Exploring Scrum of Scrums: As A Scaling Vehicle

Exploring Scrum of Scrums
As a Scaling Vehicle
Bob Galen
President & Principal Consultant
RGCG, LLC
bob@rgalen.com
Introduction
Bob Galen
n  Independent Agile Coach (CSC) at RGCG, LLC
n  Principle Agile Evangelist at Velocity Partners
n  Somewhere ‘north’ of 30 years overall experience J

n  Wide variety of technical stacks and business domains
n  Developer first, then Project Management / Leadership, then
Testing
n  Senior/Executive software development leadership for 20 years
n  Practicing formal agility since 2000
n  XP, Lean, Scrum, and Kanban experience
n  From Cary, North Carolina
n  Connect w/ me via LinkedIn and Twitter @bobgalen
Bias Disclaimer:
Agile is THE BEST Methodology
for Software Development…
However, NOT a Silver Bullet!
Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 2

The SCRUM Framework

Let’s Explore
n  When I think of Scrum of Scrums in the beginning I think

in terms of:
n  Scrum teams leveraging Scrum tactics at the “next level”

or for @ Scale
n  The Mike Cohn supplied picture
n  X-team coordination:

q  Communication, Impediments, Dependencies, Interaction

Aspects of Agile Scaling Source: Mike Cohn’s
www.mountaingoatsoftware.com website.
Scrum of Scrums (of Scrums)
Meta Scrum Level
Scrum of
Scrums

What have you seen implemented
wrt/Scrum of Scrums?
n  Spend 15 minutes in small groups
n  Levels of scale that benefit from Scrum of Scrums

q  What’s included?
q  What works?
q  What’s more challenging?
q  What is missed in the Scrum of Scrums?
q  If you’ve evolved it, what has that journey looked like?
q  If you’ve replaced it, what have you replaced it with?
n  Let’s debrief

Agile Planning Onion
relationship to SoScrums
Scrum of Scrums
focuses more at
the:
ü  Iteration
ü  Release
ü  Product
Levels of the
Planning Onion

Key Dependencies for
Scrum of Scrums
n  Agile Release Train
q  Release tempo, goals, hardening/stabilization, release readiness
q  Concept-to-Cash workflow view
n  Release Planning
q  SAFe – PSI Planning
n  Definition of Done – Release Criteria
q  Feature Complete
n  Collaboration with the Product Organization
q  Roadmapping, Portfolio Management, Prioritization
n  Integration of UX and Architecture
q  Including DevOPS

Release Train Management
n  Iterative model with a release
target
q  Product centric
q  Focused on a production push/
release
n  Synchronized Sprints across n  Notion of a “Hardening Sprint”
teams q  Focused more on Integration &
q  Some teams are un- Regression testing
synchronized, but leads to less q  Assumption that it’s mostly
efficient cross-team (product) automated
interactions q  Environment promotion
n  Continuous Integration is the
glue
n  Define a final Hardening Sprint
q  Including automated unit and where the product is readied
feature tests; partial regression
for release
q  Documentation, Support,
Compliance, UAT, Training

Release Train Management
“Internal” Driving Forces
n  Customer’s ability to “accept” the
release
n  Value being delivered in the release – purely scope
n  Hardening Sprint “reality”

q  Time, Complexity, Automation, Size, Compliance, and Industry
n  Internal team readiness

q  Customer support
q  Sales & Marketing readiness
q  Overall documentation & training

Scrum of Scrums
2006 – 2007, large scale instance
n  Came across a relatively large-scale instance of Scrum of Scrum
S1 – S2 –
Scrum Project
Teams Execution
S4 –
S3 –
Agile/
Program
Scrum
Balancing
Steering

S2 – Project / Program Execution
S2 –
Project,
Execution
n  Tied to Release Plan
n  Cross-team coordination – integration, dependencies
n  Visuals
q  Release burndown chart
q  Feature burnup charts
q  Bugs, open/close & overall
q  X-team impediments; Organizational impediments
n  Cyclical meeting, PO+SM from each team
n  Invited observers for overall status & readiness
n  Sprint reviews, as outcomes
n  Release Review, as final closure
S2 – Project / Program Execution
S2 –
Dynamics Project,
Execution
n  Owned by the teams; Chief Product Owner, Chief Scrum

