from cobbled to agile: re-engineering library it
Post on 25-Feb-2016
34 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
From Cobbled To Agile:Re-Engineering Library IT
Joan A. Smith, PhDEmory University
Emory University 2
Why we did it• Library IT Division “Cobbled” Together– Created piecemeal over 15+ years– Technology dumping ground– ILS + Desktop Support + Grant Projects + Webs + System
Administration + Anything Involving a Computer• Mixed Staffing Situation– Regular Staff + Faculty + Contract Staff + Undergrad Students +
Grad Students• Capacity questions– Project costs, capacity, impact unknown & unmeasured– Few staff + lots of projects = prioritization crisis
10/03/2010
Back Then...
10/03/2010
A M
ultit
ude
of P
roje
ctsHodgePodge Group
A Variety of Staff & Skills
If it’s computing, it belongs in IT! .......No Capacity Planning.......
Emory University 3
Emory University 4
What was needed
• Comprehensive Operational Vision• Professional Staffing Plan• Capacity and Cost Measurements• Performance Metrics
In other words: A Business Model
10/03/2010
Emory University 5
Comprehensive Operational Vision• Clear mission statement– why we’re in business– who we serve
• Defined “tech stack”– primary tools for doing our job– skill levels expected
• University-IT role vs. Library-IT role– Service redundancy = wasted money– Focus on appropriate market share– Utilize economies of scale
10/03/2010
Emory University 6
Professional Staffing Plan• Classic, industry-based model– Technical Project Managers– Software Developers– System Administrators
• Sustainable project staffing– Post-grant maintenance & updates– Common “tech stack”
• Professional development & mentoring– Junior, intermediate, senior levels of expertise– Code/Project/System Reviews for coaching– Training materials, conferences, “info-forums”
10/03/2010
Emory University 7
Capacity and Cost Measurements
• How long to get “X” done?– Will it be on time (% probability)?
• How many people to get X delivered?• What is complexity level of project X?• How soon can we start on new project Z?
10/03/2010
Emory University 8
Performance Metrics• Measure Planned Effort– Time: Planning/Development/Deployment– Cost: Planning/Development/Deployment– Support Costs (software, security patches, e.g.)
• Measure Actual Times/Costs & Compare– Refine the Estimating Process– Play It Again, Sam
• Keep Track of Grant & Matching Funding– Don’t exceed matching unnecessarily– Track accuracy of plan against real expenses incurred
10/03/2010
Emory University 9
How we do it
10/03/2010
*Continuous improvement!
Emory University 10
Plan
10/03/2010
1
2
3
4
5
Emory University 11
Execute
10/03/2010
Begin: Iteration #1
End: Iteration #1
Emory University 12
Measure
10/03/2010
Emory University 13
Rinse & Repeat
10/03/2010
Emory University 14
Timeline: 2 Years & Counting
10/03/2010
8 months 12 months 20 months
Emory University 15
Light-Weight ToolsFor Agile Teams
• Project Planning Tools– Web-Based Proposal Form– Dashboard
• Process Tools– Scrums (Cork Board + Index Cards)– Iteration Planning Meetings– Web-Enabled Process Management
• Task Tracking Tools– TRAC (http://trac.edgewall.org/ )
• Time-Tracking Tools– ActiTime (http://www.actitime.com/ )
• Measurement Tools– dWrangler– Velocity Estimating
• Evaluation Tools– RAP Sheets– Iteration Reports
10/03/2010
Home-Grown&
Open-Source
Note: Screenshots on next slides for reference during live tools demo
Emory University 16
Project Planning Tools (1)
10/03/2010
• All projects require a proposal• Simple• Fast (mostly)
Emory University 17
Project Planning Tools (2)
• Web-Based• Consistent• Quick Status
10/03/2010
Emory University 18
Project Planning Tools (3)
10/03/2010
Dashboard tracks all projects and status phase
Emory University 19
Process Tools (1)
• Several tools involved• Coordination via Dashboard:
10/03/2010
Emory University 20
Process Tools (2)
10/03/2010
• Scrums: Bulletin Board + Index Cards
