Do you need Agile: 5 models to test
Children born on the Agile Manifesto signing year celebrate coming of age this year. And adults continue to argue where Agile is applicable. Usually hit by area: is it possible to use Agile outside IT. Sometimes dramas are added: have you tried building an Agile nuclear power plant? For an artistic effect, this is certainly better. But if you want to make a product, and not win the competition of speakers, it is better to look in relation to a specific situation.
In this article, we will talk about several Agile applicability assessment models and dwell on one of them - the Agile Suitability Model, presented in the Agile Practice Guide from the PMI and Agile Alliance.
In 1994, the DSDM consortium developed the Project Suitability Filter (PSF) and Organization Suitability Filter (OSF) questionnaires, which were used to evaluate how flexible the project and organization were and to identify potential sources of problems.
The Agile Business Consortium is now hosting the DSDM Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ) . This is a list of 17 statements that identify the risks of using DSDM. Statements concern the understanding of the philosophy and practices of DSDM, the observance of roles in the team. It makes sense to familiarize yourself if you already understand the approach.
Alistair Cockburn used the “system criticality” and “team size” indicators to show which of the Crystal family methods should be applied depending on a combination of factors. Criticality refers to the level of damage that can be done if something goes wrong. Alistar explains the meaning of the model in his speech at TEDx.
Boehm and Turner - Radar Chart
In this model, 5 criteria are used to evaluate, and the results are applied to the petal chart.
The authors suggest to evaluate:
The model can be built online - you move the sliders and get a diagram.
The model is used to evaluate the project in terms of uncertainty.
The vertical axis indicates whether it is clear what we want to do. The horizontal axis shows whether we understand how to achieve this.
Axes form four domains into which a project can fall: simple, complex, complex, and chaos. After defining the domain, you can choose the approach.
You can read about other models, for example, from Mike Griffiths , one of the developers of DSDM and the Agile Practice Guide. And we move on to the Agile Suitability Model, which is a synthesis of the models described above.
Several people, ideally including a sponsor, team and customer representatives, answer questions grouped into 3 domains:
The group should discuss the issue, come to a general assessment and put it on the petal (radar) chart. (it can be downloaded ). Let's go over the questions.
Support: Does the project sponsor (curator) support the use of flexible methods on this project?
NB If the sponsor says “do what you want” - this is not support yet.
Trust: Consider the project sponsor and customer representatives working with the team. Do these stakeholders think that the team will be able to transform their vision and needs for a product or service - with their support and constant feedback?
If at the entrance you are greeted with TK as thick as war and peace, and at the exit a commission with gloomy faces and report protection awaits you - this is a very bad sign. Think it over.
Decisions: Will the team have autonomy in making local decisions to carry out work in the project?
One of my acquaintances advised someone to “implement agile”. Knowing the specifics of the company, I asked if it had already hung a board on the wall. The girl in shock said that they should not hang boards on the walls.
If you cannot decide for yourself whether it is possible to hang boards on the walls, do not count on autonomy. This word is not about you.
Team size: Estimate the size of the main project team on the following scale:
1-9 = 1; 10-20 = 2; 21-30 = 3; 31-45 = 4; 46-60 = 5; 61-80 = 6; 81-110 = 7; 111-150 = 8; 151-200 = 9; 201+ = 10.
Perhaps in a 100+ team it will be a little more difficult with self-organization;)
Experience: Review the experience and skills of key roles in the team. Does the team have one experienced team member for each role?
The trainee with whom you close all the holes is not considered.
Access: Will the team have daily access to at least one customer / business representative to receive feedback and answer questions?
Do not fantasize. Remember how it was the last time.
Changes: What percentage of requirements will possibly change every month?
It’s useful to recall the Stacey Complexity Model. If nothing changes for you, then why do you need flexibility?
Criticality: Consider the losses that may occur due to defects, determine how the failure can end.
It’s not always possible to just pick up and fix bugs. Physical objects are especially bad.
Delivery: Can a product be developed and evaluated in parts? Will customer / business representatives be able to provide timely feedback on increments?
The increment should be ready for use, and not just for display on a demo.
At the end, the points are connected to the values.
Focused results show commitment to agility. Results in the hybrid zone show the possibility of combining a flexible and predictive approach. The farther the results are from the center, the higher the probability that the optimal approach is predictive. It is likely that your chart will have extremes in both directions.
The main thing is not to perceive the results as a medical diagnosis. This is the starting point for analyzing the current situation and further work on the changes, if they are required.