Master
n  Product Owners & Scrum Masters cross connections
n  Looks very much like Scrum; ceremonies
q  Release level planning
q  Scrum stand-up
q  Impediments
n  Tracking Release Progress (Goals)

S3 – Project & Portfolio Planning
S3 –
Program
Balancing
n  Team structure, staffing, and skill allocations
n  Portfolio Valuation, ROI
n  Road-mapping
n  Architectural & UX Look-ahead
n  Epic valuation
n  Quality Levels and Regulatory Concerns
n  Metrics
n  Budget
n  Equipment, labs, tooling, maintenance

S3 – Project & Portfolio Planning
S3 –
Dynamics Program
Balancing
n  Typically “Leadership centric”

n  Where a PMO fits quite nicely
n  Portfolio impediment management
n  Iterative progress monitoring
n  Priority adjustments across Backlog streams
n  Staffing and planning; team building

S4 – Agile / Scrum Steering S4 –
Agile/
Scrum
Steering
n  Agile method definition (Scrum + XP, Scrumban)

n  Standards – code, design, testing
n  XP practices and guidance
n  Definition of Done; Meta-Requirements
n  Agile requirements – Stories?; Personas
n  Training & Tooling
n  SM or PO focus groups; Coaching the Coaches
n  Center of Excellence or Community of Practice
n  Architecture, UX, and DevOps

S4 – Agile / Scrum Steering S4 –
Dynamics Agile/
Scrum
Steering
n  Agile team coaches; PULL based model
n  Fewer voices; Steering Group –
q  Chief Product Owner
q  Chief Scrum Master
q  Head Coach
q  Agile Stakeholders
n  Kick-off training, ongoing training
n  Providing guidance – Leadership coaching
n  HR related activity – example: 5 Dysfunctions

Positive Organizational
Side effects
n  Cross Organizational Transparency
n  Adjustments to progress on the ground

q  Priority tradeoffs
q  Work movement
q  Downstream activation – DevOps and Customer Support
n  Product becomes –

q  Observer, adjuster
q  Communicator of plan updates; within and without

Release Planning
Don’t do math to “fit”

Stories into sprints!
Instead, visually move them around in sprints “packing them effectively as a team. Carefully
considering:
ü  Workflow, dependencies, hand-offs, and Sprint Goals
ü  Technical risk, architecture, design
ü  Efficiency, customer interaction, completeness of feature sets, usability
ü  Testing, deployment, customer readiness

Release Planning
Steps from Vision to a “Game Plan”
n  Vision – Minimal Marketable Release
n  Story Brainstorming
n  Story Mapping
n  Release Swim lane Layout (release train)
n  Estimation
n  Multiple passes:
q  Architecture, design, infrastructure, workflow, dependencies,
testing, release activity, automation,…, all work
n  Team supports “the Plan”
n  Negotiation, Realignment, and Commitment
n  Baseline for Scrum of Scrums
Release Planning
Establishing a “Baseline”
q  Of Vision & Mission
q  Of problem understanding
q  Of delivered scope
q  Of technical complexity
q  Of risks & constraints
q  Of confidence & commitment
n  This drives the Scrum of Scrums discussions

n  Something has changed…relative to…what do we do?

SAFe implications
n  PSI – Potentially Shippable Increment
n  Result of PSI Planning (aka – Release Planning) or

Release Train
q  X-team, 1-2 day event
q  Program objectives, Team objectives, Plan, and Commitment
q  Can be quite large ~75
n  Hardening / Stabilization Sprints

n  HIP Sprint closure
q  Hardening, Innovation, Planning

Product Backlog Wall
Source: http://mhjongerius.tumblr.com/post/16222404998/our-new-product-backlog-wall

Scrum of Scrums board
Story + Status (across teams)
Source: http://www.xqa.com.ar/visualmanagement/2009/08/scrum-of-scrums-making-it-visual/

