agile teams at scale...one team or a handful of teams may be able to deliver small systems. large...

Agile Teams at Scale: Beyond Scrum of Scrums

Esther Derbyesther derby associates, inc.

www.estherderby.com@estherderby

Tuesday, December 13, 11

http://www.estherderby.com

http://www.estherderby.com

(c) 2011 esther derby

One team or a handful of teams may be able to deliver small systems. Large complex systems require teams of teams to deliver significant features.

How can companies benefit from “the team effect” at scale?



Teams share...

a compelling work goal

responsibility and accountability

an approach to work

teams have...

complementary skills

five-seven members

history

Teams are one sort of goal-oriented social unit.

Teams can form the building blocks for larger goal-oriented social units.



Teams offer possibilities that functional or component work groups do not.

flexibility

learning

engagement

responsibility



Principles: A handful of guidelines for scaling team-based work.

Practices: Social and technical practices that enable team-based work.



Principles• Manage dependencies in the backlog as much as possible

• Aim for long-lived cross-functional teams

• Go as far down the technology stack as feasible

• Organize teams around context boundaries rather than component boundaries were ever possible

• Make cross-context communication explicit

• Avoid late learning

...and remember the Agile Manifesto



Technical PracticesContinuous integration (CI) within context

Integration across contexts at some other interval (keeping in mind “avoid late learning”)

Mutually agreed upon and developed automated test across context boundaries

Architectural & coding standards

Technical reviews



Social Practices

Scrum of Scrums

Integrating Teams (keeping in mind “avoid late learning”)

Decision Boundaries

Component shepherds

Tech council

Product council



Scrum of Scrums can work with a small number of teams working within the same context.



But a large system may have several contexts. (Think of context as a feature group, for example “order entry” in a sales system.)Form cross-functional teams within contexts.



Make communication across context boundaries explicit. Use integrating teams to agree how to handle the interface and integration between systems. Integrating teams should also agree on and write acceptances tests that confirm integration across boundaries.



When several teams touch the code of shared services or components, add Component Shepherds. Component Shepherds work to maintain the integrity of components. They review code, coach, provide standards and guidance to teams.



Large systems may need both integrating teams and Component Shepherds.



Tech Councils, made up of integrating team members, component shepherds, and test experts attend to the integrity of the whole system.



Some useful resources from within the software domain:

Domain Driven Design by Eric Evans

Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development by Craig Larman and Bas Vodde

...and from the field of Organization Development and Design

Designing Team-Based Organizations by Mohrman, Cohen, and Mohrman

Creating Strategic Change by William Pasmore

Resources and References


agile teams at scale...one team or a handful of teams may be able to deliver small systems. large...

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