20 things I wish I had known about Lean-Agile Delivery when I started

@AndyBirds@AndyBirds
Hello!
I’m Andy Birds
@AndyBirds
Deep Dream Generator is a platform where you can transform photos using a powerful AI algorithms
http://deepdreamgenerator.com/

We help our clients harness
technology, to create compelling
business opportunities

We are a global business with a local presence
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20 things I wish I had
known about
Lean-Agile Delivery
when I started

@AndyBirds @AndyBirds
PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES
Share some of my learnings, with the hope that I will:
✓ give you some new ideas
✓ encourage you to want to learn more
✓ inspire you try something new
To achieve the above I’m going to cover one thing a
minute it is intended to be a broad and shallow overview
(not deep) - it’s going to be jam-packed and pacey

Focus on delivering value
quickly by delivering in small
steps, which reduces risk
Lean-AgileWaterfall
Time
Key
Value delivered
Risk
Time

Scrum
Kanban
LeSS
Nexus
DAD
SAFe
Lean
Six
Sigma
XP
Scrumban
Lean
UX
PRINCE2
Agile
#1. Stop boring
stakeholders with talk
about Lean, Agile, Scrum,
Kanban, etc...
Help people solve their problems
and reach their goals
Lean
Software
Development
Lean
Start-up
DSDM

#2. Solve the right
problem. Go and see the
problem
It’s far worse to solve the wrong
problem than to build the wrong
solution to the right problem
1st WHY?
2nd WHY?
3rd WHY?
4th WHY?
5th WHY?

#3. Understand the vision
- ensure you are working
towards a clear goal that
aligns to the vision
Stay firm on goals but flexible on
how to achieve them
VISION
GOAL GOAL GOAL
BET BET
INITIATIVE INITIATIVE INITIATIVE
BETBET

#4. Focus on the outcome,
not the output.
Concentrate on the
direction, not the path
Invest in long-lived Product teams
and don’t let Capex and Opex be
puppet strings
“If you don’t
know where you
want to go, then
it doesn’t
matter which
path you take.”

#5. Powerful strategies
are those driven by action
Create continuous flow between
your strategy, desired outcomes,
delivery and the experience of your
customers
6. MEASURE
VALUE
(outcomes not
output)
1. EXECUTIVE
VISION &
STRATEGY
(outcome based)
5. LEAN-AGILE
DELIVERY
3. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT &
LIGHTWEIGHT GOVERNANCE
(value based investment)
2. DEMAND &
PRIORITISATION
(own the outcome /
shape the
approach)
4. EVOLUTIONARY
ARCHITECTURE
(actionable thin slice)
VISION
G G G
B B BB
Autonomous
Outcome
Orientated
Teams
Accelerated
Cycle Time
through
Iterative
Incremental
Creation
CUSTOMER

#6. Strategy = Delivery
Delivery = Teams
Teams = People
It’s all about the people.
‘Business’ and ‘Technology’ are
inextricably linked
VISION
STRATEGIC GOAL /
OUTCOME
HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS

#7. Build a team of
motivated people
People who feel good about
themselves produce better results
MASTERY
AUTONOMY
PURPOSE
MOTIVATION

#8. Value T-shaped people
(multidisciplinary)
It's more important to get a story
through to "Done" rather than have
multiple stories in progress
Breadth of knowledge
Depthof
expertise
Capability Level
1
2
3
4
5
HORIZONTAL:
Ability to understand multiple disciplines
VERTICAL:
Depthofunderstandinginthe
discipline

#9. Shape and size of the
team matters
Teams should be cross-functional
and poly-skilled. Typically 7 people
(plus or minus 2). Maybe more but
try to keep less than 10

#10. Create a culture
where people enjoy
learning
Build in slack time. Encourage
learning opportunities: Pairing,
Communities of Practice & Interest,
Lean Coffee, Lunch & Learns
(Lightning Talks, PechaKucha), Fika
(Breakfast Catch-up), 1-to-1s, Book
Clubs, 20% time, Katas & Dojos, etc
THE DREYFUS MODEL OF SKILL ACQUISITION

#11. Culture first, strategy
second. And don’t forget
culture starts with your
behaviour
Don’t wait for someone with a title to
make things better.
Exhibit the behaviour you would like
to see in your leaders

#12. Ruthlessly prioritise
and focus on the
economics
80% of value is in 20% of features.
Use of ‘Cost of Delay’ and ‘Weighted
Shortest Job First’ analysis
Priority =
JOB SIZE
+ BUSINESS
VALUE
CUSTOMER
VALUE X URGENCY( )
0 - 10 0 - 10 1 - 3
Fibonacci
1 - 21
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
New items are prioritised
and added to the
backlog
Items can be
re-prioritised when new
information is available
Items can be removed at
any time
Prioritised
High
Low
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM
WORK ITEM

#13. Stop starting and
start finishing
Limit Work In Progress (WIP) and
improve your bottleneck(s) - you can
only go as fast as slowest part of the
system
Source: Paul Downey

