This document discusses strategies for implementing agile Scrum practices in an agency setting. Some key points include using a "Super Sprint 0" for extensive planning before starting sprints. It also recommends fully integrating different disciplines like design and development into single teams to build products together in each sprint. Specific tips provided include customizing story templates to specify which disciplines are involved, allowing flexibility in quality standards, and using physical artifacts in shared team spaces to facilitate collaboration. Challenges of varying team composition and availability are addressed, as are roles like the Scrum Master and Product Owner.

1. erius et al.
Pieter Jong
GET AGILE!
Amazon:
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Scrum for UX, design & development get-agile
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2. GET AGILE!
Over 4
years o f 35,000+
Scrum
experience hours
#GETAGILE @PIETERJ 2

3. SHARING WHAT WE’VE LEARNT
Our agile Agency Des / dev
ambition challenges Integration
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4. OUR AGILE AMBITION
Speed, quality, risk management
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5. OUR AGENCY
Dutch
We are a full service agency, we design & develop all things digital, 100 peoples
such as apps & web sites.
We have around 6 scrum rooms running at any time 3 office rms
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6 scrum 5

6. WE LEARNT THE HARD WAY
However, when we adopted scrum, we quickly found out that it’s no bed of roses.
We did learn the hard way: sprints ending up in chaos, team members feeling left out,
facing massive rework, etc.
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7. AMBITION: FULL INTEGRATION
Building great products
requires
· Strategists
· Designers
· Developers
· Copywriters
· Business specialists
· Marketing & communication
· ..and more
Our way of Scrum
· working in parallel
· deliver shippable product
· every single sprint.
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8. ÜBERSCRUM
Out of sheer respect for the agility it takes to do this well, we’ve come to call this Überscrum.
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9. PRETTY CLOSE TO ROCKET SCIENCE
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10. BUILDING A TEAM
What will the team look like?
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11. SCRUM DEPENDS ON THE TEAM
Most of what I’ll share concerns human skills and people management.
Bringing the team together, not only physically, but mentally also.
It’s no secret that this works best with smaller teams, of around 5-7 people.
Although you can scale it up to 15 if you have to.
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12. NOTHING SHORT OF SUPERHEROES
· Speak their minds
· Actively seek feedback
· Invest in group success
· Empathic
· Ambitious
· Skilled
· Inventive
· Motivated to Scrum
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13. AGENCY CHALLENGES
First Team composition varies.
Team building is daunting in any Scrum environment. But for an agency, team composition varies a
lot, based on capacity, specific skills, and 3rd party cooperation.
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14. TEAM BUILDING: GAMES
Draw the box
All team members draw a packaging as if the product was on sale on a shelf in a store.
You are forced to think in USP’s and get an immediate grasp of individual team members goals & dreams.
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15. TEAM BUILDING: GAMES
The Marshmallow Challenge
Check http://marshmallowchallenge.com/
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16. TEAM BUILDING
INSPECT & ADAPT GIVE TIME
In daily standups and Minimum of 3 sprints
reviews, we address per project.
personal and team issues.
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17. AGENCY CHALLENGES
First Team composition varies.
Second Team members can’t be 100%
dedicated to the project.
You will have agency- and other stuff. Meetings, phone calls, other projects.
This can be a big disappointment and frustration for the team.
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18. SCRUM FOCUS SOLUTIONS
1.
Agree on a
% focus, f.i. 80-90%
2.
Don’t necessarily do a
fulltime scrum.
Use a minimum of 3 days/wk
3.
Scrum days may vary per
discipline.
But keep the team together!
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19. SCRUM MASTER PARADOX
· Team builder,
yet be able to confront
· Authority in their craft,
yet have an eye for all
disciplines
· Switch easily between
Scrum Rules and Agile
Principles
In our agency
· Mostly senior UX designers
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20. CLIENT IN THE HOUSE!
Embrace the Product Owner
The most profound impact Scrum has on the way of working in an agency, is having the client around all the time.
No more big briefing or presentation meetings: the client is there to provide input continuously.

