Matthias Lübken
The product guy
@luebken
How to scale product
development when you
no longer fit in one room

About me
• Software Developer
• Agile Coach
• Director of software
development
• The product guy
• Herding cats

Microservice Infrastructure
based on Docker.
Visit http://giantswarm.io

What is your
context?

Our setting
• Company: A startup with product /
market fit.
• Process: Just do whatever works, and
if you get stuck, ask someone in the
room.

Our challenge
• Scale product development
• 1 4 teams.
• 7 30 colleagues.

Our (implicit) vision
“No process is a good process
“It’s about the people and their
interactions

Topics
• Cross functional teams
+ Devops
• Adaptive product roadmap
• Feedback in dev teams
• Continuous improvement
• Other ideas
Your questions!

(Cross) functional
teams

Devel-
opment
Product
Platform Adserver

Feature
Team
Devel-
opment
Product
Feature
Team
Feature
Team

Feature
Team
Devel-
opment
Product
Feature
Team
Feature
Team
Functional
Team

Feature
Team
Devel-
opment
Product
Feature
Team
Feature
Team
Functional
Team
Goal A Goal B Goal C

Feature
Team
Devel-
opment
Product
Feature
Team
Feature
Team
Functional
Team
Community of
practice

Lessons learned
• Slicing is hard
• Restructuring is painful
• Clear goal is crucial

DevOps

You build it. You run it.

Feature
Team
Devel-
opment
Product
Feature
Team
Feature
Team DevOps

DevOps team
• Created in the dev teams
• Lots to learn and understand
• Extracted into functional team
• Rotating 2nd level support in teams
rotating participation in the
DevOps team

Containers make you feel cozy

Lessons learned
• Special challenges require specialists

Adaptive product
roadmap

Our Kanban Board

Product Jour Fixe
CPO
Developer
POs
CEO/CTO
Architect
Other
Agile Coach

Sprint Reviews

Lessons learned
• High discipline needed
• Be prepared for hard questions

Feedback in dev
teams

Pairing vs PeerReview vs
PullRequests

Standup vs DoneThis-Emails

Lessons learned
• Be open to new ideas
• Coach teams

<meta>
</meta>
Continuous
improvement

If you do one thing in your process
do retrospectives.“

Small and big
retrospectives

Authority boards
see mangement30.com

Lessons learned
• Optimise locally and globally
• Take the time needed
• Be a good pace maker
• Make authority clear

Other ideas

No Blueprints
• Blue Prints like SAFe don’t work
• They are against all our instincts
“Dave Snowden
Put brutally SAFe seemed to be PRINCE II
camouflaged in Agile language. ... SAFe is not
only a betrayal of the promise offered by AGILE
but is a massive retrograde step giving the
managerial class an excuse to avoid any
significant change.

Agile Scaling Cycle
• Based principles and
working Agile teams
• "Autonomous business
facing teams taking
ownership of their process.”
@StefanRoock
• http://scaledprinciples.org

Jimdo
• Created culture manual
• Feel good manager
• Weekly Teamverløtung
• Goal #1
• Open Prio Meetings
> acknowledge mistakes
> have fun
> strive for the best
> ok to be crazy
> no deadlines
http://bit.ly/jimdostory

•Pick practices that fit
•Challenge yourself
•Do collaborative change
•Know your runway
Take aways

Matthias Lübken
The product guy
@luebkenQuestions?
Microservice Infrastructure
based on Docker.
Visit http://giantswarm.io

It’s hard
but fun!