successes and challenges when managing large scale drupal projects

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Chris UrbanManager, Professional Services

Large Scale Drupal ProjectsSuccesses & Challenges

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– Introduction and Background– Walkthrough notes from many large-scale

projects– Compare challenges and solutions– Review of Lessons learned

Agenda

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General Assumptions– Agile Workflow

– Iterative development

– Scrum or standup– Boards and tickets– Grooming– Planning

– Process Management– Scrum Master– Project Manager

– Project Evolution– Updates to

documentation– Evolving process

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– Multiple initiatives– Multiple partners and/or globally distributed

teams

What makes a project “large scale”?

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Multiple Product Owners

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Multiple Stakeholders

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Getting to be more Agile– Consider Agile workshops – Practice writing user stories– Use sub-tasks and tasks for reminders and non-

development based tasks

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Regular communication is a key for a successful project

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Communication/Process– Start with an Agile Workflow and

Process– How much is too much?

– Additional ceremonies– Release Planning (Product

Backlog Refinement)– Backlog Pruning

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Development Workflow– Clear roles and ownership of states are defined– Changes accounting for BBD testing– Additional states/transitions for larger clients

needed

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Daily Scrum– Worked on, Working on next– Blockers, requests for Discussions– Work/life balance or Temperature score– Larger groups = longer standup calls– Automate and focus on what’s important

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Sprint Planning– Serves as marker in time and common starting

point– Sprint Priorities– Key Feature Summaries– Measure Results absolutely

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Good Team Management is a key for a successful project

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Working with delivery teams– central ticketing if possible is ideal– creation of tickets in JIRA via email– creation of tickets in JIRA in Slack or HipChat

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Working with Continuous Delivery teams– use a Maintenance backlog team– use a UX bugs and issues team– have developers contribute to a developer

backlog and groom and pull in tickets

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Working with Support teams– Use as infrastructure resource – Accommodate Server upgrades and 404

mitigation

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Documentation: takes emotion out of the equation

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Documentation– Team Contacts and Developers Roster– Sprint ceremonies– RACI– Top level process workflow & expectations

– JIRA Workflow and transitions– Spikes vs Tracer Bullets– Hotfixes

– Developer documentation

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Documentation and Process Tips– Confluence– Google Drive– JIRA

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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.

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Project Level Tools– Google Docs– Confluence– JIRA– GitHub Wiki, Other wikis– Excel, Powerpoint– Email, VOIP– Chat:

– Skype– Slack

– HipChat– Others: Ryver, Fleep

– screenshare/conf call software: – join.me– GoToMeeting– Webex– Zoom

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Development & Sprint Tools– Planning:

– Aha!– Asana/Instagantt

– Pointing poker– pointingpoker.com– play.planningpoker.c

om

– Charting - Visio, Omnigraffle, draw.io

– Whiteboard - awwapp.com

– Acquia Dev Desktop

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Different tools for different teams?– How are tools used differently with multiple

teams/groups/multiple partners?– scheduling– language

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Worst case scenarios– Sudden client staff changes– Key personnel staff get sick/hit

by bus at same time– Client apathy– Client not able to make timely

decisions

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– Successful teams communicate regularly– Successful teams know who is responsible for

what– Successful teams know where to look for answers

What did we learn?

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Thank You