21. Product Owner
The toughest job in Scrum.

22. PRODUCT OWNER PARADOX
· Strong-willed
yet open
· Political sense
yet independent
· Demanding
yet understanding
· Have the mandate &
be honest about limitations
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23. PART OF THE TEAM?
As much as possible.
· Tasks
· Creativity
· Really open up
Present in the team, from
fulltime to a minimal
2 mornings /wk
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24. BEWARE OF THE…
OPPORTUNIST
WORRIER
MEDDLER
HYPERCRITIC
ANY RESEMBLANCE TO EXISTING PERSONS IS BASED STRICTLY ON COINCIDENCE
In Get Agile! we discuss four destructive product owner types
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25. BEWARE OF THE…
OPPORTUNIST
WORRIER
MEDDLER HYPERCRITIC
Let’s pick one: The Hypercritic generally enjoys the process, discusses all details at length and
will not move on on “good enough”. It all has to be perfect.
Warning: using flexible scope in your defence will get back at you later on.
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26. ÜBERSCRUM
Design hearts development – and the other way around.
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27. STOP ATTACHING UX TO ‘SCRUM’
If you want to remain agile, design cannot be a prerequisite. It cannot be on a definition of ready.
If you want design to have impact, UX design cannot be some advisory group to the PO,
who’ll decide what to turn into stories, and what not. Eliminate this waste.
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28. Step up as a single team
Be creative and solve problems
Create shippable products
Together.

29. STOP ACTING LIKE A SPOILED PRINCESS
You will have to make compromises.
Designers must for instance face the truth that some things are unaffordable to build
Developers must invest in going the extra mile to create better UX.
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30. STOP SEARCHING FOR THE BEST RULES
✘
- OR -
Staggered sprints Shared stories
Interaction
Visual DESIGN
development
There is not one strategy of interdisciplinary cooperation that will work for all of your stories.
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31. STAY AGILE!
"Be like water"
-- Bruce Lee
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32. a design is valuable!
waste
It's just a very
expensive way of
communicating
Often necessary, !
but not always

33. SECRET: STORY TYPES
Not all stories are alike.
· überstories
· development only
· design only
We specify this during
sprint 0 or backlog grooming
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34. STORY TEMPLATE
We use a custom made story template to accommodate for documenting the type of the story:
the disciplines involved are checked. Again: we decide on this BEFORE we start the sprint.
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35. SECRET: QUALITY IS FLEXIBLE
· Skilled professionals hate
this
· But it’s true
· Better is the enemy of done
· Takes a lot of skill
· Story scores:
7 times an A or
9 times a B?
· Which stories
should be top notch?
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36. FLEXIBLE EVERYTHING?
No.
Look your client in the eye and say:
I will always deliver value for money
Flexible scope
doesn't protect
you from the a.
occasional pizz

37. SUPER SPRINT 0
Balancing preparation and BDUF
Also in Scrum you’ll need a solid start before actual sprints, or everyone will sprint in a different direction.
Too often, we made the mistake of starting on just a hunch of what we we’re trying to achieve.
But that’s all in the past.
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38. SUPER SPRINT 0
Parallel definition tracks
· Define strategy
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39. SUPER SPRINT 0
Parallel definition tracks
· Define strategy
· Define architecture
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40. SUPER SPRINT 0
Parallel definition tracks
· Define strategy
· Define architecture
· Do research
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41. SUPER SPRINT 0
Parallel definition tracks
· Define strategy
· Define architecture
· Do research
· Get creative!
· Design a concept…
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42. SUPER SPRINT 0
Parallel definition tracks
· Define strategy
· Define architecture
· Do research
· Get creative!
✘
· Design a concept but don’t
do a BDUF*
* = Big Design Up Front
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43. SUPER SPRINT 0
· Takes 3-6 weeks
· Consumes some 20% of project budget
· Has a slower pace
· Involves all team members
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44. Team ready, PO ready, backlog ready,
LET’S SPRINT!

