does agile analysis require a business analyst?

Kurt Solarte, IBM-Certified Managing Consultant

July 5th 2011

Does Agile Analysis Require aBusiness Analyst?

© 2009 IBM Corporation

Building a smarter planet

What is Agile?

2

Wikipedia: a group of software

development methodologies based on

iterative and incremental development,

where requirements and solutions

evolve through collaboration between

self-organizing, cross-functional teams.

IBM: a collaborative, incremental, and iterative

approach to software development that can

produce high-quality software in a cost effective

and timely manner. Unlike traditional software

development, agile development emphasizes

flexibility, continuous testing and integration, and

rapid delivery of functionality.

The Agile Manifesto

We are uncovering better ways of developing

software by doing it and helping others do it.

Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on

the right, we value the items on the left more



What is wrong with Waterfall?

3

Royce, Winston (Aug 1970), "Managing the Development of Large Software Systems", Proceedings of IEEE WESCON

“3 the implementation described

above is risky and invites failure.”



And It’s a Myth!

4

Royce, Winston (Aug 1970), "Managing the Development of Large Software Systems", Proceedings of IEEE WESCON



History of Agile

5

1986 – The New New Product

Development Game by by

Hirotaka Takeuchi & Ikujiro

Nonaka is published in Harvard

Business Review, mentioning

Rugby/Scrum approach to

manufacturing

1980 – Toyota Production System (TPS)

becomes popular in manufacturing, the

beginnings of ‘Lean’

1980s 1990s

1990 – Wicked Problems, Righteous

Solutions by Peter DeGrace & Leslie

Hulet Stahl discusses the scrum

approach and other Lean methods for

Software Development

2000s

1995 – Ken Schwaber & Jeff

Sutherland present Scrum

methodology for Business object

design and implementation at

OOPSLA '95 workshop proceedings

1999 – Extreme

Programming Explained is

published by Kent Beck

2001 – Ken Schwaber & Mike Beedle

publish the now famous: Agile

Software Development with Scrum

2001 – The Agile Manifesto is signed

1995 – Adaptive Software

Development, Feature

Driven Development, and

Dynamic Systems

Development Method

(DSDM), all begin to evolve

1996 – Extreme Programming

(XP) begins on the Chrysler

Payroll Project

2005ish – Agile Unified

Process(AUP) - Scott Ambler, Open

Unified Process (OpenUp) - eclipse

project, Essential Unified Process

(EssUP) - Ivar Jacobson; all start to

emerge

2010 – A Practical Guide to Distributed

Scrum is published by: Elizabeth

Woodward, Steffan Surdek, &

Matthew Ganis

2006 – Implementing Lean Software

Development, by Mary and Tom

Poppendieck, introduces Kanban

The important highlights as I see them3



History of Agile

6

1986 – The New New Product Development Game

by by Hirotaka Takeuchi & Ikujiro Nonaka is published

in Harvard Business Review, mentioning Rugby/Scrum

approach to manufacturing

1980 – Toyota Production System (TPS)

becomes popular in manufacturing, the

beginnings of ‘Lean’

1980s

1989-90 – Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions

by Peter DeGrace & Leslie Hulet Stahl discusses the

scrum approach and other Lean methods for

Software Development




History of Agile

7

1990s

1995 – Ken Schwaber & Jeff Sutherland present

Scrum methodology for Business object

design and implementation at OOPSLA '95

workshop proceedings

1999 – Extreme Programming Explained

is published by Kent Beck

1995 – Adaptive Software Development,

Feature Driven Development, and

Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM),

all begin to evolve

1996 – Extreme Programming (XP)

begins on the Chrysler Payroll Project




History of Agile

8

2001 – Ken Schwaber & Mike Beedle

publish the now famous:

Agile Software Development with Scrum

2001 – The Agile Manifesto is signed

2003–2005

Agile Unified Process(AUP) - Scott Ambler,

Open Unified Process (OpenUp) - eclipse project,

Essential Unified Process (EssUP) - Ivar Jacobson;

all start to emerge

2010 – A Practical Guide to Distributed Scrum

is published by: Elizabeth Woodward, Steffan

Surdek, & Matthew Ganis

2006 – Implementing Lean Software Development,

by Mary and Tom Poppendieck, introduces Kanban

2000s



Where do these agile methods lay?

