1. Succeeding with Large Scale
Agile
Jan-Erik Sandberg, Head of Operations, Visma Retail Software AS
Author of “Agile Release Management” and “Succeeding with Offshore Development”

2. The Most Important Thing To Learn About Large Scale Agility:
IT’S REALLY HARD
TO IMPLEMENT

3. But, why?

4. The Large Scale Agile Onion
Portfolio
Dependencies
Project
Dependencies
Culture
Different
Locations
Collaboration
DEV

5. Let’s start at the core: DEVELOPMENT
• Build efficiency
• Automatic Deployment
• Focus on Performance – Your code might be run in ways you
never imagined

6. Collaboration
• Who does what? The Chart of Responsibilities
• Proper Planning Tool
• Common test environments
• Coding standards
D: takes Decisions solely or ultimately
d: take decisions jointly or partly
P: manages Process and controls progress
X: eXecutes the work
C: must be Consulted
I: must be Informed

7. Multiple Locations
• Ensure low cost communication
• Ensure domain knowledge is present
• Align Sprints

8. Multiple Cultures
• Culture eat Strategy for breakfast
• Ensure all on team are TEAM MEMBERS
• Learn the basics of language, religion and politics
• Work culture

9. Project Dependencies
• SOS Meetings
• Public Planning & Demo
• EPICS

10. EPICS: Why Expand to higher levels?
• User stories do not communicate beyond the dev team
• Setting the direction

11. The Epic
• Group of related User Stories
• Uses same format as the User Story
• Short description
• Acceptance Criteria
• Estimate
• Should not be worked on directly
• Can be considered to be a project

12. Portfolio Dependencies
• Product Council
• Board of Innovation
• Adventures

13. The Adventure / Theme
• Group of related Epics
• Uses same format as the Epic
• Short description
• Acceptance Criteria
• Estimate
• Mainly a tool for tracking direction
• Can be considered to be a portfolio
• Often called a Theme

14. Epics and Themes/Adventures
Adventure
1
Epic 1
Story 1
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature n
Story n
Feature 3
Feature 4
Feature n
Epic N
Story 2
Feature 5
Feature 6
Feature n
Story n
Feature 7
Feature 8
Feature n

15. Example: ACME Software Industries
• International Software Vendor
• Specializes in software for product manufactoring companies
• Biggest customer is KNEEO, a company creating building
blocks for kids.
• Most popular software package is called «ProdOrg»
• Award winning system since 1990
• Legacy COBOL system

16. Adventure: ACME Customer Product
Support
• As a world wide product manufactoring company, we want our
customers of all ages to have the ability to get their inqueries
answered in less than 2 hours, in order for us to have the best
response time in the market.

17. The Breakdown
Customer
Product
Support
Customer
Support
Website
Customer Call
Center

18. The Breakdown
Customer
Product
Support
Customer
Support
Website
FAQ
Online Chat
Mail forms
Customer Call
Center

19. The Roadmap
• Outbound Communication
• Important to visualize discussions

20. Retail Suite 15.1
Retail Suite 15.2
Retail Suite 16.1
Platform independent user interface
Mobile Payment
Analytics (DWH)
Device integrations including
ePaper & Shop’n Drop
Mobile POS & omnichannel
shopping experience
In-store personnel behavior analysis
-Fraud detection
Goal driven analysis
Fresh item & Recipe Management
New Improved Mobile App
Merchandise Solution Integration
Basket analysis, space profitability
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Mobile payment solutions
Fresh Goods
Mobile POS
Service retailing
Internationalization
Price & Optimization
Market
Trends
Click and Collect
Extended WorkFlow
Business process related dashboards
RS Multiple countries & SaaS
Next generation of Self Service
Cloud
Omnichannel – “e-Commerce”
Mobility
Analytics
Three Horizons

21. The Reporting
• Ask your self: “Who reads my reports”
• KEEP IT SIMPLE!
• Epic Status with Color Coding

22. The Human Factor
• Get Your Mandate – Do not go stealth!
• Top Down Approach vs Bottom Up
• Transtheoretical model of Change

23. Transtheoretical model of Change (TTM)
• Well documented
• 5 stages of change

24. TTM Stage one: Pre-contemplation
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Preparation/Determination Action/Willpower Maintenance

25. TTM Stage Two: Contemplation
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Preparation/Determination Action/Willpower Maintenance

26. TTM Stage Three:
Preparation/Determination
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Preparation/Determination Action/Willpower Maintenance

27. TTM Stage Four: Action/Willpower
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Preparation/Determination Action/Willpower Maintenance

28. TTM Stage Five: Maintenance
Pre-contemplation Contemplation Preparation/Determination Action/Willpower Maintenance

29. The process of Transition (Fisher)
• Anxitey
• Happiness
• Denial
• Fear
• Threat
• Guilt
• Disillusionment
• Depression
• Hostility
• Gradual Acceptance
• Moving forward

30. Key Takeaways:
1. Large Scale Agility is what?
2. Work your way through the onion, even if it makes you cry
3. Remember: We’re all humans.