Agile is often utilised for software development, however its values, principles and practices are highly transferable to the world of business.

1. agile for business
Andrew Rusling
Agile Coach

2. Contents
1. agile for software development
2. agile adoption
3. How to be agile?
4. Scrum
5. User Stories
6. agile outside of software development
7. Experiencing agile
8. Agile Fluency
9. Business Agility
10. Next Steps
11. Wrap Up
2

3. Key Competency to be gained
Ability to apply
agile values, principles and practices
to help you achieve more
3

4. Competencies to be gained
By the end of this session, I am hopeful that you will be able to:
1. Describe agile, and how it differs from Scrum
2. Summarise the agile value proposition
3. Summarise the rules of Scrum
4. Describe what is a Scrumbut
5. Describe User Stories and what they are for
6. List several areas agile is used outside of software
7. List several agile practices that apply outside of software
8. Summarise Agile Fluency
9. Summarise company cultures relationship to Agile Fluency
10. Describe Business Agility
11. Summarise what is an Agile Enterprise
4

5. 5
agile
for software development

6. A brief history of agile 6
Waterfall
‘New New
Product
Development
Game’
published
Rate of
business
change
accelerates
90’s
Light weight
methodologies
arise
Scrum
agile
1970
80’s
1996
1986 1993 2001
XP

7. Agile value proposition 7
Risk Business Value
Adaptability Visibility
Time
Time
Time
Time
Traditional Development Agile Development

8. Presto Manifesto - exercise
1. Define project success.
2. Split into groups.
3. List critical elements for a successful project.
4. Everyone sign their manifesto.
5. Compare manifestos.
8

9. agile Manifesto value statement
Process and tools
Individuals and
interactions
over
Following a plan
Responding to
change
over
Comprehensive
documentation
Working software over
Contract negotiation
Customer
collaboration
over
Full Manifesto: http://agilemanifesto.org/

10. Principles behind 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.
10

11. Principles behind the agile manifesto
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 behaviour accordingly.
11

12. 12
agile adoption

13. The 8th annual ‘State of Agile’ survey 13
Conducted yearly since 2006
8th Survey Conducted in late 2013
3501respondents

14. Company Size 14
Respondents
Company Size
100

15. Who is using agile?
88%of companies are using agile
up from 80% in 2011
and 84% in 2012
15

16. Department 16
Non IT
665 responses
IT
2836 responses

17. How long have they been using agile? 17
53%
21%
8%
19%
< 1
year
1-2
years
2-5
years
> 5
years
2-5 years was only 36% in 2012.

18. How % of their projects are agile? 18
14%
21%
27%
38%
0 -
25%
26-
50%
51-
75%
75-
100%

19. Benefits of agile 19
0 20 40 60 80 100
Manage distributed teams
Software maintainability
Engineering discipline
Simple development process
IT & business alignment
Time to market
Reduce risk
Software quality
Team morale
Project visibility
Productivity
Manage changing priorities
Better
Same
Worse

20. Top 5 reasons agile projects fail (%) 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
A broader organisational or
communication problem
External pressure to follow traditional
waterfall processes
Lack of experience with agile methods
Company philosophy or culture at odds
with core agile values
None of our agile projects failed

21. 21
How can I be agile?

22. You can’t ‘do’ agile
• It is a set of Values & Principles
• No clear path to success
• New practices and processes are needed
• Many people learn by doing
• Enter the agile methodologies
22

23. Agile Methodologies - Market share (%) 23
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

24. 24
Scrum

25. Why is Scrum so successful?
• Simple
• 13 rules, Described in 16 pages
• Technology Agnostic
• Domain Agnostic
• Extensible
25

26. A short explanation
Scrum Development at High Moon Studios
26

27. Key benefit of Scrum 27
Build the wrong
software faster

28. Scrum has 13 rules
3 Roles
1. Product Owner
2. Team
3. Scrum Master
28
5 Artefacts
1. Product Backlog
2. Sprint Backlog
3. Sprint Goal
4. Definition of Done
5. Potentially Shippable
Product Increment
5 Events
1. Sprint
2. Sprint Planning
3. Daily Scrum
4. Sprint Review
5. Sprint Retrospective

29. 29
Team
5..9 People
Cross Functional
Self Organising
Scrum has 13 rules
Product Owner
Stakeholder management
Backlog management
Return on Investment
Scrum Master
Impediment Remover
Servant Leader
Facilitator
Coach
Sprint
1..4 weeks
Sprint
Planning
Part 1 & 2
2h .. 1d
Sprint
Review
1h .. 4h
Sprint
Retrospective
1h .. 4h
Daily
Stand up
15m
Definition
of Done
Potentially
Shippable
Product
Increment
Product
Backlog
Sprint
Backlog
Whole Team
Sprint Goal