45. USE THE ROOM!
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46. SECRET: LET’S GET PHYSICAL
The room is the one ultimate thing the whole team shares.
It’s an opportunity to create a real visceral project reality. We’re really religious about this.
And not just the scrum board.
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47. DRAW YOUR PROJECT GOALS
Strategic PowerPoint presentations in project folders will NOT be looked at.
Word documents will not even be remembered to have been made at all. Seriously.
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48. KEYWORDS ON THE WALL
Discuss your work. Point at keywords on the wall. It keeps you on track.
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49. WHO & WHEN
Oh, also use Excel and Outlook as little as possible :)
(and gDocs is no better, really avoid hiding stuff in computers)
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50. TASK PERSONALIZATION
Physical task claiming tags help team members maintain that sense of responsibility.
My task! I’ll finish it!
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51. MORE FUN USING FACES
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52. CODE OF CONDUCT
Another example: put up a Code of Conduct. Created and used by developers.
States when to do refactoring, how to handle unit tests.
In fact put up anything on the wall that will keep the team on track.
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53. DEFINITION OF READY
In some Scrums, stories
often yield unexpected
impediments
· Business rules
· Required content
· Technical complexity
DOR is a set of requirements
that helps making stories
ready before you sprint.
Use only when you really
need it.
#TWAB2012 @PIETERJ 53

54. DOUBLE DEFINITION OF DONE
The introduction of Story types leads to the need for a more differentiated, in our case often
Double Definition of Done, splitting design and tech requirements.
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55. TOO MESSY?
So can Scrum rooms get too messy? Maybe.
But we’re fine with it as long as it works for the team!
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56. TOO TIDY
They can be too tidy though. This sitemap is so beautifully crafted
that no-one will dare altering it. Not really agile, is it?
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57. POLE OF QUOTES
The weirdest things get said during sprints.
It’s a lot of fun writing the best quotes down.
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58. #DUBSTEPFRIDAY
All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. To lighten things up a little, some teams use theme days.
Like Dubstep Friday! Formal Thursday has also been spotted, as is a regular wakeboard training on the rug.
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59. OWN THE PLACE
It’s basically a matter of owning the place, feeling almost at home.
Here you see Danny and Nils in their little SuperTrash shrine, being all feminine and independent.
It makes things even more fun, and it keeps the product personality on brand!
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60. MAYHEM, REALLY?
No.
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61. SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
No, it’s not just mayhem. While one of the agiletime >
principles is that the team should be self-organizing,
we can provide a little structure. Especially for beginner teams.
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62. SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
Please keep in mind while I build this up,
Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes
time >
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63. SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
…that it’s just A way of providing some structure in überscrum.
Providing it WITH the team. Not TO the team.
Templates
visual Modules & states
design Test &
Des-only stories
Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes
time >
#TWAB2012 @PIETERJ 63

64. SPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
Dev-only
front-end stories
Implement design
development Test &
spikes
You might see this chart as a mere starting point.
Templates
visual Modules & states
design Test &
Des-only stories
Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
design Test &
spikes
time >
#TWAB2012 @PIETERJ 64

65. Startlyng
iSPRINT FOCUS FOR MAIN DISCIPLINES
quick
back-end
development
Objects & data
Admin section
Controllers, flows
Test &
spikes
Dev-only
front-end stories
Implement design
development Test &
spikes
Templates
visual Modules & states
design Test &
Des-only stories
Sketch &
interaction discuss
Flows & states
Movingmon
in ti e
design Test &
spikes
time >
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66. Scrum: agile but fragile

67. FINALLY…
Demo & retrospective
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68. DEMO: THE STAKEHOLDER TEST
When the product permits, you might NOT demo it, but have it user tested by the stake
holders at demo time. Give them assignments, have them use it. They’ll love it!
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69. RETROSPECTIVE
· Address H2H issues.
· When all fails, fall back to
strict staggered sprints.
Try again next time!
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70. SO HERE’S HOPING…
If there’s one thing I would like you to take with you, its that Scrum is about people, their skills, wishes and dreams.
It is about end users; about the customer and their stakeholders; it is about the team.
If you put them first, I promise, you’ll have a great time!
#GETAGILE @PIETERJ 70

71. Amazon
bit.ly/get-agile
And right now
in the SX Bookstore,
outside this room
in the foyer.
Pieter Jongerius et al.
@pieterj
brands, design & interaction @getagilebook