Co-author lera_ilenkova
In this article, we will talk about several Agile applicability assessment models and dwell on one of them - the Agile Suitability Model, presented in the Agile Practice Guide from the PMI and Agile Alliance.
DSDM Suitability Filter
In 1994, the DSDM consortium developed the Project Suitability Filter (PSF) and Organization Suitability Filter (OSF) questionnaires, which were used to evaluate how flexible the project and organization were and to identify potential sources of problems.
The Agile Business Consortium is now hosting the DSDM Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ) . This is a list of 17 statements that identify the risks of using DSDM. Statements concern the understanding of the philosophy and practices of DSDM, the observance of roles in the team. It makes sense to familiarize yourself if you already understand the approach.
Alistair Cockburn's Criticality and Team Size Factors
Alistair Cockburn used the “system criticality” and “team size” indicators to show which of the Crystal family methods should be applied depending on a combination of factors. Criticality refers to the level of damage that can be done if something goes wrong. Alistar explains the meaning of the model in his speech at TEDx.
Boehm and Turner - Radar Chart
In this model, 5 criteria are used to evaluate, and the results are applied to the petal chart.
The authors suggest to evaluate:
- Staff training level
- Percentage of requirements that change monthly
- The culture
- Team size
- Criticality (as in the previous model)
The model can be built online - you move the sliders and get a diagram.
Stacey complexity model
The model is used to evaluate the project in terms of uncertainty.
The vertical axis indicates whether it is clear what we want to do. The horizontal axis shows whether we understand how to achieve this.
Axes form four domains into which a project can fall: simple, complex, complex, and chaos. After defining the domain, you can choose the approach.
You can read about other models, for example, from Mike Griffiths , one of the developers of DSDM and the Agile Practice Guide. And we move on to the Agile Suitability Model, which is a synthesis of the models described above.
Agile suitability model
How it works
Several people, ideally including a sponsor, team and customer representatives, answer questions grouped into 3 domains:
- Culture - how does the environment contribute to the approach?
- Team - can the team itself take advantage of the approach?
- Project - what about the project itself? How necessary and possible to be flexible?
The group should discuss the issue, come to a general assessment and put it on the petal (radar) chart. (it can be downloaded ). Let's go over the questions.
Domain “Culture”
Support: Does the project sponsor (curator) support the use of flexible methods on this project?
NB If the sponsor says “do what you want” - this is not support yet.
Trust: Consider the project sponsor and customer representatives working with the team. Do these stakeholders think that the team will be able to transform their vision and needs for a product or service - with their support and constant feedback?
If at the entrance you are greeted with TK as thick as war and peace, and at the exit a commission with gloomy faces and report protection awaits you - this is a very bad sign. Think it over.
Decisions: Will the team have autonomy in making local decisions to carry out work in the project?
One of my acquaintances advised someone to “implement agile”. Knowing the specifics of the company, I asked if it had already hung a board on the wall. The girl in shock said that they should not hang boards on the walls.
If you cannot decide for yourself whether it is possible to hang boards on the walls, do not count on autonomy. This word is not about you.
Domain “Team”
Team size: Estimate the size of the main project team on the following scale:
1-9 = 1; 10-20 = 2; 21-30 = 3; 31-45 = 4; 46-60 = 5; 61-80 = 6; 81-110 = 7; 111-150 = 8; 151-200 = 9; 201+ = 10.
Perhaps in a 100+ team it will be a little more difficult with self-organization;)
Experience: Review the experience and skills of key roles in the team. Does the team have one experienced team member for each role?
The trainee with whom you close all the holes is not considered.
Access: Will the team have daily access to at least one customer / business representative to receive feedback and answer questions?
Do not fantasize. Remember how it was the last time.
Domain “Project”
Changes: What percentage of requirements will possibly change every month?
It’s useful to recall the Stacey Complexity Model. If nothing changes for you, then why do you need flexibility?
Criticality: Consider the losses that may occur due to defects, determine how the failure can end.
It’s not always possible to just pick up and fix bugs. Physical objects are especially bad.
Delivery: Can a product be developed and evaluated in parts? Will customer / business representatives be able to provide timely feedback on increments?
The increment should be ready for use, and not just for display on a demo.
results
At the end, the points are connected to the values.
Focused results show commitment to agility. Results in the hybrid zone show the possibility of combining a flexible and predictive approach. The farther the results are from the center, the higher the probability that the optimal approach is predictive. It is likely that your chart will have extremes in both directions.
The main thing is not to perceive the results as a medical diagnosis. This is the starting point for analyzing the current situation and further work on the changes, if they are required.
Co-author lera_ilenkova
All Articles