Built-in Quality is key when you want to achieve Business Agility. Yesterday I spoke at the AgiNext Conference in London. In my presentation I explained the importance of Built-in Quality, what is actually is and introduced an approach to implement it. The presentation explains how we can take a validated learning approach to eliminate waste and learn how to improve our development life cycle. I share the suggestions that SAFe makes and give a prioritised overview of quality measures. Throughout the presentation I share my thought on how Agile Coaches can contribute to built quality in.
10. Built-inQuality
Built-in Quality
… means developing a product or service right from the first time
[ALFRA]
… aims to reduce the cost of delay and rework
… is a set of practices to ensure that each Solution element, at
every increment, meets appropriate quality standards throughout
development [SAFe]
12
12. Built-inQuality
SAFe Practices
14
Guidance in SAFe Practices
Think test first BDD,TDD
Automate tests on the right
place
Testing pyramid
Reduce the size of the test-set Evaluate and set up a regression
regression test strategy
Integrate often Set up an CI/CD pipeline
Embed quality in the
development process
Scalable DOD
15. Built-inQuality
17
e-Book Mette Bruhn-
Pedersen and Derk-Jan
wrote on Testing and
Quality in SAFe
Download at
https://huddle.eurostarsoftwaretesting.com/download-testing-
quality-scaled-agile-framework-lean-enterprises/
Built-in Quality
17
e-Book Mette Bruhn-
Pedersen and Derk-Jan
wrote onTestingand
Qualityin SAFe
Download at
https://huddle.eurostarsoftwaretesting.com/download-
testing-quality-scaled-agile-framework-lean-enterprises/
18. trust in the business
case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes on
the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into account:
deadlines, parallel
work, inter-team
dependencies
mapping the release
on customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide intelligence
and insights
organization of tests
that do not fit in a
sprint
define how feedback
on product quality
and progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on epic
level (High level test
plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in the
portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like WSJF
Peer review on code
and test results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective ownership
of the code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version control
in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of right
users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior in
production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorgani
zational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic updating
or restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g. online
and social media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
75
19. Built-inQuality
I am doing BDD
Does that mean that I have quality built-in?
Does that mean that I have
quality built-in?
I am doing BDD
23. trust in the business
case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes on
the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into account:
deadlines, parallel
work, inter-team
dependencies
mapping the release
on customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide intelligence
and insights
organization of tests
that do not fit in a
sprint
define how feedback
on product quality
and progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on epic
level (High level test
plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in the
portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like WSJF
Peer review on code
and test results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective ownership
of the code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version control
in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of right
users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior in
production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorgani
zational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic updating
or restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g. online
and social media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
75
26. Built-inQuality
Roadmap
Release planning
Refinement & Sprint planning
User story realization, Unit test & Code review
(non) Functional testing
Integration and e2e testing
Acceptance & Testing the customer journey
Monitoring in production & incident handling
27. Built-inQuality
Roadmap
Releaseplanning
Refinement &Sprint planning
User story realization, Unit test &Codereview
(non) Functional testing
Integration and e2etesting
Acceptance&Testingthecustomer journey
Monitoringin production & incident handling
Customer is
affected
Development feedback loops
29
Eliminate errors before the
costomer is affected
28. Built-inQuality
30
Roadmap
Releaseplanning
Refinement &Sprint planning
User story realization, Unit test &Codereview
(non) Functional testing
Integration and e2etesting
Acceptance&Testingthecustomer journey
Monitoringin production & incident handling
Business
release
User stories
aredefined
User stories
arebuilt
Product is
scheduled
Technical
release
User story
isdone
Sprint is
done
Customer is
affected
Prevent
errors
before
31. Built-inQuality
Example 1
Epic
Quality definition: Epic should be owned, profitable, sized and an e2e solution
How to measure: We use a DOR on Epic level to check whether the epic has a
business sponsor, is supported by a business case and can be done within a
quarter
When to detect deviation: During the epic intake by the CPO, before the epic is
put on the epic backlog
33
Release planning
32. Built-inQuality
Example 2
Roadmap
Quality definition: Roadmap is feasible and realistic
How to measure: We have taken into account the EpicWIP, dependencies
between teams, skills that are required and expected deadlines
When to detect deviation: During quarterly planning (or PI event) and portfolio
meetings
34
Release planning
33. Built-inQuality
Stop the Line (Jidoka) states that to have the best
quality for your product to enable continuous
improvement, you must stop all production when
an issue occurs and fix the issue before resuming
work.
