F O C U S Q U A L I T Y E X P E R I E N C E
Presented byJacqueline Sanders,
PMP, CBAP
The Lessons Learned of a BA on an Agile Project
What Agile is NOT Key Components of Agile The Conversion to Agile The New Development Project using Agile The Maintenance Releases using Agile The Future of BA’s on Agile Projects
Outline
What Agile is NOT
Big “A”: Formal Agile – a disciplined methodology (i.e. stand up meetings, co-located, iterations)
Little “a”: Informal agile – teams just trying to do things quickly, haphazard and chaotic
Agile Manifesto
Agile Values:
Individuals and interactions Over Process and tools
Working Software Over Comprehensive documentation
Customer Collaboration Over Contract negotiation
Responding to change Over Following a plan
Key Components of Agile
Short Iterations Small Dedicated
Project Teams Co-located Teams Pairings Assigned SME Weekly Sprints Daily Standup
Meetings
Design/Build/Test as you go
Highly Functioning and Self-managed Team
Task Board and Burn down Chart
Retrospectives
Converting to Agile
Brought in Agile Coaches Gave Exit Packages to Non-Agile Resources Brought in New Agile-minded Resources Sent the Team to Agile Boot Camp Co-Located the Team Conducted Team Building Exercises Created a Fun Environment Made “Most” Resources 100% Dedicated
New Development Project using Agile
Iteration 0Scoping ofThe Project
InitialBacklog
Decomposition Sprint
Daily ScrumTeam
Meetings
Semi Weekly Sprint Planning
Meetings
WeeklyStakeholder
Demos
Semi- WeeklyDeploy
&Retrospectives
The Project Parameters
Government Regulation Hard Deadline Existing Application New Data Fields Significant Changes to Business Rules & Process Impact to 12 Different Departments Impact to Entire Customer Base Coincided with Media & Marketing Campaigns Two Executive Sponsors The #1 Priority for the 4th Quarter
The BA’s Project Initiation Tasks
Iteration (0) Zero Sponsor Consensus on Approach Assist with High Level Technical Design Interviews and Facilitated Sessions 1 or more Iterations Ahead of Development Wiki Set Up Artifacts:
• User List• User Stories
The User Story List
User Stories
The BA’s On-going Activities
Daily Stand Up & Follow Up Spontaneous and As Needed
• Meetings with Stakeholders• Monitor Development Work• Respond to QA
Multi-Tasking• Working The Open Issues• UAT Preparation• Weekly Demo Prep• Research User Stories for Next Iterations• Maintain Project Wiki
The Backlog Story/Task Board
User Story Cards
Behind The Scenes Activities
Manage Multiple Viewpoints Modeling and Diagrams during Design Discussions SME Intimidated by Developers Backend Process Requirements Rework was Necessary Document Needed During Implementation Compensated for Lack of BA Skills Focus on Exceptions and Alternatives Issue Log (In Scope and Out of Scope Negotiation)
New Development – Retrospect
What Worked Well Access to Software Designers/Architect Iteration Zero Having Agile Coaches Incorporating Lessons Learned Quickly Sponsor Accepted Risk
New Development – Retrospect
What We Could Do Differently Underestimating the Rework Underestimating Backend Processes Managing Unrealistic, Hard Deadlines Addressing People not embracing Agile Handling Process Development Differently Upfront Database schema changes
Maintenance Projects using Agile
Iteration 0Not
Applicable
InitialBacklog
SprintNot Applicable
Daily ScrumTeam
Meetings
Semi Weekly Sprint Planning
Meetings
WeeklyStakeholder
Demos
Semi- WeeklyDeploy
&Retrospectives
The Maintenance Project Parameters
Developer Initiative 2 Week Iterations As Needed Requirements or Just In Time Not Co-located Semi-Weekly Demos Semi-Weekly Planning Sessions Business was not Agile PM tolerated Agile but was not Agile No executive sponsor for Agile
The BA’s Activities
2 Week Iterations As-Needed / Just-In-Time Requirements Semi-Weekly Demos Semi-Weekly Planning Sessions Provided Documentation to the Business Facilitated Demos Unofficially attended stand ups Unofficially attended sprints
Maintenance Project - Retrospect
What Worked Well: Developers Fully Engaged User Involvement Early and Often Cohesive Team
Maintenance Project - Retrospect
What Could Have Been Done Different: Executive Sponsor Buy In Realistic Dates Appreciations of Burn down and Velocity Dysfunctional Organization Developers Input Respected
Conclusion