1. Distributed Agile
Mark Rickmeier
MRickmeier@ThoughtWorks.com
Matt Simons
Mtsimons@ThoughtWorks.com
© ThoughtWorks 2008

2. Why Distributed?
Why Agile?
Introductions
Agenda
The challenge
Questions
Distributed
Practices

3. Introductions
•
•
•
•
•
Name
Role
Agile experience
Distributed experience
Why you came today…

4. Market Trends Toward Distributed Development
© ThoughtWorks 2008

5. Distributed teams have become business as usual
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Shortage of local
expertise
• Centers of excellence
• Proximity to customers
• Labor arbitrage
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Outsourcing
Lines of business
Countries of operation
Joint development efforts
Open source
3rd-party Suppliers
24 x 7 development
What influences are you feeling on your project?

6. Distributed teams are today’s software supply chain
Services
Vendor
Package
Provider
Your software delivery effort
Domain
Experts
Offshore
Vendor
Internal IS
Team

7. Distribution Models
Dysfunctional
Developers Developers
Testers
Developers Developers
Analysts
Location 1
Testers
Customers Customers
Analysts
Location 2
© ThoughtWorks 2008
Customers Customers
Location 3

8. Distribution Models
Developers
Testers
Functioning
Customers
Analysts
Customers
Analysts
Dysfunctional
Developers
Testers
Developers Developers
Testers
Developers Developers
Analysts
Location 1
Testers
Customers Customers
Analysts
Location 2
© ThoughtWorks 2008
Customers Customers
Location 3

9. Distribution Models
Developers
Testers
Most Effective
Developers
Testers
Functioning
Customers
Developers
Analysts
Testers
Developers Developers
Testers
Developers Developers
Analysts
Customers
Analysts
Customers
Analysts
Customers
Dysfunctional
Testers
Location 1
Developers
Analysts
Testers
Customers Customers
Analysts
Location 2
© ThoughtWorks 2008
Customers Customers
Location 3

10. Market Trends toward Agile
© ThoughtWorks 2008

11. Agile Manifesto - 2001
•
In 2001, industry leaders meet
and decide to name a family of
methodologies “Agile”
•
“We are uncovering better ways
of developing software by doing
it and helping others do it.”
While there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
Individuals and interactions
over
Process and Tools
Working software
over
Comprehensive Documentation
Customer collaboration
over
Contract negotiation
Responding to change
over
Following a plan

12. Summary of Agile Best Practices
•
•
All activities are
aligned to deliver
business value
•
12
Best practices
followed by highly
effective
development teams
Drive efficiency,
productivity and
quality

13. Distributed Agile?
Sure, Agile is great but. . .
It is ad hoc and undisciplined
No one writes any documents
It only works for small teams
You have to be co-located
Key Principle:
In a distributed scenario, the technical benefits of Agile development
remain unaltered and the communication and team practices directly
mitigate the primary risks of distributed development.

14. Distributed Agile?
Sure, Agile is great but. . .
It is ad hoc and undisciplined
No one writes any documents
It only works for small teams
You have to be co-located
Key Principle:
In a distributed scenario, the technical benefits of Agile development
“ Agile isn’t just applicable in the distributed context – its ideal.”
remain unaltered and the communication and team practices directly
mitigate the primary risks of distributed development.

15. Key Risks with Distribution
© ThoughtWorks 2008

16. Succeeding with distributed teams is harder

17. What are the Risks of Distributed Software Development?
© ThoughtWorks 2008

18. Four Risk Areas of Distributed Software Development
•
Communication Breakdown
– Poor handoffs
– Introduce down time / waste in process
•
Team Issues
– Lack of trust between teams
– Low morale / high turnover on teams
•
Communication
Release Plan
& Execution
Lack of visibility
– Unforeseen risks
– Unknown progress, status, etc
– Hard to make the right decisions in time
•
Release Planning and Execution
– Slipped delivery dates
– Missed requirements / implemented incorrect functionality
– Divergent estimates / incorrect release plan
© ThoughtWorks 2008
Visibility
Trust

19. Mitigating Distributed Risks Through Agile
© ThoughtWorks 2008

20. Making Distributed Development Work
People
Communication
Release
Planning
Trust
Visibility
Tools
Practices
© ThoughtWorks 2008

21. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

22. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

23. Redundant Roles by location
Developer
Business Analyst
Test Analyst
Project Manager
Project Manager
IterationManager
Developer
Business Analyst
© ThoughtWorks 2008
Test Analyst

24. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

25. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

26. Local Customer Proxy
Developer
(Co-Driver)
Developer
(Driver)
Business
Analyst
26

27. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

28. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

29. Daily Stand-Ups and
Handoffs
“Yesterday, I …”
“Problems …”
“Today, I ...”
29

30. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

31. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

32. Useful Tools for Distribution
Comms
Infrastructure
Multi-View
Webcams
CI and Build Pipeline
Messaging Tools
Wiki and Collaboration Tools
Interactive Whiteboards
© ThoughtWorks 2008

33. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Improving Communication
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Daily Stand up
Wiki
Cross Pollination
Distributed Meeting 101
Star phones
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Retrospectives
Video Conference
Key Role: IM
Showcases
Smart Boards
Key Role: Tech Liaison
Team core hours
IM / Skype
Key Role: Domain Expert
Agile Principles
Virtual Card Walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Agile Tracking / Metrics
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Build Pipeline
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

34. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Team, Morale, and Trust
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Showcases
Agile Tracking Tools
Overlap Time
Co-located release plan
Key metrics
Cross Pollination
Retrospectives
Collaboration tools
Team outings
Agile principles
Communication tools
Understanding customs
Daily Handoff
Digital Camera / Video
Personal relationships
Culture of feedback
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

35. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Team, Morale, and Trust
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Showcases
Agile Tracking Tools
Overlap Time
Co-located release plan
Key metrics
Cross Pollination
Retrospectives
Collaboration tools
Team outings
Agile principles
Communication tools
Understanding customs
Daily Handoff
Digital Camera / Video
Personal relationships
Culture of feedback
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

36. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery of
valuable software.
Working software is the primary measure of
progress.
Welcome changing requirements, even late in
development. Agile processes harness change
for the customer's competitive advantage.
Deliver working software frequently, from a
couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale.
Agile processes promote sustainable development.
The sponsors, developers, and users should be able
to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Continuous attention to technical excellence
and good design enhances agility.
12 Principles
Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.
Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount
of work not done--is essential.
The best architectures, requirements, and designs
emerge from self-organizing teams.
Build projects around motivated individuals.
Give them the environment and support they
need, and trust them to get the job done.
The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on how
to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behavior accordingly.
© ThoughtWorks 2008

37. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Team, Morale, and Trust
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Showcases
Agile Tracking Tools
Overlap Time
Co-located release plan
Key metrics
Cross Pollination
Retrospectives
Collaboration tools
Team outings
Agile principles
Communication tools
Understanding customs
Daily Handoff
Digital Camera / Video
Personal relationships
Culture of feedback
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

38. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Team, Morale, and Trust
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Showcases
Agile Tracking Tools
Overlap Time
Co-located release plan
Key metrics
Cross Pollination
Retrospectives
Collaboration tools
Team outings
Agile principles
Communication tools
Understanding customs
Daily Handoff
Digital Camera / Video
Personal relationships
Culture of feedback
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

39. Cross Pollination
© ThoughtWorks 2008

40. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Team, Morale, and Trust
People
Process
Tools
Dining Room Tables
Showcases
Agile Tracking Tools
Overlap Time
Co-located release plan
Key metrics
Cross Pollination
Retrospectives
Collaboration tools
Team outings
Agile principles
Communication tools
Understanding customs
Daily Handoff
Digital Camera / Video
Personal relationships
Culture of feedback
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

41. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Estimation and Release Planning
People
Process
Tools
Cross Pollination
Planning Meeting 101
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Home and Away
Co-located release planning
Agile tracking / metrics
Product Visioning
Project Inception
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

42. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Estimation and Release Planning
People
Process
Tools
Cross Pollination
Planning Meeting 101
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Home and Away
Co-located release planning
Agile tracking / metrics
Product Visioning
Project Inception
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

43. Co-located Release Planning

44. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Estimation and Release Planning
People
Process
Tools
Cross Pollination
Planning Meeting 101
Story / Bug Tracking tool
Home and Away
Co-located release planning
Agile tracking / metrics
Product Visioning
Project Inception
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

45. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Visibility
People
Process
Tools
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Showcases
Virtual card walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Retrospectives
Story tracking tool
Cross Pollination of team
Iteration Planning Meetings
Defect tracking tool
Incremental delivery
Build pipeline
Prioritized business backlog
Continuous Integration
Code quality metrics
Test planning / tracking tools
Agile metrics and tracking
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

46. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Visibility
People
Process
Tools
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Showcases
Virtual card walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Retrospectives
Story tracking tool
Cross Pollination of team
Iteration Planning Meetings
Defect tracking tool
Incremental delivery
Build pipeline
Prioritized business backlog
Continuous Integration
Code quality metrics
Test planning / tracking tools
Agile metrics and tracking
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

47. Visibility: Appropriate Tools for Project Tracking

48. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Visibility
People
Process
Tools
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Showcases
Virtual card walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Retrospectives
Story tracking tool
Cross Pollination of team
Iteration Planning Meetings
Defect tracking tool
Incremental delivery
Build pipeline
Prioritized business backlog
Continuous Integration
Code quality metrics
Test planning / tracking tools
Agile metrics and tracking
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

49. Best Practices for Distributed Agile
Visibility
People
Process
Tools
Redundant Roles (UFOs)
Showcases
Virtual card walls
Key Role: Customer Proxy
Retrospectives
Story tracking tool
Cross Pollination of team
Iteration Planning Meetings
Defect tracking tool
Incremental delivery
Build pipeline
Prioritized business backlog
Continuous Integration
Code quality metrics
Test planning / tracking tools
Agile metrics and tracking
Communication
Release Planning
& Execution
Visibility
Trust

50. Visibility: Real Time Useful Metrics

51. Best practices reinforce each other to mitigate risks
© ThoughtWorks 2008

52. Next Discussion
• Anti-Patterns / Bad Smells
– Things to watch out for, when distributed agile goes wrong…
• Things you didn’t see coming & frequent “gotcha’s”
– What critical mistakes we’ve made and won’t make again
• Is it worth it for my project?
– Which projects are best suited for distribution? Which are not?
– How can I estimate the true cost of distribution? Will it outweigh
the benefit?
© ThoughtWorks 2008

53. Distributed Agile
Questions?
© ThoughtWorks 2008