer Science
Fail
Why listen to Alan?
QA & Support
Marketing
Manufacturing
Partnerships
Legal
Product
Marketing
Software Development
Strategy
Board of Advisors
Board of Directors
Board Chair
CEO
$1B
Contributor
User Researcher
UX Designer
Product Designer
Product Manager
Software Engineer
Company Lead V.P. Corporate
Co-Founder
Acquirer
Acquired

40. Discovering the value
of multiple perspectives

41. Speed of data entry!
We never looked at things
from her perspective.
Bugs? No
Missing features? No
Slow performance? No
Hard to use? No
Bugs?
Missing features?
Slow performance?
Hard to use?
Discovering
where we went wrong

42. We didn’t know what our
customers really cared about
We thought we knew
Thinking we knew
got in the way of learning
What did I learn?

43. Would you rather…
prove you’re right
be proven wrong
learn something new

44. Choose carefully…
prove you’re right
be proven wrong
learn something new
It gets harder to
or try too hard to not
If you try too hard to

45. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

46. What is Value?
?

47. What is Value?
What something is worth in an exchange

48. What is Value?
What something is worth in an exchange
as perceived by the recipient

49. Value Beauty≈
What is Value?

50. Perception of value
Recipient’s values
Where does value come from?

51. motivations
goals
concerns
emotions
what people care about
the “whys” that drive people’s decisions
What are values?

52. Introducing
Customer Perception of Value

53. Customer Values =
motivations
goals
concerns
emotions
what people care about
the “why” that makes them buy

54. Values spark emotions & drive decisions
Buying
Usage
Retention
Recommendation

55. Examples of Customer Values
Minimizing costs
Increasing revenue
Reducing risks
Gaining confidence
Making friends
Protecting privacy
Environmentally friendly
Socially conscious
Rapid deployment
Minimizing disruption
Global presence
Local office
Convenience
Wide selection
Low price

56. PRODUCT
VALUES
FEATURES
BENEFITS

57. PRODUCT
FEATURES
BENEFITS
VALUES

58. PRODUCT
VALUES
FEATURES
BENEFITS
PRODUCT
VALUES
FEATURES
BENEFITS
Start
Here
Or
Here
People with different values
choose different products

59. People with different values
react differently to the same product

60. People who share
the same perception of what’s most valuable
New definition of Market Segment:

62. Segment by customer values to increase value

63. Adding features often reduces value
More features does not mean more value

64. You can create value by
amplifying the shared top values
Competition, Fitness, Recognition
Energy, Stamina
Unified data, Controlled access
Performance, Ecology
Interoperability, Efficiency
Make me look good, Find my next job
Peloton
Red Bull
Slack
Tesla
Zapier
LinkedIn

65. Coke Zero
Netflix
Salesforce
Slack
Calories
Paying for unwatched movies
Installation fees, lengthy implementations
Unmanageable inboxes, CC hell
Or you can create value by
minimizing shared negative values

66. No EvidenceNo TaxiNo Hotel
Disruptive innovations omit “essential” features
to deliver exceptional value
No Horse
No keyboard No Engine

67. ≠ Customer perception of valueYour perception of value
Whose Perception of Value?

68. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

69. What do we mean by proof?
?

70. What is proof?
Working definition:
Evidence that compels others
to accept an assertion as true

71. What is proof of value?
Demonstrating worth, according to their values

72. How could we prove the value of Agile?
?

73. Proving value
Effort
Definition Amount of exertion
Measures Team
Example Overtime hours
Timing Immediate
Proof? No

74. Proving value
Outputs
Definition Quantity of work
Measures Product
Example Velocity points
Timing Lagging
Proof? No

75. 12 Principles of the Agile Manifesto
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's
competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter
timescale.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get
the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face
conversation.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a
constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Measuring Outputs

76. “Concentrate on
what will produce results
rather than on the results,
the process rather than the prize.”

77. Proving value
Inputs
Definition Quality of effort
Measures Team
Example Team health check results
Timing Leading
Proof? No

78. Proving value
Outcomes
Definition Impact on business
Measures Business
Example KPIs, OKRs
Timing Lagging Late
Proof? Yes

79. Proving value
Effort Outputs Inputs Outcomes
Definition
Amount
of exertion
Quantity
of work
Quality
of effort
Impact
on business
Measures Team Product Team Business
Example
Overtime
hours
Velocity
points
Team health check
results
KPIs,
OKRs
Timing Immediate Lagging Leading Lagging Late
Proof? No No No Yes

80. Identifying the problem
We don’t know whether our effort, inputs or outputs are
going to deliver the desired outcomes
until it’s too late

81. How can we prove the value of agile?
An observation:
We can only prove the value of agile, if it is valuable

82. Is there a better way?
Effort Outputs Inputs Outcomes
Definition
Amount
of exertion
Quantity
of work
Quality
of effort
Impact
on business
Measures Team Product Team Business
Example
Overtime
hours
Velocity
points
Team health check
results
KPIs,
OKRs
Timing Immediate Lagging Leading Lagging Late
Proof? No No No Yes
Is there a leading indicator
that can prove we’re on the path to delivering value?

83. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization

84. How do we know good Agile when we see it?
?

85. 1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer’s competitive advantage.
Agile Manifesto: 12 Principles

86. Three laws of Agile
• Law of the Customer—an obsession with delivering
value to customers as the be-all and end-all of the organization.
• 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
• 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
Credit: Steve Denning, Forbes, Sept 2019

87. How do we know good Agile when we see it?
Agile is good only if it delivers value to customers

88. So how can we best deliver value to customers?
?

89. Customer values are discoverable.
Knowing customer values can prevent
catastrophic failure. Why skip this step?

90. • Software developers not talking to users
• Meeting requirements more important than getting
something useful to the field quickly
• Stakeholders acting “more-or-less autonomously”
(e.g. it’s not my job)
• Manual processes are tolerated in situations when
automation is possible
US DoD flags for detecting ‘Agile BS’
Credit: Steve Denning, Forbes, Sept 2019

91. Why not just ask “what are your values?”

92. To discover customer values,
we don’t need to show anything
We won't learn more about customers by asking them later

93. Learning from customers
What Your
Customer
Cares About
Your Idea
or
Solution
What your customer
will talk about
What you
won’t learn

94. Discover ➔ Measure ➔ Validate

95. Interviewing for Customer Perception of Value
Ask them to describe their behaviour in your chosen context
What did they actually do in that context?
Ask only about the past — not the present or future
Then ask about their thinking at that time
What led them to do the things that they did?
How did they go about making their decision?
Don’t ask about features. Focus on learning how they decided.

96. Customer Perception of Value Mini-Workshop
1. Ask your neighbour to name a considered purchase they made recently
Focus only on how they decided what to buy, not on after they bought
2. Then ask them to describe their buying behaviour in detail, start to finish
What did they actually do, to make the choice?
Ask only about the past — not the present or future
3. And then ask about their thinking at that time
What led them to do the things that they did?
How did they go about evaluating and arriving at their final decision?

97. Your insights into Perception of Value

98. The next time you talk to a customer, try
not mentioning your idea, product or feature at all.

99. Discover your Customers’ Values
CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION OF
VALUE
UNDERSTANDING
OF VALUE

100. and gain competitive advantages
Design to Match Your Customers’ Values
CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION OF
VALUE
UNDERSTANDING
OF VALUE
PRICING
MARKETING
INNOVATING

101. UNDERSTANDING
OF VALUE
Avoid Designing for Everyone’s Values
CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION OF
VALUE
Adding features not valued
can reduce CPV

102. CUSTOMER
VALUES
PRODUCT
VALUES
PRODUCT
- MARKET
FIT
Designing for Product-Market Fit
MARKETING
“PROMISE OF
VALUE”

103. Proving value
Value
Definition Perception of worth
Measures Customers & Stakeholders
Example Speed of data entry
Timing Leading & Lagging
Proof? Yes

104. Ways to demonstrate value
Effort Outputs Inputs Outcomes Value
Definition
Amount of
exertion
Quantity of
work
Quality of effort
Impact on
business
Perception
of worth
Example
Overtime
hours
Velocity
points
Team health
check results
KPIs,
OKRs
Speed of
data entry
Measures Team Product Team Business
Customers &
Stakeholders
Timing Immediate Lagging Leading Lagging Late
Leading &
Lagging
Proof? No No No Yes Yes

105. Customer Values tell us…
• Where to head
• Why head there
• Where to focus to get there
• How to measure progress all along the way

106. When facing multiple stakeholders and competing priorities,
how can teams consistently deliver value?
?

107. Diversity
Alignment
Expertise
Which is most important on teams?

108. Facts vs. Opinions

109. Customer values in decision making
The customer is always right
about their perception of value

110. Diversity vs. Alignment
Diversity brings differing perspectives that add value
Alignment enables us to work together efficiently
To create value efficiently, we must
reconcile the conflict between diversity and alignment

111. Reconciling diverse opinions
Understanding Customer Perception of Value
helps bring diversity into alignment

112. The ROI from Understanding Values
More customers
More revenue
Greater customer retention
More referrals
Lower risk of failure
Fewer features
Lower cost of development
Faster delivery of greater value
Cost Savings
Revenue
Profit
Market Share

113. Customer Perception of Value as North Star

114. Good Agile / Bad Agile
Proving the value of Agile
to a skeptical organization
Alan Albert
marketfit.com
alan@marketfit.com
linkedin.com/in/alanalbert
@a_albert