Scott Ambler gave the keynote at Agile Tour Toronto this past Fall. As a conference organizer I only caught part of it, but still there were some useful perspectives that I wanted to share. Scott’s presentation is here.

Scaling Factors are about the kinds of things that make software projects more difficult (whether using Agile or not). Each of these factors require additional considerations that are outside of basic Agile practice. I find this a nice way of thinking about project complexity since this directly maps to the challenge with adopting Agile.

There are no repeatable projects.

There are no repeatable projects. I thought that was worth repeating since a lot of organizations still don’t understand that each project has a distinct signature and may require a different approach: Standardization is a good recipe for failure. Reading between the lines this seems to be a shot at PMO’s that are mandated to standardize software delivery.

This fall, I had an opportunity to hear J.B. Rainsberger give an interesting, entertaining and educational talk – Introduction to Agile via Theory of Constraints.  (The same talk was given at Agile Tour Toronto, but my notes are based on an earlier talk at a client site.)

If we think about our software group as the system under study (photo – top left), then the primary measure of productivity is running tested features. (i.e. in production). The key question is how can we maximize our throughput while holding steady or minimizing inventory and operating expense. The theory of constraints is largely about the hunt for the bottleneck in the system. In J.B.’s opinion, learning is the biggest bottleneck. (I usually say communication is the bottleneck but this seems roughly equivalent).

How do we subordinate learning as a bottleneck? Some practices (photo – right) that help are working in pairs, sitting together, using estimates as budgets.

I can’t remember where this fit in, but J.B. had a great example of managing scope that he referred to as dimensional planning (photo – bottom right).  It involved looking at different versions of a car that could be delivered: Lada, Toyota, Lexus. The point is to do a quality job with whatever you do, but you may not do all the features to get a top of the line solution.

A big part of the talk was about using queuing theory to explain TDD, BDD (photo – left). J.B. has a write-up that covers part of the talk on his website. It is a nice explanation although it does stretch a bit thin from my understanding of queuing theory.

BTW, one of the best parts of the talk is watching J.B. at work with his tablet laptop which he uses like a gigantic whiteboard.  It’s a way more dynamic than slideware.

Below are the slides from my first presentation at AgileTourToronto. This is a new one I prepared to communicate Agile to C-Level Management.

Agile Executive Briefing – Situational Assessment and 50,000ft view of Agile

The first part of this presentation is a situational assessment of typical challenges in IT project delivery using the SCRAP (Situation, Complication, Resolution, Action, Proof) model. This is essentially a business case for Agile. So if you are looking for ways to get buy-in for Agile, then this is a good place to start.

The second part of the presentation shows you what Agile is from 50,000 ft. From this high up, we’ll be covering the essential elements from a business and management perspective. We’ll cover what Agile is, what it does, how it works and what it achieves.

Each of the parts can be used independently so you may use the first part to get buy-in or the second part as a high-level introduction.

Slides on Slideshare

Below are the slides from my first presentation at AgileTourToronto. It is based on ideas from Alistair Cockburn (among others) and has been a work-in-progress since I started sharing Agile ideas in 2002.

Presentation Overview

There are a lot of choices and alternatives for getting started with Agile. It can be confusing. This talk will give you a brief guided tour of Agile methodologies so that you have some understanding of how they are similar and how they differ. We’ll cover some of the history of iterative development and waterfall as well as the Agile Manifesto to provide context. At the end of this, you will have an understanding of key principles and the Agile landscape.

Slides on Slideshare

A Gentle Introduction To Agile

Agile Tour Toronto 2009 is over and it was an outstanding success! There were 150+ participants, 17 great speakers and lot’s of learning and sharing.  It is really great to see all of our efforts as organizers come together in an amazing conference.

On a personal note, I met lot’s of new people and had a number of interesting discussions and exchange of ideas. We are definitely going to do something for next year and make this an annual event to grow Agile in the Toronto area.

All the presentations will be appearing at DZone over the next several months.  To cover this gap, we are going to publish whatever slides we can directly on our website.  Mine are here: A Gentle Introduction to Agile and Agile Executive Briefing.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this a big success.

Partner Workshops

On Monday and Wednesday, I had the privilege of training together with Yves Hanoulle to run two Agile workshops: KickStart (XP) and Games Day.  It was a great experience for me and for the participants.  Pairing works.  Even for training and coaching.  Who knew?  Yves, i guess So, now I am actively looking to pair with other trainers/coaches.