The document provides an overview of a presentation given by Matthew Caine on why Agile works. Some key points: - Agile focuses on people and results above all else - Traditional management kills motivation in the workplace - Steve Denning discovered motivated "geeks" using Agile and wanted to understand why it worked - Humans need autonomy, mastery, and purpose to be motivated according to Daniel Pink - Agile provides these things by allowing autonomy over work, mastery through continuous learning, and a sense of purpose in adaptive planning - Agile ceremonies like planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives create a structure that embraces emergent details and continuous improvement

1. Why
Does
Agile
Work?
October
9-­‐10th
2013
Agile
Business
Conference
2013
MaAhew
Caine

6. AGILE
Some
people
call
it
a
method
or
an
approach
above
all
It
is
about
PEOPLE
and
RESULTS

7. AssumpOons
•
•
•
•
Heard
something
about
“Agile”
May
have
seen
teams
working
in
this
way
You
like
it…
but
not
sure
why
it
works
Expect
some
quick-­‐win
“take-­‐aways”

8. Who
am
I?
•
•
•
•
•
•
English
Come
from
near
Liverpool
/
Manchester
I.T.
background
Lived
in
CH
since
1994
Worked
in
London,
NY,
Berlin,
Geneva
and
ZH
Discovered
“Agile”
in
2009
August
2011
Setup
M.C.
Partners
&
Associates
September
2012
Launched
the
Agile
Academy

9. Community

10. A
Rollercoaster
Journey

11. Let’s
Look
at
MoOvaOon
OUR
projects
are
Soooo
Complex
–
we
need
moOvated
people!

12. Are
We
MoOvated?
How
many
people
are
truly
moOvated
in
their
work?
1
in
5
2
in
5
3
in
5
4
in
5
5
in
5

13. MoOvaOon
Today
people
are
just
not
moOvated.
• Only
1-­‐in-­‐5
are
truly
moOvated
• Fear
prevails
in
the
work-­‐place
Let’s
not
menOon
these…

14. 20th
Century
Management
Kills
MoOvaOon
(enough
said)

15. Denning
Discovered
MoOvated
Geeks
They
were
doing
this
“Agile
thing”

16. MoOvaOon
The
golden
quesOon
for
many
including
Denning
was:
“WHY?”
To
answer
this
we
need
to
understand
what
moOvates
us,
as
Human
Beings.

17. Humans
Need
Three
Things
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose
Daniel
Pink
“Drive”

18. Let’s
Look
at
Complexity
OUR
complex
projects
need
to
be
planned
up
front

19. Cynefin
hAp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin

20. Cynefin
–
A
Complicated
Problem
Calculate
the
SHORTEST
route:
Hardbrücke
to
Frankenstrasse
Given
enough
data
&
Ome
we
can
PREDICT
the
outcome
of
a
COMPLICATED
problem

21. Cynefin
–
A
Complex
Problem
Calculate
the
FASTEST
route
based
on
traffic
NOW:
Hardbrücke
to
Frankenstrasse
We
cannot
PREDICT
the
outcome
of
a
COMPLEX
problem

22. Mapping
Methods
to
Cynefin
Agile
hAp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynefin

23. MoOvaOon
&
Complexity
Why
does
Agile
MoOvate?

24. Agile
(Complex
Emergent)
Projects
The
Problem:
We
Love
to
Plan!
• All
the
detail
“up
front”
• Be
in
control
• Resist
“change”

25. BUT
The
World
is
changing
faster…
Those
plans
we
love,
have
to
change
If
not,
what
happens?

26. Example
Road
trip
from
LA
to
Grand
Canyon
Spend
Ome
“upfront”
planning
route
in
detail.
As
soon
as
you
are
on
the
road…

27. Details
ALWAYS
Emerge
We
always
discover
new
stuff
How
do
we
embrace
this
EMERGENT
stuff?
How
do
we
structure
our
work?

28. Some
Key
Concepts
Fixed
Scope
Time
Cost
Quality
Quality
MoSCoW
Prio
Time
1
Time
Boxes
Variable
Cost
2
3
4
2-­‐6
weeks
in
length,
with
a
preference
for
the
shorter
Client
feedback
arer
every
Omebox:
“FAIL-­‐FAST”
Demo
at
the
end
of
each
Omebox
Scope
5
M
–
Must
(60%)
S
–
Should
(20%)
C
–
Could
(20%)
W
-­‐
Wont
6

29. What
Makes
us
Agile?
Ability
to
re-­‐evaluate
what
the
most
important
thing
to
do
is,
at
the
start
of
each
Omebox,
including:
1. New
emergent
“stuff”
2. Things
that
did
not
get
done
3. Change
in
priority
2
1
2
3
1
4
3
5
6

30. The
Four
Agile
Ceremonies
Timebox
Planning
(1-­‐2
days)
Daily
Standup
(15
mins)
Review
/
Demo
(1-­‐2
hours)
RetrospecOves
(1-­‐2
hours)
Week
2
Review
Week
3
Daily
Standups
Retro
Week
1
Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.

