program selection system

Metrics can backfire. They are useful for both self assessment and retrospectives. But experience since 2002 with 80 teams at IBM has shown it’s not just a matter of finding the right metrics. It’s important to use them properly, and avoid common pitfalls, including bloated metrics, the evil scorecard, lessons forgotten, forcing process, and inconsistent sharing. Turning assessments into “un-assessments” returns power back to the team. Instead of defining more metrics, this paper tells how not to misuse them.

Any successful recording artist eventually submits to releasing a “Greatest Hits” album. This is the opposite: a beat-up XP coach putting his biggest and furthest-reaching mistakes in a neat package and releasing them to the public. This talk could also be named “Ten ways to guarantee your Agile transition is a total failure”, or “Apologies of an XP coach”; however I’m sure I’ll mention more than ten mistakes and I make no apology for them.

ORIGINAL SUMMARY:

Rich will answer business leadership questions such as…
* “Why should I pay for two to do the job of one?”
* “Why should I pay for unit testing? Get it right the first time!”
* “We paid for the cubes and now you want me to take them down?”
* “Why do we have to visit weekly, didn’t you read our requirements document?”
* “How could people work in a loud environment like yours?”
* “If you use paired programming, how can you tell who the best programmers are?”

Presentation Description

The true measure of project progress is working software - or is it? Our team thought it was, and we were wrong. This is the story of our team, a team that set out to build a new order tracking system for a worldwide vehicle manufacturer, and failed.

What exactly is THE reason Agile adoption fails sometimes and succeeds in others? We’re not quite sure. So why this talk?

Well, we do know some things:
1) The reasons tend to be people-centered.
2) It probably has something to do with human nature and not Agile in specific.
3) Most of us are unaware of the problems.

So, this talk introduces the work of three others from the business/management domain that ring true:
1) Responsibility Redefined
2) The Responsibility Virus 3) The Ladder of Inference

For the past three years I have conducted surveys via Dr. Dobb’s Journal (www.ddj.com) into various aspects of agile software development. I’ve explored issues such as the adoption rate of agile, the effectiveness of agile approaches, the effectiveness of various techniques, the effectiveness of combining agile with CMMI, amongst others. I’ve discovered that what occurs in many organizations isn’t always what you hear about on some of the mailing lists or read about in articles and books. This presentation presents the critical survey findings and explores several interesting trends.

To become Agile, your organization will undergo a large, risky and difficult change. Many adopters who report success also tell of struggle and hurdles. Do you know where your risks and pitfalls are? Are you aware of the forces – within people, teams and the entire organization – that could derail your efforts? Come to this tutorial to learn where to look and how to prepare. And beyond managing risks and preparing a transition plan, you’ll discover the critical factors and strategies for reaping the full benefits of Agility.

Audience
This tutorial is intended for leaders and managers (at any organizational level) who are contemplating Agility, starting to implement it or have already used it for a few months. They are expected to have a basic understanding of the Agile premises, principles and practices, as well as an appreciation for the current issues their organizations face.

Benefits
Attendees will come away with a clear picture of the pitfalls and risks that accompany Agile adoption and a sense of how they apply in their situation. They will hear and share strategies and tactics for reducing or avoiding them. They will also discover the factors to turn Agile implementations to streamlined, high-performing operations and share with their fellow attendees, methods and approaches to attaining them.