Lean-Agile Software Development

Alan Shalloway is the founder and CEO of Net Objectives. With almost 40 years of experience, Alan is an industry thought leader. He helps companies transition to Lean and Agile methods enterprise-wide as well teaches courses in Lean, Kanban, Scrum, Design Patterns, and Object-Orientation. Alan has developed training and coaching methods for Lean-Agile that have helped his clients achieve long-term, sustainable productivity gains. He is a popular speaker at prestigious conferences worldwide. He is the primary author of Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design, Lean-Agile Pocket Guide for Scrum Teams, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility and is currently writing Essential Skills for the Agile Developer. He has a Master of Science in Computer Science from MIT as well as a Master of Science in Mathematics from Emory University. Guy Beaver is Vice-President, Enterprise Engagements and a senior consultant for Net Objectives. He is a technology executive with a track record of success in Lean-Agile implementations in large, mid-sized, and start-up organizations. He is a recognized expert in Lean, Agile, and Scrum technical development with a proven ability to lead, manage, and motivate organizations to realize significant productivity and quality improvements. He has over 25 years of experience in Software Engineering and IT across several industries including financial services, defense, and healthcare. Guy has a Master of Science in Physics from Wake Forest University. James R. Trott is a senior consultant for Net Objectives. He has used object-oriented and pattern-based analysis techniques throughout his 20-year career in knowledge management and knowledge engineering. He is the co-author of Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, and the Lean-Agile Pocket Guide for Scrum Teams. He is a trainer and coach in the area of reflective practices, knowledge management, and process improvement and is a knowledge management consultant for international relief and development agencies. He has a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Hope International University. An Associate Technical Fellow of a large aerospace company, he has also worked in the energy industry, banking and finance, software development, and artificial intelligence.

“This book is a timely addition to our Agile body of knowledge. Very little has been said to date about how we scale Agile software projects beyond the single team. The authors do an excellent job of explaining the foundations of Lean thinking and how these concepts can be applied across the enterprise. Lean is the key to scaling Agile projects, and this book provides the foundational knowledge you need to make it happen.”–Mike Cottmeyer, product consultant and Agile evangelist, VersionOne  “The book brings a pragmatic approach to the difficult transition from early adoption of Agile practices to enabling product development. It is thought provoking in the context of the teams I am currently coaching, and it highlights a number of areas for improvement. I would recommend this book to anyone who is coaching an enterprise-wide Lean-Agile transformation.”–Kay Johnson, PMP, Agile development consultant and project manager  “The ideas from the Toyota Production System and Lean manufacturing in general are gradually making their way into the world of software development, and this book provides both a gentle introduction to those unfamiliar with Agile/Lean as well as more advanced material for those who are already practitioners in this area. Worth reading.”–Mark Needham, application developer, ThoughtWorks  “For a good few years, when asking why Agile approaches work, we got the response ‘It’s empirical. We tried things and kept the ones that worked.’ Now people have applied theory from the Lean body of knowledge, and it tells us why Agile approaches work. Using this theory, we can make well-reasoned choices about what changes to our ways of working would be improvements, overall. This book is about this synergy between Lean and Agile. For those who believe in magic, find an empirical guru to believe. For the rationalists among us, here’s a good book for you.”