30. Scrum Roles and Responsibilities Game 30
Product
Owner
Team
Scrum
Master
http://www.journey-to-better.com/2014/01/scrum-roles-and-responsibilities-game.html

31. Scrumbuts
We play football but …
• It takes to long to score, so we use our hands to throw the ball.
• We have bad knees, so running is not allowed.
We do Scrum but ....
• Our team works on separate projects, so we have two PO’s.
• We don’t have testers, so we get the Test team to finish our work.
• Retrospectives are a waste, so we don’t do them.
• Management keeps their minds, so we update the Sprint Backlog to
reflect the new goal.
31

32. 32
User Stories

33. Agile Requirements
Agile needs an approach to requirements, that is:
• Lightweight
• Change friendly
• Collaborative
33

34. User Stories 34
As a [TYPE OF USER]
I want [GOAL]
So that [BUSINESS BENEFIT]
As a Bank Branch Manager
I want to be able to authorise loans to a
higher financial limit than Bank Tellers
So that I can minimise financial risk and
allow for high value loans at the same time

35. Intention 35
Card
Conversation
Confirmation
https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/

36. 36
agile outside
of software development

37. Common views of the IT Department 37
Slow
Unreliable Costly
Difficult
Unresponsive
Belligerent
Inhibitors
Painful

38. Pre-agile, those words were all applicable 38
Idea
Initiate &
Resource
Decide
what to
build
Build it TIeTst it Release Feedback

39. Agile has shifted the bottleneck 39
Initiate &
Resource
IT
Idea Decide, Build, Test & Release it Feedback
Product
Management
PMO
Product
Management
HR
Finance

40. Other issues
Programme Management Office
• Long term funding/approval of projects, fails to make use of the fast
feedback from IT
Product Management
• Fails to make use of the fast feedback from IT, hence making poor
decisions
Human Resources
• Performance management, rewards the wrong behaviours
• Are not used to the traits needed for agile team members
Finance
• Yearly budgeting does not match well with incremental spend
40

41. Expanding agile outside of IT 41
IT
PMO
Product
Management
HR
Finance
Executive
Sales
Marketing
Agile Thinking

42. Successfully used in
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Sales
• Executive teams
• Publishing school text books
• Infrastructure development
• Supply chain optimisation
• Political programs
• Volunteers at conferences and festivals
• Academic researchers
• Working with children (at school and at home)
• Wedding planning
42

43. Top agile techniques for business
Empowerment
• Visualise work
• Daily Standup
• Prioritise as a
Team
Regular Events
• Retrospectives
• Reviews
Roles
• Product Owner
• Coach
Other
• Time-boxing
• Pomodoro
• Visible
Outcomes
43

44. 44
Experiencing agile

45. Creating ‘Happy Kids Camp’ Brochure 45
https://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/

46. Aims
1. Experience agile
2. Create an A4, trifold brochure, for
‘Happy Kids Camp’
46
Examples
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pocheco/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwcmedia/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/46523905@N00/

47. Roles
• You will all be Team Members in Scrum teams
• There will not be a Scrum Master
• I will be your Product Owner (Who likes to change their mind)
47

48. Process
1. Self organise into teams of 4-6 people [2m]
2. Familiarise ourselves with the backlog [10m]
3. Distribute tools and materials [3m]
4. Three Sprints [45m]
1. Plan 3m
2. Sprint 7m
3. Review 2m
4. Retrospective 3m
5. Debrief [15m]
48

49. Prioritised User Story Titles from the Backlog
1. Attention grabbing front page
2. Unique selling point
3. Major activities
4. Contact details to book
5. Company legal details
6. Requirements for attendance
7. Accommodation pricing options
8. Activities pricing options
9. Testimonials
10. Minor activities
11. Safety Guarantee
12. Example menu
13. Location details of camp
14. Drop off/pick up location & timings
15. Staff bios
16. Certifications and Accreditations
49

50. Each team should have
10 x blank A4 paper
1 x scissors
1 x ruler
1 x blob of tack
2 x pencil
1 x eraser
5 x colour pen
50

51. Three Sprints, they will feel hectic
Online Stopwatch
51

52. Debrief
• What did you observe?
• How did it feel to be in a Scrum team?
• What are your thoughts on the short sprints?
• How did the first sprint compare to the last sprint?
• How could a Scrum Master have helped?
• What did you learn?
52

53. 53
Agile Fluency

54. 54

55. Focus on Value
Follow
• Scrum, Kanban or similar
Do
• Plan by business value (i.e. User Stories)
Key Metric
• Regular business value reporting
Benefits
• Greater visibility into teams’ work
• Ability to redirect their efforts
55

