Ramya  Ravichandar  

Ken  Power      (@ken_power)  

XP2012  Thursday  May  24,  2012  

 

Stories from Different Perspectives

Agile  Lean  at  Cisco  Team  

Corporate  Quality  

Engineering  Learning  Solution  

Development  

Company(

Technology(Group(

Business(Unit(

Individuals(

• Lots(of(people(!(• Internal(Conferences,(Learning(• Core(Agile?Lean(Team(

• ~6000(people(• ~150+(Agile(Teams(• Core(Working(Team(• Transition(Team(((

• ~600(People(• ~35+(Agile(Teams(• Agile(Office(

Cisco Policies

Innovator  

Prac55oner  

Newbie  

effective

• Even-­‐tempered  • Accommodating  • Patient  • Humble  • Tactful  

• Analytical  • Reserved  • Precise  • Private  • Systematic  

• Outgoing  • Enthusiastic  • Optimistic  • High-­‐spirited  • Lively  

• Direct  • Results-­‐oriented  • Firm  • Strong-­‐willed  • Forceful  

A   B  

C  D  

•  Absence  of  trust  Unwilling  to  be  vulnerable  within  the  group  

•  Fear  of  conflict  Seeking  artificial  harmony  over  constructive  passionate  debate  

•  Lack  of  commitment  Feigning  buy-­‐in  for  group  decisions  creates  ambiguity  throughout  the  organization  

•  Avoidance  of  accountability  Ducking  the  responsibility  to  call  peers  on  counterproductive  behavior  sets  low  standards  

•  Inattention  to  results  Focusing  on  personal  success,  status  and  ego  before  team  success  

It  may  work  for  others.  But  we  are  

really  unique  

Everyone  is  going  Agile.  So  should  we!  

Looks  good  on  my  resume.  

Where  should  I  sign  up  ?  

Can  you  guarantee  100%  

success  ?  

Attend  to  the  needs  of  the  individual  too  

Novice  

Advanced  Beginner  

Competent  

Proficient  

Expert  

Performance

Competence / Capability

Not  aware  that  the  problem  exists,  or  can’t  conceive  that  there  is  a  different  way  of  doing  things  

Little  or  no  experience;  Need  a  recipe  

Can  start  to  break  away  from  fixed  rules,  but  have  difficulty  

troubleshooting;  Can  start  using  advice  in  correct  

context;  Can  start  formulating  some  

principles  but  no  “big  picture”;  No  holistic  understanding,  and  

don’t  want  it  yet  

Need  the  big  picture  Frustrated  by  oversimplified  information  Can  reflect  on  previous  poor  task  performance;  can  reflect  and  revise  to  perform  better  next  time  Can  learn  from  experience  of  others;  can  understand  and  apply  maxims  (as  distinct  from  recipes)  

Primary  sources  of  knowledge  and  information  in  any  field  Continually  look  for  better  methods  and  better  ways  of  doing  things  Vast  body  of  experience  they  can  tap  into  and  apply  in  the  right  context  Work  from  intuition,  not  reason  Can  distinguish  between  irrelevant  details  and  important  details  

 

•  Make  it  OK  to  fail  

•  Educate  your  leaders  

•  Recognize,  reward  and  communicate  agile  successes      

•  Have  clear  guidance  on  roles  and  responsibili5es  

•  Re-­‐evaluate  compliance  requirements,  policies  and  “standards”  

•  Find  middle  ground  between  agile  purists  and  standards  zealots  

•  A  single  tool  choice  may  not  be  ideal  for  all  groups,  situa5ons  and  5melines  

•  Verify  claims  to  agility  objec5vely  

•  Resist  labeling  things  as  “best  prac5ces”