#14. What gets measured
gets managed done
Regular measurement and reporting
keeps you focused - use that
information to make decisions and
to improve your results
FEATURE
VELOCITY
New features
completed in a
certain interval
LEAD & CYCLE
TIME
Elapsed time when
work starts until it's
done
POTENTIALLY
SHIPPABLE TIME
How frequently can
you put things live?
“CONCEPT TO
CASH”
From idea to benefit
realisation
ACTIVITYMETRICS
AVERAGE
REVENUE PER
CUSTOMER
contribution to
revenue
NET
PROMOTER
SCORE (NPS)
gauge loyalty of
customers
CUSTOMER
ACQUISITION
COST (CAC)
Cost to attract
each customer
CHURN RATE
Stickiness of the
customer base
OUTCOMEMETRICS

#15. Ensure the work is
visible. Visualise anything
that helps solve problems
and meet your goals
Don’t underestimate the power of
post-its. Use visual management to
see constraints and opportunities
e.g. queues

#16. Complement your
Product Backlog with a
Product Roadmap
A Roadmap is a powerful tool to
define how a product will deliver
value over time, whilst maintaining
strategic direction
Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019
Name
Goal
Features
(Epics)
Metrics
Based on Roman Pichler's
GOAL ORIENTED PRODUCT ROADMAP
(with variable time horizon)
What are the key features which are
necessary to meet the goal?

#17. Iterative and
incremental delivery. Get
customers feedback early
and often
Use Lean Start-up and Lean UX
practices to get feedback quickly and
regularly. Minimise the
total time through the loop. Put the
customer at the heart of any
decisions
Build
Experiments
Measure
Metrics
Learn
Double-down,
Pivot or Fold
Ideas
Data
Product
Desirable
ViableFeasible

PRODUCT A
#18. Know the difference
between scaling,
deepening and broadening
Agile.
P.S. Don’t scale unless you
have to
Scaling = multiple teams working on
the same product
Deepening = teams using new
techniques
Broadening = more teams
Start
Building
Code
Focus on
Value
Deliver
Value
Optimise
Value
Optimise
for
Systems
Team Culture
Shift
Team Skills
Shift
Organisational
Structure Shift
Organisational
Cultural Shift
SCALING
PRODUCT A PRODUCT B PRODUCT C
BROADENINGDEEPENING

#19. Use vertical slicing to
enable faster delivery of
value
Vertical slicing is hard, but worth it.
Hack Conway's Law. Don’t have
component teams unless you must Usable
Valuable
Feasible
Usable
Valuable
Feasible
Like this
Not like
this
Delightful
Delightful

#20. Invest in the build
pipeline. Inspect and
adapt - tighten every
feedback loop
Invest in Continuous Delivery;
1-click-deploy to keep down costs.
<10-minute build to preserve fast
feedback. Canary Releases and
Blue-Green Deployments to reduce
risk. Feature flags to preserve
flexibility

@AndyBirds@AndyBirds 29
SUMMARY

MY TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS...
1. Focus on the outcome
2. Do less, do it better, do it more
frequently
3. Work with the customer
What are your top 3 takeaways?

SUGGESTED READING
Scrum: The
Art of Doing
Twice the
Work in Half
the Time by
Jeff
Sutherland
The Agile
Samurai: How
Agile Masters
Deliver Great
Software by
Jonathan
Rasmusson
The Lean
Startup: How
Constant
Innovation
Creates
Radically
Successful
Businesses by
Eric Ries
Lean
Enterprise:
How High
Performance
Organization
s Innovate at
Scale by Jez
Humble and
Joanne
Molesky
Running
Lean: Iterate
from Plan A
to a Plan
That Works
by Ash
Maurya
The Lean
Product
Playbook: How
to Innovate
with Minimum
Viable
Products and
Rapid
Customer
Feedback by
Dan Olsen
The Phoenix
Project: A
Novel about It,
Devops, and
Helping Your
Business Win
by Gene Kim
and Kevin Behr

FURTHER STUFF THAT’S AVAILABLE ONLINE
ThoughtWorks Insights – http://www.thoughtworks.com/insights
Scrum Alliance - https://www.scrumalliance.org/
Martin Fowler - http://martinfowler.com/
Mike Cohn - https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/
Jeff Patton - http://www.agileproductdesign.com/index.html
Jeff Sutherland - http://www.scruminc.com/category/blog/
Ron Jeffries - http://xprogramming.com/index.php
Ken Schwaber - http://kenschwaber.wordpress.com/
Roman Pichler - http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/
Spotify Engineering Culture Video:
Part 1 - https://labs.spotify.com/2014/03/27/spotify-engineering-culture-part-1/
Part 2 - https://labs.spotify.com/2014/09/20/spotify-engineering-culture-part-2/
Audible - Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time Hardcover by Jeff
Sutherland

THANKS FOR
LISTENING
Any questions or
comments?
You can find me at: abirds@thoughtworks.com or @AndyBirds

20 things I wish I had known about Lean-Agile Delivery when I started

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