agile2009 - how to sell a traditional client on an agile project plan
DESCRIPTION
12 suggestions for how to convince traditional clients to agree to an Agile project plan. Presented by Arin Sime of OpenSource Connections at Agile 2009 in Chicago.TRANSCRIPT
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• Why do we need to sell it?• Background/Bio• Defining a “traditional” environment• Survey on Selling Agile• Strategies for persuasion• The importance of continuing to sell
the process throughout the project
Outline
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The Project Plan they are afraid of....
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“Some kind of structure (or architecture) is imperative because decentralization without structure is chaos.”
- J.A. Zachman, 1987, “A framework for information systems architecture”
Why do we need to sell it?
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Why do we need to sell it?
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“The architect must convince the owner that the owner’s desires are understood well enough so that the owner will pay for the creative work to follow.”
We need to convince our clients that we understand their desires, and that Agile can substitute for most, if not all, of the up front documentation
More from Zachman...
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A little about me...
Senior Consultant, OpenSource Connections Custom software development consulting for entrepreneurial, government, and military clients
Adjunct Instructor in a corporate software engineering program for Virginia Commonwealth University
Graduate student (M.S. in Management of I.T.) at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce
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Some of our clients...
Platforms and Languages
ASP .Net C C# Java
Linux MySQL Oracle PHP
Python Ruby Solaris SQL Server
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Survey on “Selling Agile”
• Collected stories from a survey of fellow students and other colleagues
• How they have sold Agile or been sold on Agile.
http://www.tinyurl.com/SellingAgileSurvey/
Booz Allen HamiltonSAICCapitol OneInternational Monetary FundUS Air ForceAutoZoneQinetiQUS Department of JusticeFannie MaeFreddie MacAOLIBMManTechDepartment of Veterans AffairsUniversity of Virginia
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Survey on “Selling Agile”
http://www.tinyurl.com/SellingAgileSurvey/
“Agile seems to carry the connotation of 'code-like-hell' or just, 'work faster'.”
comment from an IT consultant
“I am skeptical of any methods that that could be interpreted as ‘cutting corners’”
comment from a manager
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What is a “traditional environment”?
“Plan Driven methods are generally considered the traditional way to develop software. Based on concepts drawn from the mainline engineering fields, these methods approach development in a
requirements/design/build paradigm with standard, well-defined processes that organizations improve continuously.”
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Strategies for Persuasion
1. Trial by Sprint2. Case Studies of Success3. Client/Customer Testimonials4. Finding a champion in Key Stakeholders5. Using metrics of success6. Showing how Agile combats common IT project failures7. Examples of industry/government leaders using Agile8. Comparison to other methodologies9. Listen to their needs and address them10. Sneak it in11. Compromise12. Agile Project Management Office
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“You need to show a success to get adoption.”comment from a program manager
Trial by Sprint#1
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Trial by Sprint#1
“Trust me for two weeks. If you hate it, you can fire me.”
Dwight Gibbs, CTO at Legg Mason Capital Management, promising the Director of Research that if he didn’t see development team improvements after only one sprint, then they would abandon Agile.
Dwight Gibbs, Senior Vice President of Technology for INPUT, formerly the
CTO at Legg Mason CapitalManagement
“The sprint went well and we stayed with Scrum”
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Case Studies in Success#2• Present case studies of Agile
success from your own client history
• Example burndowns
• Stories of benefits to teams
• Highlight how the process caught risks early, and addressed them
• Use graphics
• Present industry examples of Agile success
Links to Agile Case Studies can be found at: http://www.notesfromatooluser.com/2008/11/scrum-case-studies.html
Proposal Tip
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“certainly one of the most successful projects ever here”
“Scrum helps me manage projects the way I wanted to anyways”
“Eliminated biases of what developers can do by letting them self-select”
“Complexity dictated we couldn’t know it all up front - we have to prototype.”
“Biggest gain from Scrum was just keeping the project going.”
“Got it done a lot better because team is well integrated. I didn’t have to plan who worked on what.”
Client Testimonials#3 Proposal Tip
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“I don’t have to lord over people, no siddling over people with a coffee cup like in Office Space.”
Client Testimonials#3
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“I highlighted the benefits to the Project Manager: higher productivity and less team-management stuff since the team will take care of lots of team-management and updating (burn charts) instead of PM's managing those details.” comment from a business analyst
Finding a Champion#4
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• Identify Stakeholder most in need
• Address their needs with Agile
• Enlist their support in adoption
• Helps to already have a relationship
Finding a Champion#4
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“The development team applies Agile. I think it is useful to obtain metrics and organize the work. From a business perspective, I have not seen the benefit.”
comment from a manager
Using Metrics of Success#5
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• Show metrics in proposals and throughout your project.
