AGILE TRANSFORMATION AT XTRAKTER
INTRODUCTION
SPEAKERS
Gary Jones, Valtech
Alastair Brown, Valtech
Graeme Austin, Xtrakter
Gary Maplestone, Xtrakter
EXPERIENCE REPORT ON THE AGILE TRANSFORMATION AT XTRAKTER
INTRODUCTION
BUSINESS CASE FOR CHANGE – Graeme Austin
PROCESS FOR CHANGE – Gary Jones
SHAPING THE PROCESS - Gary Maplestone
THE POWER OF METRICS – Alastair Brown
QUESTIONS
XTRAKTER BUSINESS CASE
XTRAKTER OVERVIEW
Market infrastructure for bond trading
Transaction reporting conduit to the FSA
Primary data repository for European bond market
ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES
Silo mentality
Legacy culture from previous management
Preparing company for sale
Xtrakter is part of the Euroclear group of companies. Xtrakter is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the UK as an approved Service Company FRN: 491843
XTRAKTER TIMELINE 2007-2008
September 2007 Product management department formed
First analysis of product life cycle, soup to nuts
Issues around Velocity company-wide
October 2007 Time to market
Predictable quality
Predictable delivery
November 2007 onwards Prepare company for sale
September 2007 Product
life cycle begins
October 2007 First review of Waterfall
November 2007 Prepare
for Sale
Oct 2008 Health Check
Nov 2008 Sale
Agreement
January 2009 Selection of Consultancy
begins
XTRAKTER TIMELINE 2008-2009
October 2008
Revisit product development life cycle
Health check on Waterfall methodology
„There has to be a better way‟
November 2008
Sale and Purchase Agreement signed
January 2009
Agile consultancy beauty parade
September 2007 Product
life cycle begins
October 2007 First review of Waterfall
November 2007 Prepare
for Sale
Oct 2008 Health Check
Nov 2008 Sale
Agreement
January 2009 Selection of Consultancy
begins
BUSINESS CASE
DRIVERS
Product life cycle management
Predictable quality
Predictable delivery
CHALLENGES
Business case definition
Leadership team as aligned unit
Awareness change required
PROCESS FOR CHANGE
PROCCESS FOR CHANGE
Oct 2008 Xtrakter
Think About
Change
April 2009 Xtrakter Attend
Agile Edge
April 2009 Valtech
Assessment of Xtrakter
September 2009
Valtech Agile
Training
October 2009
Valtech Agile
Coaching
February 2010
Xtrakter Running
Solo
PROCCESS FOR CHANGE
SHAPING THE PROCESS
PRODUCT OWNER ENGAGEMENT
THE CHALLENGE New responsibilities for our Product Managers:
• Approval of minor product enhancements
• Single point of prioritisation
ACTIONS TAKEN Initially lots of business coaching from Valtech
Excellent support for the Agile transformation from the Director of Product Management
AGILE REQUIREMENTS
THE CHALLENGE
Requirements too detailed too soon
Stale requirements
Bloated requirements
ACTIONS TAKEN Promote conversation with introduction of stories
Focus BA team on the immediate requirement (Just enough!)
Heavy demand for coaching in this area
AGILE REQUIREMENTS
THE CHALLENGE
Requirements too detailed too soon
Stale requirements
Bloated requirements
ACTIONS TAKEN Promote conversation with introduction of stories
Focus BA team on the immediate requirement (Just enough!)
Heavy demand for coaching in this area
DELIVERY STAFF HIDING BEHIND THE PROCESS
THE CHALLENGE We were initially at risk of losing „organic‟ communication
e.g.
• Refusal to respond to simple queries
• Reluctance to give initial „Rough Order of Magnitude‟ estimates
ACTIONS TAKEN Guidance had to be given; Agile is a framework, not a manual
for all activity.
There is still a need for a non-deterministic system that can „self-heal‟
FRUSTRATED REQUIREMENTS OWNERS
THE CHALLENGE “I don‟t want to have to justify why my request deserves attention”
“You were more responsive to our requirements BEFORE Agile!”
ACTIONS TAKEN Explanation as to why the new approach benefits the organisation as a whole
Coaching/advice from a 3rd party i.e. Valtech, to take the heat out of the situation
INFLUENCE OF METRICS
INFLUENCE OF METRICS
POWERFUL COMMUNICATOR OF PROGRESS
– Coupled with stand up meeting and Retrospectives
Highlight Potential Risks Early
Cultural Influence of high visibility
– Early Risk Identification
– Impediment Removal
– Completion of working software
– Clarity of priority
What we did
– Ultra low cost of entry
– Leading Indicators
BACKLOG AND CATEGORISATION
1: IDENTIFIED 2: APPROVED
6: READY FOR DEV
7: IN DEV
3: PRIORITISED 5: ANALYSIS IN
PROGRESS
8: IN QA 10: IN
DEPLOYMENT
THE METRICS
RELEASE CUMULATIVE FLOW
WHAT WE DID
ITERATION CUMULATIVE FLOW
(AS A BURN UP)
POSITIVE PATTERNS
– Velocity Increasing
– Team understanding achievable level of commitment
PATTERNS REQUIRING ANALYSIS
– Large amount of work in progress
– Scope increasing mid iteration – prioritisation unstable
– Over commitment in early iterations
WHAT WE DID
VALUE CRITERIA
POSITIVE PATTERNS
– Operational Improvement (Value) and Business Value greatest
LEADING INDICATORS
– Large amount of work in progress
– Large number of points in prioritised
– QA constraint
XTRAKTER SUMMARY
“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the
lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all
those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would
profit by the new order…”
Nicolo Machiavelli
CULTURE CHANGE
PRE-REQUISITES ARE CRUCIAL
PREPARE THE WAY IN ADVANCE
– Staff Briefings
– Send key staff to Agile Seminars
– Refer to the Agile idea in discussions with Senior Managers….repeatedly
– Use crises when they arise to illustrate how Agile could avoid them
– Pick your launch date with care…one shot!
YOU MUST HAVE BUY-IN AT THE TOP…CULTURE CHANGE HURTS!
INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FROM THE OUTSET
TEAM CO-OPERATION
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
TEAM MORALE
REDUCED DEFECT RATE
PREDICTABILITY
VELOCITY
?
ANY QUESTIONS …
http://www.valtech.co.uk
http://blog.valtech.co.uk
http://twitter.com/valtech
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