Patterns and Practices for Delivering Software at Scale - a presentation from AgilePalooza Twin Cities: Steve Povilaitis has over 17 years of industry experience as a developer, analyst, and manager at progressively greater levels of responsibility. He has successfully led agile adoption, engineering, and software release management across a wide spectrum of organizations, from an internet startup to a Fortune 10 company. Steve was part of the leadership team during a large-scale agile implementation at GE Energy, and he is currently decisively engaged with guiding an enterprise agile transformation for a major internet retailer. In a former life Steve was an Army Officer and paratrooper. When he's not helping organizations navigate the agile waters, you'll find him enjoying the calmer seas around his hometown of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

1. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Teaching an Elephant
to Dance
or
Scaling Agile
to Large Project Teams

2. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Steve ‘Pov’ Povilaitis – Enterprise Agile Coach
Pov@leadingagile.com
Twitter: @stevepov
LinkedIn: /stevepov
• GE Energy
• AAI Corporation
• Lockheed Martin

3. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
What is the problem we are trying to
address?
• Predictability
• Technical Excellence
• Quality
• Time to Value

4. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Large Project Teams
• Not just a lot of Agile Teams
• Impacts how we do Project Management, Technical
Practices, and Product Management beyond the
teams
• Aligning Teams within Programs and Portfolios

5. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
How does Agile Work?
Small Teams with everything needed to deliver
an increment of value
Backlog prioritized by value being delivered
incrementally
At scale, the backlog and products for these
teams need to be coordinated and technical
practices must address the challenges of
integration

6. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Three Questions
What are the challenges with Scaling Agile?
What does Agile for Large Projects look like?
How do organizations get from here to there?

7. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
What are the challenges?

8. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Agile is optimized for small teams
• Agile teams measure progress in terms of user stories, but larger companies
measure progress in terms of completed projects.
• Working software every two weeks isn’t as important as finished projects every
quarter or two.
• The unit of value in the enterprise is different from the unit of value at the team
level.

9. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
User Stories are too small in an Enterprise
Context
• Companies need to make and meet commitments on longer planning horizons.
• The typical language of short commitments and rapid feedback cycles doesn’t
resonate with many senior leaders.
• At the enterprise level of scale, predictability in product delivery is needed so that
the organizations can make strategic investments for delivering value

10. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Multiple teams introduce dependencies
and coordination challenges
• Trouble coordinating across multiple teams
• Managing dependencies on complex programs
• Bottlenecks slow value creation

11. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
What does it look like?

12. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Enterprise Portfolio Management
Product
Team
Scrum
Team
Product
Team
Strategy
Team
Support
Portfolio
Team
Team Agility Multi-Team Agility
Program Agility
Portfolio
Agility

13. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
The smallest increment of value, typically less than a week.
Stories are contained within sprint. These are the things the
delivery teams care about.
Backlog Decomposition
Increments of Value
Smaller than epics, typically 2-4 weeks in duration. Features
are contained within releases. Features can span more than
one team. These are what the Product Owner Team cares
about.
Collections of features, typically 1-3 months in duration but
will fit in a release. Epics can span more than one team.
These are the things Steering Committees cares about.
Epic
Feature
User Story

14. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Backlog Decomposition
Each increment of value creates context and
constraints for the level below
Generally
• Increments of value must be prepared prior to
planning
• Don’t commit to an increment of value that isn’t
ready
• We want to get each increment of value done
before starting more
Epic
Feature
User Story

15. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Backlog Decomposition
Coordinate Across Levels of Value

16. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
Story Maps

17. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Story Maps start with the
identification of larger, more
strategic organizational goals

18. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
Epics are decomposed into
Features that describe the value
added into the product

19. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature Feature
Epics are decomposed into
Features that describe the value
added into the product

20. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature Feature Feature
Epics are decomposed into
Features that describe the value
added into the product

21. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature Feature Feature Feature
Epics are decomposed into
Features that describe the value
added into the product

22. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
Features are decomposed into
User Stories that are thin slices of
value added into the system

23. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
Features are decomposed into
User Stories that are thin slices of
value added into the system

24. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
Features are decomposed into
User Stories that are thin slices of
value added into the system

25. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
Features are decomposed into
User Stories that are thin slices of
value added into the system

26. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Managing Budgets

27. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
User Stories are estimated in
relative units of measure called
Story Points

28. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
11 7 12 8
Story Points can be added up to
size Features

29. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
11 7 12 8
38 Feature Points can be added up to
size Epics

30. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
11 7 12 8
38 Our Goal is to build the smallest
system possible to deliver the
value in the Epic

31. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
11 7 12 8
38 We continuously evaluate the
Story Map to determine the
Minimally Marketable Feature

32. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story User Story
User Story
User Story
Epic
Feature Feature Feature Feature
User Story User Story User Story
11 7 12 8
38
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
We continuously evaluate the
Story Map to determine the
Minimally Marketable Feature

33. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story User Story
User Story
User Story
Epic
Feature Feature Feature Feature
User Story User Story User Story
10 4 5 7
26
3
2
5
1
1
3
2
1
2
5
3
2
1
3
2
2
When we focus on Minimally
Marketable Features, we deliver
Business Value early

34. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Planning
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan-14 Feb Mar Apr
R17 R19 R21 R23 R25 R27
Team A Epic 1
Epic
4 Epic 7
Team B Epic 2 Epic 5 Epic 8
Teacm C Epic3 Epic 6 Epic 9
Spt
1 Spt 2
US-
42
US-
38
US-
50
US-
42
US-
56
US-
49
US-
61
US-
53

35. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Measuring Progress

36. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

37. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

38. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

39. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

40. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

41. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

42. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down hours or points to
make sure the sprint is on track

43. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

44. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the sprint is on track

45. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
6
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the Release is on track

46. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
6
8
From a Metrics perspective, we
Burn Down points to make sure
the Release is on track

47. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
6
8
5
We track Velocity Trend to make
sure the team is delivering in a
Predictable manner

48. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
6
8
5
When the Release is ready to
deliver, The Team has completed
the highest priority User Stories,
against the highest priority
Features ,against the highest
priority Epics.

49. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Release Burndown
38
Sprint Burndown
96
Velocity Trend
6
6
8
5
When the Release is ready to
deliver, The Team has completed
the highest priority User Stories,
against the highest priority
Features ,against the highest
priority Epics.
Everyone is focused on delivering
value early and often!

50. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Enterprise Release Execution

51. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Epic
Feature
User Story
Feature Feature Feature
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
User Story
Features are decomposed into
User Stories that are thin slices of
value added into the system

52. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Done
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Tier 1 - Scrum
Tier 2 - Kanban
Tier 3 - Kanban
User Story

53. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Done
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Tier 1 - Scrum
Tier 2 - Kanban
Tier 3 - Kanban
Feature
User Story

54. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Done
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Tier 1 - Scrum
Tier 2 - Kanban
Tier 3 - KanbanEpic
Feature
User Story

55. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Kanban creates a Pull System
across the entire portfolio that is
limited by your Actual Capacity

56. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic

57. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic

58. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic

59. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
Feature

60. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
Feature

61. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
Feature

62. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
Spike
Feature

63. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
Feature

64. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
Feature

65. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8 16
8
Feature

66. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8 16
8
Feature
Epic
Epic

67. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8 16
8
Feature
Epic

68. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8 16
8
Feature
Epic
Epic

69. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8 16
8
Feature
Epic
Epic
Feature

70. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8
16
8
Feature
EpicEpic
Feature

71. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8
16
8
Feature
EpicEpic
Feature

72. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
TaskTask
Task
8
16
8
Epic
Spike
Feature
Feature

73. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
TaskTask
Task
8
16
8
Epic
Feature
Feature

74. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
User StoryUser Story
TaskTask
Task
8
16
8
Spike
Epic
Feature
Feature

75. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8 User Story
Spike User Story
Epic
Feature
Feature

76. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8 User Story
Spike User Story
Epic
Feature
Feature

77. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8 User Story
Spike User Story
Epic
Feature

78. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8 User Story
Spike User Story
Epic
Feature

79. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8 User Story
Spike User Story
Epic
FeatureFeature

80. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User Story
User Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
Feature Feature

81. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User Story
User Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
FeatureFeature

82. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User Story
User Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
FeatureFeature

83. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User Story
User Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
FeatureFeature

84. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User StoryUser Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
FeatureFeature

85. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User StoryUser Story
Spike
Epic
Epic
FeatureFeature

86. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Epic
Feature
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
8
User Story
Spike
User Story
Epic
Feature
FeatureFeature
User Story
User Story
Spike
Task
Task
Task
8
8

87. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
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Epic
Feature
Feature
Task
Task
Task
8
16
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User Story
Spike
User Story
Epic
Feature
User Story
User Story
Spike
Feature
Feature

88. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
User Story
Spike
Task
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
8

89. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
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Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
User Story
Spike
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
Task
8

90. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User StoryUser Story
Spike
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
Task
8

91. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
Task
8
User Story
Spike

92. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
Task
8
User Story
Spike

93. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
Feature
FeatureFeature
Task
8
User Story
Spike

94. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
FeatureFeatureFeature
Task
8
User Story
Spike

95. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic
Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
FeatureFeatureFeature
Task
8
User Story
Spike

96. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Story Backlog Task Backlog In Process Task Done Story Backlog
Analysis Design Build Test Deploy
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Epic
Feature
Feature
Epic Epic
User Story
Task
Task
8
8
FeatureFeature
Feature
Task
8
User Story
Spike
Epic
Feature
User Story User Story
Spike
Task
Task
Task
8
8
Task
8
Task
8

97. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Developers
Delivery Teams
Testers
Analysts
Specialists
Generalizing
Specialists
Agile Project
Manager/ Scrum
Master
Product Manager/
Product Owner Team

98. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
User Experience
Architect
???
Product Manager/PO
Project Manager
Product Owner Teams

99. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
How do we get there?

100. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
How do we get there from here?
• Determine the incremental and iterative approach to
the transformation
• Top down intent
– Make Changes to Organizational Structure
– Change focus of Metrics and Assessments
• Bottom up implementation

101. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Top down intent

102. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Organizational Restructure
Director
Manager
BA
BA
BA
Manager
DEV
DEV
DEV
Manager
QA
QA
QA
Architect
PM UX
???

103. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
The Messy Middle
info
guide
info
guide
info
guideinfo
guide
Assessments and
Metrics are directly
targeted at giving the
managers (the messy
middle) something
concrete to do (safety)
while being able to
demonstrate success
(safety and value).

104. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
New Metrics
• Stop focusing on (task) utilization
metrics
• Start focusing on predictability,
technical excellence, and quality

105. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Assessing Predictability
Teams can plan,
coordinate, and
deliver predictably
enough to make a
release level
commitment.
Has the team established
a stable velocity?
Is working, tested,
remediated code being
delivered frequently?
Does the team have
everything expected to
perform the work each
iteration?
Does the team have
confidence they will
deliver the functionality
expected for the release?
Does the team deliver the
functionality it intended
each iteration?
Story Ratio
Velocity / Throughput
Variance
WIP to Throughput
Ratio
Resource Availability
Release Confidence
Goal Question Metric

106. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Agile Team Metrics Summary
Story Ratio
The goal is to help teams
become predictable in their
estimating.
Velocity Variance
Throughput Variance
90%+ Stories Delivered /Stories Committed
80% - 90% Stories Delivered /Stories Committed
< 80% Stories Delivered /Stories Committed
Throughput to WIP
There should not be more than 4
weeks work of throughput active in
a team from Ready to Delivered.
Trend
(Will show current state color on Dashboard)Category Current State
Positive iteration to iteration
Flat iteration to iteration
Negative iteration to iteration
< 2 weeks
2 weeks – 4 weeks
> 4 weeks
Gap is lower
Gap is the same
Gap is higher
Variance < last iteration
Variance = last iteration
Variance is increasing iteration to iteration
Velocity Variance 20% of last 3 sprints
Velocity Variance 40% of last 3 sprints
Velocity Variance 40% of last 3 sprints
The goal is to help teams
become stable in their
velocity.
Predictability
Resource Availability
Is the team getting the
resource available that was
planned? We need an
indication when planned
resources aren't available.
(Post Inception)
On time release
confidence
Resources available as planned
2 off planned resource availability
3+ off planned resource availability
Resources are available iteration to iteration
Resource is yellow iteration to iteration
Resource availability dropped iteration to iteration
Confidence on track or improving
Features on track < 100% and flat
Features on track < 100% and trending down
Team is very confident
Team is challenged
Release can’t be delivered
Teams should be able to
roughly estimate and identify
risks and dependencies
sufficiently that we can make
and keep release
commitments.

107. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Program Dashboard
A higher level view of the teams provides
information to leadership so they can provide
guidance where necessary

108. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Bottom up implementation

109. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Cycle of Learning
Training
Mentoring
Coaching

110. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Cultural Change is Last
Cultural
Beliefs
Processes,
Practices, Policies
Organizational
Structure

111. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Change Takes Time

112. Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy. Fear is not an option.
Thank you!
Steve ‘Pov’ Povilaitis
LinkedIn: /stevepov
Twitter: @stevepov
Email: pov@LeadingAgile.com