31. Timebox
Planning
Goal
To
produce
a
list
of
TASKS
that
the
team
are
commisng
too
with
their
plan,
with
the
priority
Ø Must
(60%)
Ø Should
(20%)
Ø Could
(20%)
Ø Wont

32. Daily
Standup

33. Review
Goal
To
get
assurance
that
the
right
things
are
being
done,
correctly.
Ø The
ONLY
way
to
get
feedback
from
clients
Ø Get
approval
that
things
are
right
(or
wrong!)

34. RetrospecOves
Goal
To
allow
the
team
to
improve
on
HOW
they
work.
To
conOnuously
improve.

35. Complex
Emergent
Agile
Products
&
Projects
✓
Autonomy
✓
Mastery
✓
Purpose

36. Denning’s
MoOvated
Geeks
Worked
with
Autonomy,
Mastery
and
Purpose

37. Lean
Knowledge
Processes
Compare
this
type
of
tradiOonal
manufacturing…
With
knowledge
work
“manufacturing”
…

38. Cannot
See
“Work-­‐in-­‐Progress”
Do
we
have…
• BoAlenecks?
• Idle
resources?
• Burn-­‐out?
• Focus?
All
result
in
• No
mastery
• No
sense
of
purpose
• No
autonomy

39. Need
to
Remove
“Waste”
#
Waste
DescripSon
1
Transport
Product
moving
from
A
to
B
2
Movement
MoOon
of
people
or
equipment
to
perform
processing
3
Idle
Time
WaiOng
for
the
next
step
4
Over
processing
ResulOng
from
poor
tool
or
product
design
creaOng
acOvity
5
Delivery
before
being
needed
Over
producOon
6
Defects
The
effort
involved
in
inspecOng
for
and
fixing
defects
7
Inventory
All
things
not
being
processed
8
Producing
things
that
don’t
fulfill
client
needs
Adding
things
that
are
not
needed
9
Unused
Human
Talent
No
duplicaOon
of
roles,
no
gaps,
the
right
people

40. “Lean”
Purpose
• Helping
others,
either
side
– Before
me
– Arer
me
• Understand
the
big
picture
Purpose

41. Lean
✓
Autonomy
✓
Mastery
✓
Purpose

42. All
of
this
Requires
Teamwork
My
team
is
GREAT
!!

43. But
not
DysfuncOonal
Teamwork
In
the
last
month,
have
you
WITNESSED…
1. Someone
admit
a
mistake
2. Someone
ask
for
help
3. Someone
point
out
to
a
colleague
that
they
were
lesng
the
team
down
by
their
acOons
4. Someone
did
something
outside
of
their
personal
objecOves,
for
the
good
of
the
group.

44. The
Five
DysfuncOons
of
a
Team
InaAenOon
to
Results
Avoidance
of
Accountability
Lack
of
Commitment
Fear
of
Conflict
Absence
of
Trust
Status
&
Ego:
Individuals
put
own
or
team’s
needs
before
that
of
the
collecOve
team’s
goal.
Low
Standards:
Don’t
challenge
colleagues
when
their
acOons
appear
wrong.
Ambiguity:
Rarely,
if
ever,
buy-­‐in
and
commit
but
“pretend”
to
agree.
ArSficial
Harmony:
Don’t
have
open
and
passionate
debate.
Invulnerable:
Don’t
admit
mistakes
and
weaknesses.
“The
Five
DysfuncOons
of
a
Team”,
P.
Lencioni

45. Examples
–
What
does
it
look
like?
DysfuncSon
Symptom
Good
Example?
InaAenOon
to
Results
Individuals
put
own
or
team’s
a)
PM:
Sure
I
can
test
that.
needs
before
that
of
the
collecOve
b)
BA:
I
can
cover
Support.
team’s
goal.
Avoidance
of
Accountability
Don’t
challenge
colleagues
when
their
acOons
appear
wrong
a)
You
said
you
would
do
it,
you
haven’t.
b)
Stop
thinking
about
just
Dev…
we
need
to
think
beyond
just
dev
Lack
of
Commitment
Rarely,
if
ever,
buy-­‐in
and
commit
but
“pretend”
to
agree.
a)
I
understand
that
this
is
what
we
are
doing,
I
agree,
I
think
it
is
good.
Fear
of
Conflict
Don’t
have
open
and
passionate
debate
a)
I
don’t
agree…
because…
b)
But
X
will
not
like
it,
we
need
to
think
about
them…
Absence
of
Trust
Don’t
admit
mistakes
and
weaknesses
a) I
have
a
problem…
b) Sorry
I
screwed
up…
45