Yes, it is analog on purpose…
Emory University 21
Process Tools (3)
• Web-Enabled Process Management
10/03/2010
Everyone contributes…
Emory University 22
Task-Tracking Tools (1)
• Staff use TRAC to manage tasks– Note wiki comment option– SVN data noted, too
• This is a single task ticket– Change history clarifies– Attachments optional
10/03/2010
Emory University 23
Task-Tracking Tools (2)
• Project-oriented view of tasks
• Note break-down of User Stories into individual tasks
• Also note Milestone headline
10/03/2010
Emory University 24
Task-Tracking Tools (3)
• Timeline for a project – one of many views
10/03/2010
Emory University 25
Task-Tracking Tools (4)
10/03/2010
• And there is the usual SVN repository…
Emory University 26
Time-Tracking Tools (1)
• Staff enter project time daily (well, they try…)
10/03/2010
Emory University 27
Time-Tracking Tools (2)
• Example Report: Total time for each of our projects
10/03/2010
Emory University 28
Time-Tracking Tools (3)
• Custom reports available
10/03/2010
Emory University 29
Measurement Tools (1)
• TRAC & ActiTime hooked into our metric tools
• dWrangler is a home-grown product built with Django
10/03/2010
Emory University 30
Measurement Tools (2)
10/03/2010
• Velocity estimates enable capacity planning– “Points Open” tracked for each
project– “Points Completed” tracked for
each project
Velocity =Points Completed Per Iteration
Emory University 31
Evaluation Tools (1)
10/03/2010
• Monthly RAP Sheets (Report on Resources, Activities, Plans)• BRIEF summary of project• Discussion points for managers
Emory University 32
Evaluation Tools (2)
10/03/2010
• Iteration Meetings & In-Meeting Report• Written while in
the meeting• Focus on continuous
improvement
Emory University 33
Lessons Learned• One step at a time– Organize the teams– Conduct trial-runs for ~ 3 months– Set a “go live” date
• Training, training, training– All members need to understand the Process– No blame, just gain: incremental improvements– Requires (mostly) disciplined behavior by all team members
• Measure, predict, measure again– Refine the estimates with actual performance data– Teams improve; measure again
10/03/2010
Emory University 34
Agile Manifesto (http://agilemanifesto.org/ )
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right,we value the items on the left more.
10/03/2010
Emory University 35
From Cobbled To Agile• Agile is a journey, not a destination• Still refining our tools, teams, processes• Some projects need more planning than usual for Agile projects• Too frequent changes can affect hard deadlines• User stories don’t work for System Administration tasks• Some projects are more about configuration and deployment
than software development• Agile doesn’t work for all projects, all roles, across all teams• Underlying concepts are sound for estimating team capacity• Keep what works, refine/replace/remove what does not
10/03/2010
-ish
Emory University 36
Questions?
Feedback and Comments are welcome
Thanks for attending
Contact me:joan.smith@emory.edu
10/03/2010
Emory University 37
Links for Screenshots• https://digital.library.emory.edu/• https://heisenberg.library.emory.edu/dwrangler/tracback/digital-masters/• https://heisenberg.library.emory.edu/dwrangler/• https://techknowhow.library.emory.edu/announcements/iteration-report-13-sept-24-sept-2010 • https://techknowhow.library.emory.edu/announcements/planning-meeting-iteration-11-oct-22-oct-2010 • https://heisenberg.library.emory.edu/dwrangler/tracback/projects/worksummary/• https://larson.library.emory.edu/trac/digitalmasters/timeline • https://larson.library.emory.edu/trac/digitalmasters/roadmap • https://larson.library.emory.edu/trac/digitalmasters/ticket/133 • https://heisenberg.library.emory.edu/dwrangler/tracback/digital-masters/collection-editing/• https://techknowhow.library.emory.edu/ • http://bohr.library.emory.edu:7080/actitime/login.do
10/03/2010
top related