–Paul Oldfield, Capgemini  “This book is a worthy roadmap to a successful adoption of Lean-Agile development and management. You can see in every detail the authors have on-the-job experience. The way they write shows their enthusiasm for Lean, and this motivates the reader to follow the principles and practices in the book. I had a great time reading this book and I am using it daily as a reference.”–Domingo Chabalgoit , independent IT consultant  “There are many sources of information for Agile software development and Lean systems thinking. Until now, attempts to merge the two have often resulted in frustration, delays, quality issues, and budget overruns. Lean-Agile Software Development is the roadmap to achieving success using Lean-Agile techniques and applying them throughout the enterprise and product-development life cycle.”–Bob Bogetti, lead system designer, Baxter Healthcare

• Series Foreword xvii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxv About the Authors xxvii Introduction xxix How This Book Will Help You xxx The Roots of Agility xxx The Software Development Pendulumxxx Principles and Paradigms xxxiii A Pragmatic Approach xxxiv Critique the Process, Work Together xxxiv Lean Provides the Way Forward xxxv Evaluating Paradigms xxxvi We Do Not Know It All xxxviii Lean Provides More than Beliefs xxxix Going beyond Lean xl Summary xl Try This xli  PART I Extending Our View beyond Projects 1  What Is Software Development? 1 The Software Development Team and Flow 2  Chapter 1 An Agile Developer’s Guide to Lean Software Development 5  Lean 5 Lean Applies to Many Levels of the Organization 6 A Quick Review of Some Lean Principles 7 Look to Your Systems for the Source of Your Errors 8 Respect People 9 Minimizing Complexity and Rework 10 Eliminating Waste and Deferring Commitment 10 Using Iterative Development to Minimize Complexity and Rework 12 Create Knowledge 12 Deliver Early and Often 13 Build Quality In 14 Optimize the Whole 14 Fast-Flexible-Flow 14 Focus on Time 15 Reflections on Just-In-Time (JIT) 16 Value Stream Mapping 18 Using Value Stream Mapping to Get to True Root Cause 18 The Results 21 Lean Goes beyond Agile 22 Summary 22 Try This 23 Recommended Reading 23  Chapter 2 The Business Case for Agility 25  The Benefits of Agile 26 Add Value to the Business Quickly 26 Help Clarify Customers’ Needs 31 Promote Knowledge-Based Product Development and Better Project Management 34 Focus on Product-Centered Development 38 Improve Team Efficiency 38 Summary 39 Try This 39 Recommended Reading 40  Chapter 3 The Big Picture 41  Getting to Enterprise Agility 42How to Create Real Value for an Organization 44 Identify Value 44 Manage the Organization’s Resources 45 Manage Projects 48 Proper Software Engineering 49 Summary 50 Try This 50 Recommended Reading 51  Chapter 4 Lean Portfolio Management 53  The Challenge of Selecting Projects 54 Introducing Terms 54 Project Portfolios 56 Project Portfolios Are Idea Inventories 56 Should We Avoid Delays by Batching Project Analysis? 57 Should We Avoid Delays by Increasing Releases? 58 Lean Portfolio Management 58 Why It Works 59 It Is OK to Plan Releases 60 With Existing Systems, Plan to Use Incremental Delivery 60 The Benefits of Lean Portfolio Management 61 Speed and Quality 61 Line of Sight to Business Needs 62 Minimizing Work-in-Process 62 Minimizing Interruptions 63 The Approach 63 Shorter Planning Cycles 67 Estimating and Tracking Progress 68 Summary 70 Try This 70 Recommended Reading 71  PART II Lean Project Management 73  Lean Provides Guidance 73  Chapter 5 Going beyond Scrum 77  Learning a New Way 78 Defining a Method While Not Being Restricted by It 79 Defining a Process 79 Principles and Practices Open the Door for Professionalism 81 Knowing Where You Are 82 Scrum Is a Framework 83 Misunderstandings, Inaccurate Beliefs, and Limitations of Scrum 84Misunderstandings Commonly Held by New Scrum Practitioners 85Scrum Beliefs We Think Are Incorrect 85Limitations of Scrum That Must Be Transcended 89 Unfortunate Consequences of These Beliefs 91 Lean Thinking Provides the Necessary Foundation 92 