Board Oriented Release Plan

Charles Bradley
Narrower view of Scrum of Scrums
n  Blog post -
Resurrecting the Much-Maligned Scrum of Scrums
q  Only for the Scrum Team
q  Not for Scrum Master status
n  Stand “outside the circle”
q  Truly self-directed teams “coordinate” amongst themselves
q  References: Cohn, Vodde, and Larman
n  While I support the spirit of this, there is more to cross-

team coordination, than simply stories/deliverables
n  And the “fear” of it turning into a Project Manager
meeting shouldn’t morph the need
Beyond Scrum of Scrums
Esther Derby
q  Slide share published in 2011
q  http://www.slideshare.net/estherderby/agile-teams-at-scale-beyond-
scrum-of-scrums
n  Three main challenges in scaling teams

q  Coordinating work across teams
q  Integrating work across teams
q  Maintaining technical integrity of the system (Architecture, DevOps, UX)
n  Notion of “Context”

q  Feature group, Component team, Product area
q  Form teams within contexts

Esther Derby
n  Technical Councils
q  Component Stewards
q  Integrating Linkers
q  Test Experts
Guide the integrity of the WHOLE system
n  Establish communication & decision boundaries
n  Team/Organizational structure alignment is important

Esther Derby
n  Esther lightly mentions technical practices.
q  Continuous Integration – Deployment
q  Robust, multi-tiered Automation
q  X-team pairing
q  Inspections: code & design reviews
q  Visible Architecture
n  Sort of relegates Scrum to:

q  One of many “Social Practices”
q  Handling impediments

Scaled Agile Models or Frameworks
n  Dean Leffingwell – Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

q  Release Train, 3-Tier flow, RUP-like
q  Connection with Rally
n  Mike Beedle – Enterprise Scrum

n  Scott Ambler – Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
q  Focus on architecture and modeling, RUP-like phasing
n  Mike Cottmeyer – Agile Transformations, 3-Tier model

n  Larman & Vodde – Scaling Agile Development books
series, Large Scale Scrum - LeSS

Scaled, Multi-tier Systems
True Leadership understanding
And support,
Governance & CoE
Investments
Tier 3: Organizational Level
Strategic Road-mapping, Portfolio Valuation & Investment, Agile CoE,
and Project Tracking & Governance
Product Organization
Maturity, Visible
Planning
Tier 2: Deployment Level
Minimal Marketable Features, Feature Teams, Story-Mapping, Release
Planning, Dependencies, and Risk management
X-team Collaboration
Scrum of Scrum or
Equiv.
Tier 1: Team level
Pure Execution, User Stories, Acceptance, Transparency, Quality, and
Continuous Flow
Initial Training
@Team & Leadership
Levels, Pilots

3 Tiered, Multi Method (Kanban & Scrum)
Enterprise Workflow
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Kanban @ Epic
Epic
Portfolio-level Epic
Epic Epic
Analysis Arch & Design Build & Test Cont. Deploy

Kanban @ Feature
Feature Feature
Project-level Feature
Feature
Feature Feature
Product Backlog Sprint Backlog WIP Done

Scrum @
Story Task Task Task Task Story
Execution- Story
Story
level Story Story Task Task Story
Task

Scaled Agile Framework™ Big Picture

Disciplined Agile Delivery

What might you implement
wrt/Scrum of Scrums?
n  Spend 15 minutes in small groups
n  Considering the ideas presented…

q  Have you changed your mind about Scrum of Scrums scaling in
any way?
q  What “extensions” might you start to leverage?
q  What doesn’t work as “advertised”?
q  How could ideas from DAD or SAFe compliment Scrum of
Scrums and still keep it simple?
n  Let’s debrief…

Wrap-up
n  Final questions or discussion?
n  Get free PDF copies of my Product

Ownership & Agile Reflections books
by joining my mailing list at www.rgalen.com
Thank you!
Contact Info
Bob Galen
Principal Consultant,
RGalen Consulting Group, L.L.C.
Experience-driven agile focused training,

coaching & consulting
Cell: (919) 272-0719

bob@rgalen.com www.rgalen.com
bgalen@velocitypartners.net www.velocitypartners.net
Blogs
Project Times - http://www.projecttimes.com/robert-galen/
BA Times - http://www.batimes.com/robert-galen/
Podcast on all things ‘agile’ - http://www.meta-cast.com/

