Distributed Agile Teams

Nearshore Distributed Agile Teams

Agenda

o Brief intros / re-introductions (5 min)o Customer Needs (20 min)

• Describe org, team size(s), tools & methodology• Current barriers for delivering quality software?• Desired outcomes from an engagement with Velocity Partners

(capacity, quality of software delivered, better processes)?• Options you’ve tried or evaluated to resolve current barriers?• Project backlog sample?

o The Velocity Nearshore Solution (15 min)o Q&A / Applicability Discussion (10 min)o Next Steps as appropriate (5 min)


The Velocity Solution


Velocity Partners

o Established in 2004 as part of an Agile training companyo Spun out in 2007 as a stand-alone companyo Early adopter/innovator in Distributed Agileo HQ in Bellevue, WAo 400 employeeso Development Centers:

• Rosario, Argentina• Buenos Aires, Argentina• Paraná, Argentina• Montevideo, Uruguay• Medellin, Columbia


Is Your Team in the Dark?


Why South America?

o Time zoneo Demographics

• 100M people• Technical passion• Academic excellence• Travel friendly

o Excellent English• Both verbal and written

o Cultural similarity• “Western” business

style and etiquette


Why Velocity in South America?

o Pioneers in Distributed-Agile, with proven and referenceable track record

o Very low attrition from strong corporate culture

o Dedicated to ongoing training and career advancement

o U.S. managed with outstanding customer service


Superior Agile Development Processes


• Eliminate waste

• Focus on business value

• Focus on the customer

• Embrace change

• Daily standups

• Commitment

• Release and Iteration Planning

• Design Patterns

• Test Driven Development

• Continuous Integration

Quality Management at Velocity

o Culture of Quality• Quality courses required of all personnel• Quality integrated with Scrum processes• QA Manager supports and leads all quality engineers• Metrics reported to all clients

o Focus on Test Automation• Architecture and Plan: two-week quick start• What to automate and what not to automate• Variety of approaches considered: from off-the-shelf to

completely custom, from functional to BDD, etc.• Leverage popular frameworks: Selenium, Watir, QT Pro• Build for maintainability (can be handed to the client) and for

extensibility (supports both manual and automated QA staff)


Collaborative Sprint Planning


Cohesive Communication


Seamless Standups


Project Dashboard


Office Configuration



Course IntendedAudience

Goals Required For

Lean-AgileQuick Start

New hires High-level introduction to Lean and Agile concepts, focusing on why we use Lean-Agile

All employees unable to complete Lean-Agile I before working on first development sprint

Lean-Agile I: Overview New hires Understand Lean & Agile concepts and principles enough to begin working effectively on an Agile team

All employees working on a development sprint

Lean-Agile II: Scrum Processes

All employees Understand estimation, sprint planning, story elucidation, and WIP

All employees working on a development sprint

Lean-Agile III: Lean Processes

All employees Learn how Lean adds to Agile practices and use of specific Lean processes and tools (Kanban, Scrumban …)

All employees working on a development project utilizing Lean practices and tools

Lean-Agile Seminar All employees Question & Answer session on Lean and Agile practices

All employees who have participated in at least two development sprints

Software Quality Assurance

All employees Understand the principles and practices of SQA, including unit tests, coverage, TDD, functional testing tools, etc.

All employees within 3 months of hire

Design Quality All employees Understand how the use of design patterns and refactoring improves flexibility and maintainability

All employees within 6 months of hire

ScrumMaster Team Leads / Solutions Managers

Deep understanding of Lean & Agile and ability to effectively plan, facilitate, and execute sprints

Team Leads / Solutions Managers before assuming lead role

Low Risk Startup


Team Configuration Sprint Zero Best Practices

WorkshopTeam size Communicate goals Successful distributed

meetingsMix of client staff, Velocity

staff Identify leadership, roles Agile process in-depth

Discuss the nature of the work

Setup infrastructure/environment Tracking progress

Vital technical skills Tool selection, licenses Software quality practices

Desirable technical skills Share code samples Expected velocity

English expectations Schedule travel Definitions of Done

Ideal ramp up timeline Establish Product Backlog Role definition

Longer term team scale Standard Velocity Equipment Governance

Team Configurations


Client Successes


Focus on Performance


Farshore Models Velocity NearshoreProcess Overhead/Waterfall Agility

Handoffs Real time collaboration

Email threads Instant Messaging

Onsite PM costs & expenses Self organizing teams

Fractured communication Superior English

Attrition costs Continuity of resource

Early morning/nighttime meetings Voice/video Daily stand-ups during regular working hours

Effective productivity ~~ 40% Effective productivity ~~ 85%

Velocity Partners delivers value not just cost savings

Next Steps

o Q&A / Applicability Discussion o Next Steps as appropriate

- NDA - Copy of presentation- 2013 rate sheet- Technical roundtable- References- Team config/Sprint 0 - Proposal


Distributed Agile Teams

Documents

Transcript of Distributed Agile Teams