56. Deliver Value
Follow
• Scrum, Kanban or similar
Do
• Agile Technical Practices (i.e. TDD, CI, DevOps, etc.)
Key Metric
• Ship as often as the market will accept it
Benefits
• Low defects
• High productivity
56

57. Optimise Value
Follow
• Lean Start up + (Scrum or Kanban)
• Business experts as full-time team members
Do
• Agile chartering
• Business Model Canvas
• Customer discovery
• Adaptive planning
Key Metric
• Concrete business metrics used in reporting (i.e. ROI, net profit per
employee, and customer satisfaction)
Benefits
• Higher value deliveries
• Better product decisions
57

58. Optimise for Systems
Follow
• The cutting edge, follow what works
Do
• Agile portfolio management
• Systems thinking
• Value stream analysis
• Whole system planning
• Intact teams
• Open book management
• Radical self-organization
Key Metric
• Team reports how its actions impact the overall organization
Benefits
• Alignment with organizational goals
• Synergistic effects
58

59. Culture to support fluent teams 59
Agile CAulgAtuiglreeil eC IT
uClutultruere
PMO
Product
Management
HR
Finance
Executive
Sales
Marketing
Agile
Aka an Agile Enterprise
© Copyright James Shore and Diana Larsen
You may reproduce this diagram in any form as long as this copyright notice is preserved.

60. Target Agile Fluency? 60
What level
should our
teams target?
What level can
we support?
Agile Enterprise
© Copyright James Shore and Diana Larsen
You may reproduce this diagram in any form as long as this copyright notice is preserved.

61. 61
Business Agility

62. From wikipedia
In a business context,
agility is the ability of an organization
to rapidly adapt to market and environmental changes
in productive and cost-effective ways.
62

63. The agile enterprise is an extension of business agility,
referring to an organization that utilizes key principles of
complex adaptive systems and complexity science
to achieve success
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44534236@N00/

64. Agile Enterprise
Requires a conscious decision,
to make the entire company,
live, breath and be agile.
64
An entire company at: ‘Optimise for Systems’

65. Agile Enterprise 65
Continual Results
Project/Venture Results
Ideas,
Opportunities
Markets shrink,
grow, collapse
New competitors
New technologies
War, famine,
natural disasters
New Government
Elected
New policies,
legislation

66. What they do 66
Strategise
Organise Mobilise

67. How they do it 67
Continuous
learning from
experiments
Catalytic
leadership
Open
communication
Long term
business value
governance
Quest for
mastery
View system as a whole
(Utilise systemic approach)

68. What they share 68
Reward System Operating Platform Vision

69. Continual Results 69
Visibility
Time
Revenue
Time
Adaptability
Time
Cost Effectiveness
Time

70. Results by project / initiative 70
Business Value
Risk
Time Time

71. Agile Enterprise 71
Continual Results
Project/Venture Results
Ideas,
Opportunities
Markets shrink,
grow, collapse
New competitors
New technologies
War, famine,
natural disasters
New Government
Elected
New policies,
legislation

72. 72
Next Steps

73. Some suggested next steps
1. Discuss the agile values and principles with your team
2. Discuss agile practices with your team
• You can ask the Agile Coach for assistance (I am happy to help)
• Try some out (at least three times, or for three weeks)
• Then hold a retrospective regarding agile practices
3. Attend the Lean training
• To take your practices to the next level
73

74. 74
Summary

75. agile != agile
• Oxford dictionary - “able to move quickly and easily”
• Manifesto for Agile Software Development
• Business Agility
• Agile Enterprise
75

76. Review
Agile
The state of agile
How to be agile?
Scrum
User Stories
Experience agile
76

77. Review, continued
Agile Fluency
Agile Enterprise
77

78. Competencies
I am hopeful that you now can:
1. Describe agile, and how it differs from Scrum
2. Summarise the agile value proposition
3. Summarise the rules of Scrum
4. Describe what is a Scrumbut
5. Describe User Stories and what they are for
6. List several areas agile is used outside of software
7. List several agile practices that apply outside of software
8. Summarise Agile Fluency
9. Summarise company cultures relationship to Agile Fluency
10. Describe Business Agility
11. Summarise what is an Agile Enterprise
78

79. Time to share
1 - 3
Key Learning Points
One person at a time
Your answers don’t have to
be unique
79
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kellysue/

80. Some links to more information
2013 Version One 8th Annual State of Agile Survey
2013 State of Scrum survey
List of IT Surveys
Scrum Guide
User Stories
The three keys to splitting user stories
Card Conversation Confirmation
Agile Marketing guide
Agile Marketing on Pinterest
Agile Chartering
Customer Discovery
Business Model Canvas and Customer Discovery
Agile Enterprises white paper
80

81. 81
Thank you