References
n  InfoQ article - http://www.infoq.com/news/2014/03/scrum-of-scrums

n  Esther Derby article -
http://www.slideshare.net/estherderby/agile-teams-at-scale-beyond-
scrum-of-scrums
n  Disciplined Agile Delivery - http://disciplinedagiledelivery.com/

n  Scaled Agile Framework - http://www.scaledagileframework.com/
q  http://leansamurai.com/portfolio-items/safe-overview/
n  LeSS article on the Agile Atlas -

http://agileatlas.org/articles/item/large-scale-scrum-more-with-less

Exploring Scrum of Scrums: As A Scaling Vehicle

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Exploring Scrum of Scrums: As A Scaling Vehicle

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Exploring Scrum of Scrums

n Principle Agile Evangelist at Velocity Partners

n Somewhere ‘north’ of 30 years overall experience J

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 2

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 4

n When I think of Scrum of Scrums in the beginning I think

n Scrum teams leveraging Scrum tactics at the “next level”

n The Mike Cohn supplied picture

n X-team coordination:

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 5

Scrum of Scrums (of Scrums)

Meta Scrum Level

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 6

n Levels of scale that benefit from Scrum of Scrums

n Let’s debrief

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 7

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 8

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 9

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 10

n Hardening Sprint “reality”

n Internal team readiness

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 11

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 12

n Owned by the teams; Chief Product Owner, Chief Scrum

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 14

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 15

n Typically “Leadership centric”

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 16

n Agile method definition (Scrum + XP, Scrumban)

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 17

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 18

n Adjustments to progress on the ground

n Product becomes –

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 19

Don’t do math to “fit”

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 20

n This drives the Scrum of Scrums discussions

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 22

n PSI – Potentially Shippable Increment

n Result of PSI Planning (aka – Release Planning) or

n Hardening / Stabilization Sprints

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 23

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 24

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 25

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 26

n While I support the spirit of this, there is more to cross-

n Three main challenges in scaling teams

n Notion of “Context”

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 28

Guide the integrity of the WHOLE system

n Establish communication & decision boundaries

n Team/Organizational structure alignment is important

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 29

n Sort of relegates Scrum to:

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 30

n Dean Leffingwell – Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

q Connection with Rally

n Mike Beedle – Enterprise Scrum

n Mike Cottmeyer – Agile Transformations, 3-Tier model

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 31

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC 32

Analysis Arch & Design Build & Test Cont. Deploy

Product Backlog Sprint Backlog WIP Done

n  Principle Agile Evangelist at Velocity Partners

n  Somewhere ‘north’ of 30 years overall experience J

n  When I think of Scrum of Scrums in the beginning I think

n  Scrum teams leveraging Scrum tactics at the “next level”

n  The Mike Cohn supplied picture

n  X-team coordination:

n  Levels of scale that benefit from Scrum of Scrums

n  Let’s debrief

n  Hardening Sprint “reality”

n  Internal team readiness

n  Owned by the teams; Chief Product Owner, Chief Scrum

n  Typically “Leadership centric”

n  Agile method definition (Scrum + XP, Scrumban)

n  Adjustments to progress on the ground

n  Product becomes –

n  This drives the Scrum of Scrums discussions

n  PSI – Potentially Shippable Increment

n  Result of PSI Planning (aka – Release Planning) or

n  Hardening / Stabilization Sprints

n  While I support the spirit of this, there is more to cross-

n  Three main challenges in scaling teams

n  Notion of “Context”

n  Establish communication & decision boundaries

n  Team/Organizational structure alignment is important

n  Sort of relegates Scrum to:

n  Dean Leffingwell – Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

q  Connection with Rally

n  Mike Beedle – Enterprise Scrum

n  Mike Cottmeyer – Agile Transformations, 3-Tier model

n  Considering the ideas presented…

n  Let’s debrief…

n  Final questions or discussion?

n  Get free PDF copies of my Product

n  InfoQ article - http://www.infoq.com/news/2014/03/scrum-of-scrums

n  Disciplined Agile Delivery - http://disciplinedagiledelivery.com/

n  LeSS article on the Agile Atlas -