35
Agree to stop the line when
quality is to low
34. Built-inQuality
No furter processing on
this item
No other items are
delivered
No local compensation of
the defect
Stop the line
36
Reduce waste
Avoid that ill products roll
of the line
Ensure that the root-cause
is eliminated
35. Built-inQuality
Epic
Quality definition: Epic should be owned, profitable, sized and an e2e
solution
How to measure: We use a DOR on Epic level to check whether the epic
has a business sponsor, is supported by a business case and can be done
within a quarter
When to detect deviation: During the epic intake by the CPO, before the
epic is put on the epic backlog
Exception:When insufficient the Epic is rejected.The CPO sits with
sponsor to assess impact and may adjust roadmap.
Who is involved: CPO, Business stakeholder
37
Release planning
36. Built-inQuality
Roadmap
Quality definition: Roadmap is feasible and realistic
How to measure: We have taken into account the EpicWIP,
dependencies between teams, skills that are required and expected
deadlines
When to detect deviation: During quarterly planning (or PI event) and
portfolio meetings
Exception: When theWIP is exceeded or dependencies introduce risk,
we refactor the roadmap.
Who is involved: Business and development leads, PO,AC
38
Release planning
40. Built-inQuality
Feedback time
42
BIQ Level: prevent errors before… Desired feedback time
release is scheduled 1-4 weeks
epics and user stories are defined 1-2 weeks
user story is done 1 day
sprint is done Within the same sprint
the technical release Within the same sprint or the next sprint
the business release
Within the same sprint or program increment/release
cadence
customer is affected Les than a 1 day (seconds)
41. Built-inQuality
43
Getting Grip
Check where feedback loops are
are most effective
Agree to stop the line when
quality is to low
Assessing the quality should
never become a bottleneck
Root cause analysis for
continuous improvement
43. Built-inQuality
45
Need to
stop the
line?
Seek rootcause
Consider to relax the
criteria
False
alarm?
Correct product
Adapt process
Train People
Consider to tighten
the criteria
Great create anoter
feedback loop
Problems or
poor
performance?
N
N
N
Y
Y
Y
47. trust in the business
case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes on
the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into account:
deadlines, parallel
work, inter-team
dependencies
mapping the release
on customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide intelligence
and insights
organization of tests
that do not fit in a
sprint
define how feedback
on product quality
and progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on epic
level (High level test
plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in the
portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like WSJF
Peer review on code
and test results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective ownership
of the code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version control
in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of right
users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior in
production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorgani
zational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic updating
or restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g. online
and social media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
75
48. trust in the
business case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes
on the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into
account: deadlines,
parallel work, inter-
team
dependencies
mapping the
release on
customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide
intelligence and
insights
organization of
tests that do not fit
in a sprint
define how
feedback on
product quality and
progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on
epic level (High
level test plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in
the portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like
WSJF
Peer review on
code and test
results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective
ownership of the
code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version
control in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline
includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service
virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of
right users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior
in production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorga
nizational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic
updating or
restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g.
online and social
media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
50. trust in the
business case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes
on the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into
account: deadlines,
parallel work, inter-
team
dependencies
mapping the
release on
customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide
intelligence and
insights
organization of
tests that do not fit
in a sprint
define how
feedback on
product quality and
progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on
epic level (High
level test plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in
the portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like
WSJF
Peer review on
code and test
results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective
ownership of the
code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version
control in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline
includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service
virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of
right users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior
in production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorga
nizational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic
updating or
restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g.
online and social
media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
51. Built-inQuality
53
Roadmap
Releaseplanning
Refinement &Sprint planning
User story realization, Unit test &Codereview
(non) Functional testing
Integration and e2etesting
Acceptance&Testingthecustomer journey
Monitoringin production & incident handling
Business
release
User stories
aredefined
User stories
arebuilt
Product is
scheduled
Technical
release
User story
isdone
Sprint is
done
Customer is
affected
Prevent
errors
before
53. Built-inQuality
trust in the
business case
stakeholder
involvement while
setting up the
roadmap
collective planning
process which
involves business
stakeholders
confidence votes
on the planning
clearness of the
release success
criteria
Roadmap takes
criteria into
account: deadlines,
parallel work, inter-
team
dependencies
mapping the
release on
customer journey
define business
validation tests
check alignment
with the strategic
business plan
Release aims to
provide
intelligence and
insights
organization of
tests that do not fit
in a sprint
define how
feedback on
product quality and
progress is
gathered
Testing as a cross-
team responsibility
Test strategy on
epic level (High
level test plan)
Inter-team
dependencies in
the portfolio
management
DOR on Epic level
(technical)
DOR on Epic level
(Business case)
design sprints
Business readiness
in the planning
Include capacity
planning on
operational level
Test Automation
strategy
How to Demo and
How to test?
