Agile Leadership for complex product development.

The Agile Principles.

Uncommon
Sense
by Sjoerd Nijland
 #1
When the manager believes:
Our highest priority is to meet
customer's requirements
on time and within budget.
 #1
It has these unintended consequences:
Unexpected or overlooked work are ignored and suppressed.
Late delivery of reduced scope at overrun budget.
Quality deficiencies are obscured.
Customer's latent and emerging needs are not addressed.
False expectations leads to mistrust.
Staff burnout and turnover occurs.
Customer satisfaction decreases.
 #1
Therefore...

Our highest priority is

to satisfy the customer
through
continuous delivery
of valuable increments.

based on the 1st principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #2
When the manager believes: Change is a
hassle.

Scope creep is bad.

If something
unexpected
Delivery must
happens, someone
be predictable.
flunked planning.
 #2

It has these unintended consequences:

Missing opportunities that lead to better outcomes.
Customer's emerging needs are not met.
Ineffectiveness in dealing with unexpected complexities.
Deficiencies are swept under the rug.
Exhaustive planning and procrastination.
Developers undercommit, underachieve and resist change.
Estimation is gamed.
 #2
Therefore...

Harness and welcome change for

the customer's competitive advantage.
even late in development.

based on the 2nd principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #3
We know exactly what our
When the manager believes: customers want.

All requirements must be met

before the product can go live.

Every exception All risk must be

must have a rule. mitigated upfront.
 #3
It has these unintended consequences:
Chasing ghosts.
Long time-​to-​market.
Missing market windows.
Functional output over valuable outcomes.
Competition finds and unlocks the treasures first.
Stalled return of value.
Stalled decision-​making process.
Lack of initiative.
Over-​engineered product.
Stifled creativity, innovation and autonomy.
 #3
Therefore...

Frequently deliver working increments

and review the value of its outcomes.

based on the 3nd principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #4
When the manager believes:

Smart thinkers must be

separated from hard workers
to increase productivity.
Specialists are
best managed in Business people won't
siloes. understand tech
jargon.
Developers aren't
social and don't
understand "business"
 #4
It has these unintended consequences:
Silos.
Disengagement.
Complacency.
Demotivation.
Ineffective disconnected learning.
Ineffective problem-​solving.
Increased time-​to-​market.
Decreased flow efficiency.
 #4
Therefore...

Stakeholders and developers

must work together
throughout development.

based on the 4th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #5
When the manager believes:

Demanding something will make it happen,

and when it doesn't, someone is slacking.

The project is the

most important thing.
 #5
It has these unintended consequences:
Blame games.
Developers cut quality.
Hidden work.
Developers work unsustainably to meet imposed target dates.
Sacrificed ethical, social, or personal values for short-​term gains.
Developers disassociate from the outcome.
No time for growth or ability to innovate.
Staff burnout and turnover occurs.
 #5
Therefore...

Develop products around

motivated individuals.

Trust them and give them

the environment and support they need.

based on the 5th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Sotfware Development
 #6
When the manager believes: When developers
are in a meeting or
event they are not
We don't need Sprint productive.
Goals...

These drawings
are childish.
 #6
It has these unintended consequences:
Loss of transparency, inspection and adaptation.
Progress is obscured.
Work and people are misaligned.
Wasteful by-​production.
Confusion about responsibilities.
Increase conflict due to miscommunication.
Learnings do not travel.
Creativity is stifled.
 #6
Therefore...

Frequently sharing the same space,

time and goal is the most effective way
to collaborate.

Communicate face-​to-​face
with visual aids.

based on the 6th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #7
When the manager believes:
We can just demo
Progress reports it in PowerPoint.
show progress.

It's almost done...

We don't need any actual users

or customers at our review.
 #7
It has these unintended consequences:
The Emperor goes naked on parade.
Failing to inspect the actual progress on the working product.
There is no such thing as x% done. Either it is or it isn't.
Facading a demo provides a false sense of progress.
Stakeholders are being misled.
Feedback is worthless.
Actual Outcomes are unknown.
Success theatre.
 #7
Therefore...