9

LEAN

Philosophical

Kanban

Process focused

SCRUM

Team Focused

XP

Developer

Focused

Prescriptive

Advisory



Most Common Agile Roles

10

XP

On-site Customer

Programmer

Tester

SCRUM

Product Owner

Scrum Master

Team Member



Who potentially makes up these roles

11

Product Owner /

On-Site Customer

Stakeholders & Customers

Subject Matter Experts

Business Analysts

Team Member /

Programmer & Tester

Team Leads

Testers

Architects and

Coders

Scrum Master

Business Analysts

Project Managers

Program Managers



Where does the Business Analysis Fit?

12

Source: Don Wells, 2001

Source: public domain graphics from Open Clip Art Library, 2009



Agile Business Analyst – What is needed?

� Take the Scrum analogy to heart

– No more kicking requirements over the wall

– No more big requirements documents

– Become embedded in the team and the process

� Become part of the full project lifecycle

– Realise requirements are an ongoing process throughout project

– Prepare to be a part of the team for longer time frame, through many iterations/sprints

– Become imbedded in the Quality aspect of the lifecycle

� Embrace change!

– Embrace the organisational change that comes with agile

– Embrace constant change to the project scope/requirements/needs/priorities

� Become more then a requirements scribe

– Need to provide dialog and insight

– Need to assist in the process adoption

13



Grow up, its time to mature

� To fit the Agile methods the BA must mature

– No room for a simple requirements scribe

� Improve the process of ‘making software’

– Focus on the process and efficiencies

– Be the champion of the process, not the

requirements

� Embrace a consultative approach

– Provide insight and recommendations

– Add value to the whole process

14

AssistKD: The Business Analysis Maturity Model (BAMMTM)

System Improvement

Process Improvement

Business Improvement

Scope

Authority

Business Improvement is the BA’s GOAL!



Avoiding the Alignment Trap in IT; David Shplberg, Steve Berez, Rudy

Puryear, & Sachin Shah; MITSloan Management Review 2007

Do the right things? or Do things the right way?

15

Driving process efficiency increases BA’s Scope

Avoiding the Alignment Trap in IT; David Shplberg, Steve Berez, Rudy

Puryear, & Sachin Shah; MITSloan Management Review 2007

� Just capturing requirements isn’t enough

– Maintenance isn’t sufficient anymore

– IT/Software must be a differentiator

� Requirements don’t need to be perfect

– Perfect requirements are elusive

– Elusive tasks are a waste of resources

� Create efficiency with the agile process

– Good collaboration and feedback

– Efficient use of time and documentation

� Collaboration and efficiency breed growth

– With proper collaboration and feedback comes

proper alignment

– With efficiency and process comes cost-savings

and growth



Control the scope, control the value

16

We Offer three kinds of Service:

GOOD – CHEAP – FAST

You can pick any two

GOOD service CHEAP won’t be FAST

GOOD service FAST won’t be CHEAP

FAST service CHEAP won’t be GOOD

Scope

Quality

� Time is fixed in agile

– Sprints and Iterations

– Releases and Milestones

� Cost is constrained

– Project costs are usually fixed

– Resources are constrained by Brooks’ Law

� Scope is the backlog/feature requests

– Not all ‘scope’ will be done

– Prioritisation is key to delivering value

Controlling backlog increases BA’s Authority



Final Thoughts

�Agile delivery methods are only delivery methods– Business wants and needs still exist, and are still the focus of good IT

– Some form of requirements is how those wants/needs make it to the developers

– The backlogs must have SOMETHING in them.

�Be more evolved and involved in the development process– Agile BAs must evolve up the Business Analysis Maturity Model

� More focus on process and business improvement

� Accepting of more scope and authority

– Agile BAs must be more involved in the whole lifecycle of development

� Iterative and collaborative requirements elicitation

� Involvement in quality and traditionally ‘downstream’ activities

17



Keynote by: Todd Sampson, CEO Leo Burnett

18

Ranked by The Australian Financial Review as the country's most influential advertising executive.

http://www.ibm.com/events/au/innovate/

Sessions by: ANZ Bank, Australia Post & BAE Systems

Mike Schulze talking all things Agile in IBM AustraliaMike Schulze is the Director of IBM Australia Development Laboratory (ADL)

This is a complimentary event

does agile analysis require a business analyst?

Technology

agile software development

lean software development

adaptive software development

incremental development

emergesoftware development

agile methods

agile manifestowe

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