Managing the Agile Product Development Life Cycle

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Introduction – Fundamentals of Agility
* Why Agile?
Waterfall-Lean-Agile Simulation
Agile Manifesto, Agile Principles and Waterfall vs. Agile comparison
Agile SCRUM Terms and Concepts Cheat Sheet
The Scrum framework, roles, and Agile Product Life Cycle

Challenges to building end-to-end systems with Agile
Introducing Agile to the organization
Value Driven Delivery – Identify Case Study and Team Members
* Value-driven development: Understand why agile focuses so heavily on working products
* Agile Scrum characteristics
Selecting the Case Study (selected by participants from current projects; basis for subsequent exercises)
* Assemble the Agile team
* Committed and Non-Committed members
* Product Owner responsibilities, characteristics and examples

Select the “Product Owner”
* Building the Scrum team
* Scrum Master and committed team members
* Team collaboration
* Redefining traditional roles
Agile PM and BA (handouts; discussion)
Build the Scrum Team (Scrum Master and Committed Members)
* Contrast with Waterfall using RACI matrix

Stakeholder Engagement – Envision the Product
* Understand the motivation behind stakeholder expectations and high-level functionality
* Business motivation model
* Product envisioning
* Evaluate functioning solutions for improvement opportunities
* New product vision and scope. Breakdown epics into features and stories
* High-level business and technical functionality

Product Vision Goals and Strategies
* Agile coordination
Review Agile Checklist: Strategy, Release Planning, Sprint Planning, Agendas and Guidelines
Post-Chapter Activity: Conduct a Daily Review and Retrospective
Initiate an Agile Project – Planning Releases
* Envision the product and project outcomes, common practices that work
Adapting a Change-Driven Project Plan that Works
* Agile Product Development Life Cycle planning
* Compile the Product Backlog
* Decision and acceptance criteria for user stories
* Planning Releases
* Prioritize Releases first, then Product Backlog items. Factors to consider
* Order Product Backlog items for initial Release Plan
Create Release Plan
* Release Planning as an iterative planning process
Coarse-Grain Estimating and Time-Boxing
* Estimate high-level items at sufficient detail for planning and prioritizing

Elaborate Business Functionality (10 or more User Stories and associated technical functions)
* Estimate relative complexity
* Planning poker using story points
Estimate Complexity (coarse-grain)
* Team velocity
* Establish the project time-box. Considerations: hours worked, resource availability …
* Embrace the high-level Vision and Release Plan
Establish Project Time-Box
Plan the Iteration (Part I)
* Day 1 Sprint planning with the Product Owner
* Contrast sequential and overlapping development
* Create an accurate backlog at the Iteration level
Sprint “Zero” Activities
* Anticipate Spikes
* Create a Master Test Plan
Review Iteration Planning Checklist
* Sprint planning meeting
* Elements of successful Sprint planning
* Prioritize user stories and identify PBIs for the Sprint
Confirm and Refine High-Priority Backlog Items
Post-Chapter Activity: Conduct a Daily Review and Retrospective
Plan the Iteration (Part II)
* Day 1 Sprint planning with committed team
* Plan and estimate Iteration tasks
* User stories and associated tasks
* Sprint planning, story size and task size
* Produce task list
* Estimate relative effort (fine-grain by team)
* Planning poker using ideal days
* Sprint backlog example
Identify and Estimate Sprint Backlog Tasks
* Commit backlog items to the Sprint
* Finalize the Sprint Plan
Review the Sprint Plan

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Tools and Techniques for Managing Scrums
* How to approach techniques in an Agile environment
Discussion – Project Activities for Scrum (communications, analysis and design, product quality, soft skills)
* Sprint goal
* Manage the Sprint backlog – key points
* Information radiators and project status
* Daily Scrum meeting
* Scrum task board
* Sprint Burn Down Chart
* Product Burn Down Chart reflecting scope change
Create a Scrum Task board – Identify Work Streams

Running the Sprint
Discuss Success Criteria for Self-Managed Teams
* Self-managed teams
* Paradigm shift in managing requirements
* Team facilitation activities
* Elaborate requirements details
* Non-functional requirements
* Select ‘next priority task’ and re-estimate task length (team member)
* Challenges and opportunities in a global environment
* Managing Scrums
* Daily Scrum rules (committed v. non-committed speakers, handling issues)

Hold a Daily Scrum and Update Task Board
* Authority to change the Sprint Backlog
* How to manage requested changes during the Sprint
Sprint Review
* Working product is showing progress
Discuss Review Planning Checklist
* Prepare for Sprint Review
* Assess whether organization is ready for change
* Verifying and validating requirements
* Create test scenarios and test cases
* Customer acceptance and sign-off
* Definition of Done
* Update the product backlog – Rework the high-level (coarse-grain) plan
* Input for the next Sprint
Conduct a Sprint Review

Post-Chapter Activity: Conduct a Daily Review and Retrospective
Sprint Retrospective
* Sprint Retrospective
* Key process indicators and Kaizen
* Continuous improvement and measuring PDLC maturity
Review Retrospective Planning Checklist
Conduct a Sprint Retrospective
Pop Quiz!
Boost Team Performance
* Dangers of Agile Scrum – It’s hard!
* Agile performance – integrated perspective
* Leading causes of failed Agile projects
* Is your organization ready for Agile? Preconditions required

Process Issues
* Boosting team performance
* Ensuring integrity of Scrum practices
* No outside changes during a Sprint
People Issues
* Coaching the Team – How to keep them motivated and moving forward towards the desired outcome
* Engaging everyone in status
Remove Impediments to Progress
* Communicate status
* Remove impediments
* Coach team to recognize barriers to further adoption of Agile
* How to integrate Agile into current methodologies
* Scaling Scrum teams – Scrum of Scrums
Review Agile Exercises
Transitioning from Waterfall
* Waterfall Cultural roots
* Significant trends in “successful” projects and ability to deliver value
* Inverting the iron triangle and improving ROI
* Agile adoption from tactical to strategic
* Agile methodologies are evolving
* Lean development focus on value chain
* Lean principles and techniques
* Organizational alignment enables efficiency (congruence model)
* Agile adoption survey results and updates: greatest concerns, leading causes of failed projects, and barriers to adoption
Current Issues and Next Steps
Wrap-up and Additional Information
* Glossary
* Agile reading list