Avoiding the 2 week waterfall

Avoiding the 2-Week Waterfall!
Common Scrum pitfalls and how to tackle them
Matt Philips (@MappFelix)

Bump, bump, bump
“Here is Edward Bear,
coming downstairs now,
bump, bump, bump, on the
back of his head, behind
Christopher Robin. It is, as far
as he knows, the only way of
coming downstairs, but
sometimes he feels that
there really is another way, if
only he could stop bumping
for a moment and think of it.
And then he feels that
perhaps there isn't.”

Avoid the Cargo Cult
! Scrum is easy to learn
but hard to master
! Work for Scrum, else it
will not work for you

Leverage Change Facilitators
We want the benefits. But…
We do the “bad” stuff.
! Solidify the basics
! Look for pitfalls
! Use change facilitators to
reinforce and grow your
practice

Earn the Benefits of Scrum
! Working software every 2 weeks!
! Less waste
! Happier customers
! Engaged delivery teams
! Poised to respond to change

Get Centered on 5 Values
! Focus
! Courage
! Openness
! Commitment
! Respect

4 Ceremonies
! Retrospective
! Sprint Review
! Sprint Planning
! Daily Stand-up

3+ roles
Roles of Scrum
Product
Owner
Team
Scrum
Master
Stakeholders
(not officially part
of scrum)

2 (to 4) week iterations
! Rhythm
! Accountability
! Visibility
! Planning
! Inspect-and-Adapt

(Remember, this is what we want)
! Less waste
! Happier customers

#5: Splitting stories such that value is lost

Set Guidelines
! Tighten up Ceremonies
! Have a DoD
! Set WIP limits
! Use the Agile Manifesto

Re-Think the Teams
! Grow T-shaped teams
! “Three Amigos” and story acceptance
! Re-organize teams
! Swarm more

Re-Think the Backlog
! One backlog to rule them all
! Problem-based approach to stories
! Write lean stories

Re-Think the Toolset
! Automate redundant, manual, time consuming tasks
! Math and data are your friends
! Use visual controls
I pity the fool who breaks the WIPs

Check your head
! Ask “why.” Or “why not?”
! Try new things
! Live the daily burn-down
! Explore the “5 whys”
! Ask “why” some more.

(We still want these, right?)
! Less waste
! Happier customers

Scrum Amplification Mad-Lib
Signs of Success Indications of Failure
Scrum Ampliﬁcation Worksheet
Challenge Identification
Which problem or situation is keeping you from realizing the benefits of Scrum? (If multiple, which will you
focus on first)
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Inspection
In this situation, which Scrum value is lacking, or
could be leveraged to help improve the workflow?
Is there a particular ceremony or event where this
could be addressed?
Which Scrum role is best positioned to champion this effort? What allies, change agents, or supporters
can help drive this change?
Which phrase of portion of manifesto most
resonates as the reason for the change?
How much time is needed to experiment with
making this change? (# of sprints, timebox)
Change Facilitators
Which change facilitator could be most
helpful and which is do you have the
most influence over?
Who can help you implement the
change?
What timeframe(s) do you need?
Visualize the implementation; List possible
indicators that the experiment is waning:
Visualize the implementation; List possible
indicators that the experiment is working:
If working, what could you do to amplify the
success?
What recovery strategies can you use to get the
experiment back on track?
@MappFelix

Disrupt yourself, or be disrupted

Keep in Touch
! What did you learn?
! Follow-up on your plans.
! Start a conversation:
–  @MappFelix
–  Matt.Phillips@DigitalTurbine.com
–  Matt.Phillips@Appia.com

Avoiding the 2 week waterfall

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