46. From
a
PosiOve
Point-­‐of-­‐View
A
truly
cohesive
team…
•
•
•
•
•
Trusts
one
another
Engages
in
unfiltered
conflict
around
ideas
Commits
to
decisions
and
plans
of
acOon
Holds
one
another
accountable
for
delivering
against
those
plans
Focus’
on
the
achievement
of
collecOve
results

47. Be
Aware
–
Look
Out
for
Clues
Behavior
Sprint
Planning
Trust
one
another
Standup
Grooming
Sprint
Review
✓
• Open
about
mistakes
&
weakness
Engage
in
unfiltered
conflict
around
ideas
✓
Commit
to
decisions
and
plans
of
acOon
✓
✓
• Passionate
debate
occurs
• Real
buy-­‐in
with
emoOon
✓
Hold
one
another
accountable
for
delivering
against
those
plans
✓
✓
Focus
on
the
achievement
of
collecOve
results
✓
✓
• Challenge
colleagues
• Ego
&
status
don’t
maAer
Sprint
Retro

48. Even
Remote
Teamwork
Agile
Requires
Co-­‐locaOon

49. Most
Teams
are
Remote
Remote
means:
• on
another
conOnent
• in
another
country
• in
another
company
• in
another
building
• on
another
floor
• in
another
room
• more
than
25m
away...
...
outside
of
passive
hearing.

50. “Community
Decay”
Trust
MoOvaOon
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Time

51. “Community
Decay”
Trust
MoOvaOon
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Need
to
communicate
to
prevent
“decay”
Time

52. How
Does
Agile
Help?
Trust
MoOvaOon
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Time

53. How
Does
Agile
Help?
Trust
MoOvaOon
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Face-­‐to-­‐face
event
Time
Constant
communicaOon
(hard!)
In
a
remote
team,
Agile
is
beAer
than
tradiOonal
anyway!

54. But
there
is
only
one
Purpose
$
profit,
please

55. Your
Hardest
Job
What?
What?
How?
Why?
Most
groups
know
WHAT
and
HOW
but
oren
fail
to
say
WHY!
Simon
Sinek
–
Golden
Circle

56. Example

57. Why
is
this
one
beAer?
A
greater
sense
of
purpose
is
achieved
when
it
relates
to
“people”,
not
things,
least
of
all
money!

58. Bringing
it
all
Together
And
Agile
Lean
approaches
support
this

59. QuesOons?

60. Further
Reading
The
Stoos
Movement
www.stoosnetwork.org
Holacracy
www.holacracy.org

61. Contact
PlaYorm
Link
Telephone
+41
79
936
7060
Email
maAhew.caine@mcpa.biz
Homepage
www.mcpa.biz
|
www.agileacademy.ch
Library
www.mcpa.biz/blog
Xing
hAps://www.xing.com/profile/MaAhew_Caine
LinkedIn
hAp://ch.linkedin.com/in/maAhewcaine
TwiAer
mc_mcpa
Skype
mc_mcpa
YouTube
hAp://www.youtube.com/MCPartnersAssociates

62. What
moOvates
MaAhew
is
simple:
“When
done
well,
Agile
approaches
make
a
difference
to
people’s
lives,
for
the
beAer
because
Agile
organisaOons
allow
their
people
to
go
home
saOsfied,
fulfilled
having
contributed”.
MaAhew
brings
20+
years
of
experience
from
across
the
IT
sector.
He
has
worked
at
sorware
companies
such
as
Avaloq
and
Infonic.
He
was
also
a
senior
consultant
for
10
years
at
Logica,
based
in
London,
Zürich,
Berlin
and
Geneva.
In
between
he
was
also
worked
at
Swiss
Re
in
Zurich
and
New
York.
Arer
introducing
Infonic
to
Agile
methods,
MaAhew
founded
M.C.
Partners
&
Associates
and
is
the
Managing
Director
of
the
Agile
Academy
Switzerland.
In
addiOon,
he
is
a
founding
member
of
the
Swiss
Agile
Leaders
Circle.
He
holds
a
Bachelors
of
Science
degree,
with
Honors,
in
Computer
Science
from
the
University
of
Staffordshire
in
England.
He
is
a
member
of
the
DSDM
ConsorOum,
Scrum
Alliance
and
is
a
volunteer
in
the
PMI
Swiss-­‐Chapter.
He
is
also
core
team
member
of
both
the
SwissICT’s
“Lean,
Agile
&
Scrum”
team
and
“Stoos
Network
Zurich”
movements.
When
he
is
not
public
speaking
on
the
theme
of
people
and
agility,
he
can
be
found
in
a
wild
remote
corner
of
Scotland
following
his
life-­‐long
passion
of
fishing.