Introducing Scrum#–Scrum Embedded in Lean Thinking 92 Introducing Kanban Software Engineering 96 Managing the Work in the Kanban Team 98 Advantages of Kanban 100 Selecting an Approach 103 Summary 106 Try This 106 Recommended Reading 107  Chapter 6 Iteration 0: Preparing for the First Iteration 109  Getting Ready for Iteration 1 110 Set Up the Product 111 Set Up the Team 111 Set Up the Environment 112 Set Up the Architecture 113 Iteration 0 Checklist 113 Summary 115 Try This 115  Chapter 7 Lean-Agile Release Planning 117  Issues that Affect Planning 118 Evaluating Processes 118 Transparent and Continuous Planning 120 Releases and Elevations 124 Example: Release Planning Session 124 1. Identify Features 126 2. Prioritize Features, Left to Right 126 3. Split Features Using the MMF Perspective 126 4. Estimate the Value of Features 126 5. Estimate the Cost of Features 128 6. Elaborate Features 128 7. Create the Release Plan 129 8. Plan the Elevations 132 A Few Notes 135 On Estimation and Risk 135 Pareto versus Parkinson 135 Summary 136 Try This 136 Recommended Reading 136  Chapter 8 Visual Controls and Information Radiators for Enterprise Teams 137  Visual Controls and Information Radiators 138 Lean-Agile Visual Controls 139 Product Vision: Providing the Big Picture 140 Product Backlog with Release Plan 141 Iteration Backlog 142 The Visual Control for Multiple Teams 146 Establishing Clear Line of Sight 148 Managing Dependencies with Visual Controls 150 Burn-Down and Burn-Up Charts 152 The Impediment List 153 How to Tell If You Have a Good Visual Control 153 Summary 154 Try This 154 Recommended Reading 155  Chapter 9 The Role of Quality Assurance in Lean-Agile Software Development 157  Introduction 158 QA at the End of the Cycle Is Inherently Wasteful 160 Improve Results by Moving QA Up Front 161 When the Product Champion Will Not Answer Your Questions 163 Executable Specifications and Magic Documentation 165 Acceptance Test-Driven Development 166 Summary 167 Try This 167 Recommended Reading 168  Chapter 10 Becoming an Agile Enterprise 169  Where Do You Want to Go? 170 What Gets in the Way? 170 Guidelines for the Transition 172 Where Do You Start? 173 The Product Company 174 The IT Company 178 The IT Product Company 178 The Importance of Continuous Process Improvement 179 Summary 179 Try This 180  Chapter 11 Management’s Role in Lean-Agile Development 181  Lean-Agile Management 182 Creating the Environment 183 Lean-Agile’s Balanced Approach to Management 184 Create Knowledge within the Team 185 Get to the Root Cause 186 Agile Software Development Is Not Anarchy 187 Lack of Management May Equal Lack of Success 189 Improving Management with Lean Thinking 190 Summary 191 Try This 191 Recommended Reading 192  Chapter 12 The Product Coordination Team 193  Getting Teams to Work Together 194 Scrum-of-Scrums 194 The Challenge of Coordinating Teams 195 The Product Coordination Team 198 Product Coordination Team Membership 199 Product Coordination Team Guidelines 200 Mentoring 202 Summary 202 Try This 202  Chapter 13 Software Architecture and Design’s Role in Lean-Agile Software Development 203  Avoiding Over- and Under-Design 204Designing for Change 206 The Role of Design in Software 207 The Role of Management in Software Design 208 Summary 208 Try This 208 Recommended Reading 209  PART III Looking Back, Looking Forward 211  Chapter 14 Seeing Lean 213  Toyota: The First Great Example of Lean 214 Three Bodies of Lean 216 Lean Science 217 Lean Management 218 Lean Knowledge Stewardship 218 Insights from Lean-Agile Coaches 219 Focusing on One Project at a Time 219 Initiating Fewer Projects Instead of Imploring Teams to Work Better 219 Shortening Batch Times 220 Getting to the Root Cause 220 Knowing Where You Are: Minimum Releasable Features 221 Priorities and Work-in-Process 221 Productivity and Quality 222 Cross-functional Teams 222 The Mantra of Lean: Fast-Flexible-Flow 223 An Example of Fast-Flexible-Flow 224 Next Steps 227 User Groups of Interest 228 Books to Read 228 Other Resources 230 Summary 230 Try This 230  Appendix A: Team Estimation Game 233 Appendix B: A Model of Lean-Agile Software Development 237 Bibliography 245 Index 249