• Show Burndowns over the course of the project
• Use test coverage/test success as a metric
• Velocity/Story points accomplished by your team
• Defects from issue tracking tools
• Shown here is an excerpt from a ThoughtWorks Project Manager's Status Report
http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,37380,00.html
Using Metrics of Success#5 Proposal Tip
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“I created a presentation [showing] increased productivity, better risk management (through early detection), lower defect rates and enhanced team experience (which will translate to higher retention, less conflict management and more productive future projects).”
comment from a project lead
Show how Agile combats common IT failures#6
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1. Poor estimation and scheduling
2. Ineffective stakeholder management
3. Insufficient risk management
4. Insufficient planning
5. Shortchanged quality assurance
6. Weak personnel and/or team issues
7. Insufficient project sponsorship
8. Poor requirements determination
9. Inattention to politics
10. Lack of user involvement
Source: Prof. R. Ryan Nelson, University of Virginia. As published in MIS Quarterly Executive, “IT Project Management: Infamous Failures, Classic Mistakes, and Best Practices”, June 2007
1. Poor estimation and scheduling
2. Ineffective stakeholder management
3. Insufficient risk management
4. Insufficient planning
5. Shortchanged quality assurance
6. Weak personnel and/or team issues
7. Insufficient project sponsorship
8. Poor requirements determination
9. Inattention to politics
10. Lack of user involvement
1. Poor estimation and scheduling
2. Ineffective stakeholder management
3. Insufficient risk management
4. Insufficient planning
5. Shortchanged quality assurance
6. Weak personnel and/or team issues
7. Insufficient project sponsorship
8. Poor requirements determination
9. Inattention to politics
10. Lack of user involvement
Classic Mistakes that can also arguably be mitigated
by Agile and Scrum (my addition)
Classic Mistakes that can be mitigated by Agile, as
identified in article
Top 10 Classic Mistakes
Show how Agile combats common IT failures#6 Proposal Tip
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“Clients, especially the military, are wary of catch phrases and sometimes unwilling to change their habits.”
comment from an IT consultant
Examples of industry/government leaders using Agile#7
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Jill SingerDeputy Chief Information Officer
Central Intelligence Agency
former VP for Project Management, SAIC
• CIA IT Projects follow this spiral lifecycle:
• Understand the mission• Establish the vision• Develop the architecture• Define plans• Resource plans• Execute plans• Measure progress
• But within that lifecycle, they use Scrum, primarily 4 week sprints
Examples of industry/government leaders using Agile#7Proposal Tip
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• Benefits the CIA has seen with Scrum:
• Regular and tangible deliverables• Customer buy-in• Trying out prototypes• Users enjoy being able to add features
and change priorities with each iteration• If a project is late, users don’t mind as
much
• Challenges the CIA has run into:
• “What is Version 1.0?”
Jill SingerDeputy Chief Information Officer
Central Intelligence Agency
former VP for Project Management, SAIC
Examples of industry/government leaders using Agile#7
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“I gave an overview of the Scrum process and highlighted the ease of transition since iterative/incremental development has been in practice for a long time (in other forms such as a spiral approach)” comment from a business analyst
Comparison to other methodologies#8
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From “Scrum in 5 Minutes”, by Softhouse. Available at: www.softhouse.se/Uploades/Scrum_eng_webb.pdf
Comparison to other methodologies#8 Proposal Tip
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“I am always skeptical of anything that promises it is the 'only' or the 'best' [methodology].”
comment from a development manager
Listen to their needs and address them#9
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1. Spend a lot of time listening. Ask people what challenges they are facing in their projects.
2. Make mental notes of each challenge.
3. Turn those challenges around and use them to segue into something you wanted to talk about anyways. (ie, how Agile will solve those problems)
4. Customers appreciate that you are offering positive solutions to their problems instead of just pushing your ideas without listening to them first.
The Politics of Persuasion
Listen to their needs and address them#9
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“Agile practices usually find their way into the Software Development Lifecycle even if they are not officially blessed.”
comment from an IT specialist
“I make sure I utilize agile practices where ever I can - I just don't use the agile terminology.”
comment from a technology program manager
Sneak it in#10
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• Implement it piece by piece, without saying what you are doing.
• One idea: Start with iterations and demos, daily stand ups. PM’s love those.
• Then move to developer driven practices like sprint planning, XP, CI.
• Risky strategy? But can be used to overcome fear of the word Agile
Sneak it in#10
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“The methodology that has worked in my experience has been to incrementally introduce Agile ... Start using a limited set of the practices and gradually start bringing in more.” comment from a senior consultant
Compromise#11
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• Some clients will require checkboxes of all documentation they always ask everyone for. (I’m looking at you, Federal Government)
• Try to shift when those documents are due. Focus only on those that provide value up front, leave the rest till the end.
Compromise#11
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• Provide an interface to your clients that translates your Agile metrics into regular reports for the client
• Takes compliance burden off your development team
• Serves as “Educator and Coach” to client
Agile Project Management Office#12 Proposal Tip
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SELLINGAGILE
Never stop selling Agile.
When you’re in a project and it just saved you (ie, due to increased agility to changes),
let the client know why.
When things are going bad, point out how the increased visibility into the project at
least caught the problems earlier.
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www.OpenSourceConnections.com/Blog/
434 996 5226
www.Twitter.com/ArinSime
Follow up....
Thanks for your time - Any Questions?