Definition of Ready
(DoR)
Test plan on user
story level
Backlog of two
sprints ahead
proper refinement
in the team
three-amigo peer
review
TDD and BDD to
drive planning and
user requirements
Architects, security
& usability experts,
and users involved
during refinement
risk assessment
included business
risks
Estimate busines
value and use
techniques like
WSJF
Peer review on
code and test
results
(registration)
DOD describes the
quality measures
version control is in
place
Focus on
automation
Pair work
Cross team
agreement on
coding standard
collective
ownership of the
code
Organise Review
with stakeholders
Automate
Regression test
Assess and Resize
test set
Have version
control in order
regression test
strategy
making quality a
cross-team
responsibility
the pipeline
includes
automated
regression testing
Compliancy
regulations
Align approach and
planning
Have a collective
review session
automated smoke
test
interface testing
Service
virtualization
Testing is a cross-
team responsibility
scrum-of-scrums to
align test activities
and dependencies
automate
integration tests
test management
Incident Handling
with cross-team
triage
coordination of the
end-to-end tests
include end-to-end
test in the CI/CD
pipeline
Involvement of
right users and
stakeholders
Test management
with end-to-end
focus
Testing in
production
monitor behavior
in production
Pilots
Quality focus in the
program/Interorga
nizational approach
Organizational
Readiness Testing
Busines validation
test
Testing the
operational model
Linking to the
performance
indicators
Root cause analysis Error log testing
Monitoring in
production
Automatic
updating or
restoring the
system
Monitoring user
feedback (e.g.
online and social
media)
Analyzing user
behavior
Prediction models
(using AI for
instance)
Wrap-up
Built-in Quality
Initiate a discussion
27
How do wedefinequality
How do wemeasure
quality
When can wedetect this
What do wedo when it is
insufficient
Roadmap
Releaseplanning
Refinement &Sprint planning
User story realization, Unit test &Codereview
(non) Functional testing
Integration and e2etesting
Acceptance&Testingthecustomer journey
Monitoringin production & incident handling
Business
release
User stories
aredefined
User stories
arebuilt
Product is
scheduled
Technical
release
User story
isdone
Sprint is
done
Customer is
affected
Prevent
errors
before
12
Guidance in SAFe
Practices
Think test first
BDD, TDD
Automatetestson theright
place
Testingpyramid
Reducethesizeof thetest-set
Evaluateand set up aregression
test strategy
Integrateoften
Set up an CI/CDpipeline
Embed quality in the
development process
ScalableDOD
No time to
improve
or automate
54. Built-inQuality
56
Agile coaches can be of added value
- Discussion about technical excellence
- Assesment of the SDLC
- Discussions about STL criteria
- STL RCA
- Prioritzing practises
- Defining experiments
Agile coaches often focus on agile mindset, cultural change, collaboration and continues improvement. Organizations have adopted Agile, Scrum, DevOps, CI/CD practices widely in order to increase the delivered value and their adaptivity. While doing so, they learn that it is impossible to speed up the IT deliverance without trusting the quality. Lean and SAFe have Built in Quality as a core principle, but what does that mean for teams and organizations? In this presentation Derk-Jan will share the challenges he encounters at various organizations. How do teams work and collaborate in order to release valuable increments, and what are approaches to increase the quality awareness? How do we incorporate quality in everything we do, every step of the development cycle? In this presentation Derk-Jan will give examples of how quality is organized ad team level and in scaled settings where teams need to collaborate on a single increment. We will see that built-in quality is more that doing a lot of unit tests or building a CI/CD pipeline. Built in quality is a multi-level challenge that is gaining importance. Therefore, we will discuss what this means for agile coaches and how they can help teams and agile leads to embed quality into their process. Take aways:
• How do agile coaches boost quality thinking in their teams
• What do I as an Agile coach need to know about testing
• Understand that Built in quality is a multi-level challenge that is gaining importance
• Discover real life patterns that make grip on quality a challenge • Get a feeling what roles are needed in order to organize testing in scaled agile organizations