Working increments
are the primary measure
of progress.

Review them with developers

and stakeholders.

based on the 7th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #8
When the manager believes:
10%

Reliability of
estimates must
improve. Velocity must
increase.
Team must deliver
"committed" stories.
 #8
It has these unintended consequences:
Increase of Velocity is mistaken for increase in Value.
A false sense of improvement is created.
Technical Debt accrues.
Lost focus.
Estimations are gamed.
Plans are bloated.
Users experience feature fog.
Cherrypicking easy work.
Noncommittal to complex challenges.
Unambitious goal-​setting.
Unresponsive to opportunity.
Demotivation.
Staff burnout and turnover increases.
 #8
Therefore...

Maintain a sustainable pace

for developers and stakeholders.

based on the 8th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #8
When the manager believes:

We'll fix it later when

we have time...

Developers should develop.

Testers should test.

Quality assurance takes

place after development.
 #9
It has these unintended consequences:
Silos.
Blame Games.
Ineffective problem-​solving.
Increased time-​to-​market.
Decreased flow efficiency.
Late detection and fixing of defects.
Developers grow complacent and less diligent as assuring quality
is no longer deemed their accountability.
Technical Debt accrues.
 #9
Therefore...

Developers pay continuous attention

to technical excellence and good design
to instill quality as professionals.

based on the 9th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development
 #10
When the manager believes:
More Complex
Value = more, faster! problems
Yes, require
More complex
More
Scaling requires scaled solutions. solutions.
Big enterprises requires big
frameworks. More developers =
Even Faster more development.
More We need more tools and processes to More
just a lit
tle more deal with all these tools and processes!
 #10
It has these unintended consequences:
SAFe...
Simple creative solutions are ignored and dismissed.
Powerplays.
Market opportunities are lost to competition.
Process Spaghetti and Information Mazes.
Obscure communication channels.
Agile terminology facades.
Lost in feature fog.
Massive by-​production.
Product performance decreases.
Costs of upkeep increases.
Obscurity and rigidity triumph.
Complacent developers.
© Scaled Agile, Inc.

Delivery grinds.
 #10
Therefore...

Simplicity is essential.
-​the art of maximizing the
amount of work NOT done-

based on the 10th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development ©
 #11
When the manager believes: The best architectures emerge
from the best architects in
Developers are the highest ivory towers.
not mature
enough to manage The best designs
their own work. are exhaustive.

I must be in control.
Architecture
We need consistency must be future
throughout all teams and proof
standardize their practices.
 #11
It has these unintended consequences:
Processes and tools get in the way of individual interacting effectively.
Silos (again).
Micro-​management.
Teams slow down by asking and waiting for approvals.
Waterfall Stage gates and hand-​offs.
Massive By-​production and Over-​production.
Lack of trust and initiative.
Dependency hell.
Zombie Scrum.
 #11
Therefore...

The best architectures,

requirements, and designs
emerge from self-​managing
teams.

based on the 11th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development ©
 #12
Retrospectives
When the manager believes: just slow us
We already down
We'll facilitate a
review or retro know what to
when we need one. improve.
Without me
Yearly performance it's anarchy.
reviews stimulate enough
personal growth. Things are
They need a mommy going great! We
Team members
(or daddy) to help don't need to
should not review
them mature. improve.
each other.
 #12
It has these unintended consequences:
Missed opportunities for growth and development.
Loss in morale and motivation.
Success theatre.
Staff turnover.
Dead Sea effect.
Career stagnation.
Lack of peer review. LOOKI
NG FOR
Failure of team members in holding each other accountable. WORK
Disengagement due to feeling undervalued.
Creates a culture of competition rather than collaboration.
Personal growth misaligned to product and team purpose.
 #12
Therefore...

Routine breeds excellence.

At regular intervals,
the team reflects on how
to become more effective,
then adapts accordingly.

based on the 12th principle of the Agile Manifesto for Software Development ©
 Thank you for reading...

Uncommon
Sense
by Sjoerd Nijland