Successful Agile in

distributed team

Andy Wang, Harrison ZhengAgile Coach & Consultant

GCG Agile/DevOps CoE, IBM GBS

Andy Wang & Harrison Zheng

Agile Coach & Consultant

GCG Agile/DevOps CoE

IBM GBS GCG

2

Contact Information

• EMAIL: wbjwei@cn.ibm.com

• LinkedIn: https://cn.linkedin.com/in/andyweiwang

• WeChat : hrbendi

• Skype: hrbendi@hotmail.com

Contact Information

• EMAIL: zhzzheng@cn.ibm.com

• WeChat: Harrison-ZHZ

CSM, CSP, SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)Certified ICAgile Trainer

CSM, CSPO, PSM 1PMI-ACP

Openning

IT’s All about Communication !

Challenges in distributed development

The most efficient and effective

method of conveying information to

and within a development team is

face-to-face conversation.

Challenges in distributed mode

MelbourneMon 3:00 pm

PuneMon 9:30 am

Case Study

MPLSJIRA

Lync TV

Our client company includes insurance and banking across Australia and New Zealand.

The first Australia commercial project to IBM GDC China. Distributed Agile is something new to both parties.

IBM confidential

Goal of This Pack

Principle guiding the goal and vision

Distributed Delivery is the ability to leverage an Agile approach to specifically address the needs of geographically dispersed team.

We have a One Team culture and a single way of working across multiple locations…

Maximizing communication

Working togetherCommitment

TrustShared GoalCommon Vision

Goal is to identify tools, techniques, environments and practices to minimize the impact of distribution

End to End

Patterns of Distributed Teams

Allocate a complete work package to a co-located team for end to end delivery.Preferred

SingleBacklogOf Work

A

SingleBacklogOf Work

B

SydneyEnd to End

Delivery Team

MelbourneEnd to End

Delivery Team

PuneEnd to End

Delivery Team

Sydney

Analysis

Melbourne

Build

Pune

QA

Dispersed “team”

× Not

recommended

pattern.

Build capability in each location and

try to move to preferred model

Build capability in each location and

try to move to preferred model

On-Boarding and Induction

New joiners should learn by actively participating in the project rather than reading

documentation about it

3 Circles of training

There is no substitute for learning about another culture than through first hand experience.

Agile

fundamentals

Technology

Training

Domain

TrainingCultural

Awareness

Training

Way of working

Wall Set up and Distributed Social Contracts

Rotating ambassadors

John (Scrum Master)Desk: +61-123-456-789Mobile: +61-123-456-7890Office hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm PST=8:30pm-6:30am India time

Share your availability so that the team knows when to reach you

Teams, especially newly formed ones, should have a social contract Display it in a

prominent place for both on and off shore teamsThere is no generic social contract

to suit everyone. Each team should agree one specific to their needs.

Social

contracts

…

Delivery Process

Work DeployUpdate

ProgressWork Deploy

Update Progress

Daily Scrum

Work …

Wrap UpReady

DailyWork

DailyWork

DailyWork

DeploySprint

Planning… Review Retrospective

Run

SprintRelease Planning

Sprint Release

DeliverInitiateConcept

Lync TV

We use JIRA tool to synchronize our physical wall between Shanghai and Brisbane.

IBM confidential

Agile Ceremonies in distributed team

Dashboard

Planning Meeting If Geographically Distributed

Ensure the planning and estimation is done

together

Groom the backlog continuously and together with the partner

team

Product

ownerMust Prioritize

Estimate together

Use Confluence Wiki as much as possible to

exchange ideas, gather requirements

Sprint NSprint N-1

MelbourneMon 3:00 pm

PuneMon 9:30 am

Daily Scrum If Geographically Distributed

Common Stand up:

Applicable for small teams

Use video over plain audio where possible

Two patterns of stand up

Separate onshore/offshore Stand up:

Separate stand

up local time

Scrum of Scrums

between the leads at

a convenient time

MelbourneMon 3:00 pm

PuneMon 9:30 am

Melbourne Pune

MelbourneMon 3:00 pm

PuneMon 9:30 am

Review If Geographically Distributed

Use video over plainaudio

Shared responsibility is critical for success

Set up Reviews at mutually convenient time

Retrospective If Geographically Distributed

Use video over plain audio

A group retro for discussing and finalizing Top 3 goals for the project at a

convenient time

Each team will run separate retro at their local time and identify Top 3 items

Tip: Teams could share desktops, use smart boards

Large teams could use this pattern as well

Ensure to get security teams’

permission before using

any online tools

Melbourne Pune

Facilitation tips

Get to the meeting 10 minutes

early to set-up & test any

technology needed.

Encourage participation:

- Listen for attempts to speak

- Ask for opinions directly

- Monitor engagement with the topic

Ensure 1 conversation at all times.

Multiple conversations become noise

over telecommunication equipment.

Ensure everyone is on the same page

- Repeat/summarize conversation that

may not have been heard correctly

- Use shared whiteboards to visualize

what is being discussed.

Nominate a co-facilitator

on the remote site. Agree

on signals for when the

discussion isn’t clear or

attention is waning.

Measures of effectiveness

We have achieved targeted service level, met expectation in Agile partnering, and good client satisfaction.

Maturity

Velocity

Quality

Sustainability

Agile maturity assessment tool, quarterly all teams exercise.

Velocity tracking.

Minimizing the number of defects.

A sustainable model – rotation of Scrum Master role – increases

understanding of process and team capability.

Rotation model

Core team member:Deep understanding of the technology and application of his team, able to lead the others to success

Other team member:Good understanding of the technology and application, able to complete tasks with help from core team members

Core team members

40%

Non-core team

members

60%

Core team members

Non-Core team members

Team1

Core team members

Non-Core team members

Team 2

Rotation type 1:non-core team member rotationFrequency: 3 monthsPercentage: Max 30% of the team

Rotation type 2:core team member rotationFrequency: 6 monthsPercentage: Max 10% of the team

Individual Team structure

Rotation Model

Cross Domain

Cross Skill

Cross Role

IBM confidential

Hand offs in Geographically Distributed Teams

Melbourne team leaving late

Pune team arriving early

Minimize hand offsFind ways to get more time for

interaction between onshore/offshore

Overlap time 1.5 Hrs

Typical dayMelbourne

Pune

9 AM 5 PM

10 AM 6 PM

Overlap time 3.5 Hrs

Pattern: Come early/Leave Early

Melbourne

Pune

10 AM 7 PM

10 AM 6 PM

Overlap time 3.5 Hrs

Pattern: Come early/Leave Early

Melbourne

Pune

9 AM5 PM

8 AM 4 PM

Common Smells & Antipatterns

Lots of rework

Testing is done only in one location

Offshore teams not included in discussions/meetings

Lack of shared vision

Low energy/morale in offshore team

Too much of email communication and lack of in

person communication

Poor communication tools/technologies

Us and them mentality

Remote teams don’t have access to customersMultiple teams in same city

IBM confidential

Q&A

THANK YOU!

IBM confidential

Thank You