What practices can you adopt to help your team experience Agile?
This question was raised by a listener to the podcast we recorded on agile analysis practices with BA coach Yamo. (Find the podcast here.) The specific question that Katie Metcalf asked us was this:
“What Agile techniques would you suggest introducing to a software development team that is currently not using the Agile approach but would like to get a flavor for the methodology?”
My experiences working with agile teams have taught me that agile analysis and testing ski
lls are truly synergestic.
So much so, that I put together a tutorial for the April 2011 Quest Conference (Quality Engineering Software & Testing) entitled, “Requirements Exploration with Tester Collaboration”. Subsequently, I had the honor to work with agile testing guru Janet Gregory to present this at Agile 2011.
Next month, EBG’er Sue Burk will co-present this tutorial with Janet at Software Testing Analysis & Review (STAR) conferences. So, you might be wondering, what are those synergies?
Product needs evolve into requirements that define what will be built, what will be tested, and how the product needs will provide value for the organization. People with testing skills need to be involved in requirements for the same reason the other product stakeholders need to be involved: to boost the team’s ability to deliver a high-quality product. Continue reading
I’m pleased to share my podcast with Jochen (Joe) Krebs*, Founder of Agile NYC. The podcast was recorded on October 11, 2011, just before my presentation to the Agile NYC group.
The presentation, entitled, Power Up Your Agile Planning and Analysis:
Deliver Value via Structured Conversations describes how product stakeholders partner to develop a shared understanding of the product needs. I discuss how the partners gain a focused yet holistic understanding of the highest-value requirements and plan the project so that the delivery team builds the right product, at the right time. Continue reading
The tenth anniversary of the international Agile 20xx conference, Agile 2011, returned to its inaugural location, Salt Lake City, Utah. The attendance set a record for being the largest agile conference in the world! This year’s conference, held August 9-12 2011, was attended by 1,600+ people. It was jam-packed with morning-to-night activities. The conference also included events to reflect and celebrate on the 10th anniversary of the Agile Manifesto.
We at EBG Consulting were pleased to have been selected (from over 900 submissions) to present three sessions. Here are some of highlights and trends: 
In a prior blog post, you learned about the in-progress book Mary Gorman and I are writing. We are thrilled to have our workshop proposal for the Agile 2011 Conference accepted. The workshop will incorporates elements of our book. Here’s our YouTube video on The Product Partnership submission. Continue reading | 1 Comment
By Ellen Gottesdiener and Mary Gorman
In September 1977, the TV sitcom Happy Days had über-hip Fonzie, clad in leather jacket and swimshorts, water ski over a shark to prove his mettle—and at that moment even diehard fans knew that the show was past its prime. They were right. After that episode, ratings plummeted, and the expression “Jumping the Shark” was born. When a TV show, or anything else, jumps the shark, you know it’s on its way out.
Our question this month: have any of your software development practices jumped the shark?
For example, are there boundaries around people’s roles? Some organizations tend to confine people to roles such as developer, architect… Continue reading
Mary Gorman and I are in the midst of writing a book. The title is still a WIP (work in process). A couple of contenders are “Agile Product Needs: <subtitle1:> ” and “The Agile Product Partnership: <subtitle2>”. We’ll be looking for your help on settling on a compelling title – stay tuned, we can use your creative inspiration!
Our goal is to provide practical guidance on challenges agile teams face. Wrestling the “right” user stories out of the product backlog. Slicing user stories into “right-sized” chunks so they are ready for estimating and planning. Deciding on the next high-value product needs for delivery. Planning more than two weeks ahead (realizing you need a longer time horizon). Using acceptance criteria and examples to deepen shared understanding. Exploring product needs in a holistic way. … Continue reading | 3 Comments
Mary Gorman and I wrote an article on analysis debt Better Software. In it, we said that, like technical debt, teams can incur analysis debt by either ignoring analysis (a potential pitfall of agile teams) or overinvesting in analysis (a potential pitfall of traditional teams).
In a private exchange, one article reader took me to task. Referencing our table of Analysis Debt Causes, he wrote, “I see poor requirements work that would result in an inadequate solution, no matter how well [the product] built.” Furthermore, he said, “all the Remedies [in your article] are really requirements best practices.”
I was glad to hear his perspective because it prompted me to… Continue reading
By Mary Gorman
In my Stickyminds.com column “Playing at Work: Agile Games Deliver Value” I share game ideas and experiences – the benefits games can provide, selecting an appropriate game, facilitating a game, and designing a winning game.
Designing and Facilitating Agile GamesWhen writing the column I got to thinking how agile principles could provide a basis for good game design and facilitation. I reflected on a recent experience I had at Deep Agile 2010: Empowering Teams with Agile Games. Working in a small group we created a new game, tested it, and retrospected both the game and our design process in less than half a day. We consciously (and some times unconsciously!) were being agile! (To see and learn more about our game, read Michael Sahota’s summary at The Backlog Is in the Eye of the Beholder.)
To clearly communicate the agile-ness of our work and what we learned I did a quick mapping to the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Continue reading
Founder and president of EBG Consulting.
Author, trainer, mentor, agile coach, facilitator,
conference advisor,
Certified Professional Facilitator,
Certified Scrum Master
