Scaling Scrum Across Modern Enterprises

Scaling Scrum Across Modern Enterprises

by Cecil Rupp
Released August 2020
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781839216473

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Book description

Establish business agility in your organization by applying industry-proven scaling strategies from popular Scrum frameworks such as Scrum of Scrums (SoS), Scrum@Scale, Nexus, Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), Disciplined Agile, and SAFe

Key Features

    Book Description

    Scaled Scrum and Lean-Agile practices provide essential strategies to address large and complex product development challenges not addressed in traditional Scrum. This Scrum/ Lean-Agile handbook provides a comprehensive review and analysis of industry-proven scaling strategies that enable business agility on an enterprise scale. Free of marketing hype or vendor bias, this book helps you decide which practices best fit your situation.

    You'll start with an introduction to Scrum as a lightweight software development framework and then explore common approaches to scaling it for more complex development scenarios. The book will then guide you through systems theory, lean development, and the application of holistic thinking to more complex software and system development activities. Throughout, you'll learn how to support multiple teams working in collaboration to develop large and complex products and explore how to manage cross-team integration, dependency, and synchronization issues. Later, you'll learn how to improve enterprise operational efficiency across value creation and value delivery activities, before discovering how to align product portfolio investments with corporate strategies.

    By the end of this Scrum book, you and your product teams will be able to get the most value out of Agile at scale, even in complex cyber-physical system development environments.

    What you will learn

    • Understand the limitations of traditional Scrum practices
    • Explore the roles and responsibilities in a scaled Scrum and Lean-Agile development environment
    • Tailor your Scrum approach to support portfolio and large product development needs
    • Apply systems thinking to evaluate the impacts of changes in the interdependent parts of a larger development and delivery system
    • Scale Scrum practices at both the program and portfolio levels of management
    • Understand how DevOps, test automation, and CI/CD capabilities help in scaling Scrum practices

    Who this book is for

Table of contents

  1. Scaling Scrum Across Modern Enterprises
  2. Why subscribe?
  3. Foreword
  4. Contributors
  5. About the author
  6. About the reviewer
  7. Packt is searching for authors like you
  8. Preface
    1. Purpose of the book
    2. Who this book is for
    3. What this book covers
    4. Download the color images
    5. Conventions used
    6. Get in touch
    7. Reviews
  9. Section 1: Scaling Lightweight Scrum into a Heavyweight Contender
  10. Chapter 1: TheOrigins of Agile and Lightweight Methodologies
    1. Understanding what's wrong with the traditional model
    2. Moving away from the traditional model
      1. Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
      2. Crystal Clear
      3. Extreme Programming
      4. Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
      5. ICONIX
      6. Rapid application development (RAD)
      7. Scrum
    3. Defining Agile's core implementation concepts
      1. Backlogs
      2. Co-location
      3. CI/CD pipelines
      4. Continuous Integration
      5. Cross-functional
      6. Customer-centric
      7. Iterative and Incremental Development (IID)
      8. Pair programming
      9. Potentially shippable products
      10. Prototyping
      11. Retrospectives
      12. Safety
      13. Self-organizing
      14. Small teams
      15. Source Code Management (SCM)
      16. Stories
      17. Sustainable workflows
      18. Testing (test-driven and automated)
      19. Tools
    4. Appreciating the importance of Agile's values and principles
    5. Building on a movement led by engineers
    6. Summary
    7. Questions
    8. Further reading
  11. Chapter 2: Scrum Beyond Basics
    1. Mastering Scrum
      1. Applying a sports metaphor
      2. Scrumming in a software development context
      3. Becoming the de facto standard
    2. Requiring executive sponsorship
      1. Implementing small teams
      2. Establishing a proper work environment
    3. Putting the focus on products
    4. Forming Scrum Teams
      1. Providing access to specialized skills
      2. Implementing multiple Scrum Teams
      3. Supporting non-development activities
      4. Evolving Scrum Team formations
    5. Identifying roles and responsibilities
      1. Product Owners
      2. Developers
      3. Scrum Masters
    6. Leveraging empirical process control theory
      1. Establishing Scrum's core values
      2. Partial Scrum is not Scrum
      3. Revising your contracts
      4. Making Scrum visible and transparent
      5. Treating Scrum development as a fixed cost
      6. Thrown objects don't stick
    7. Defining Scrum Events
      1. Sprints
      2. Sprint Planning
      3. Daily Scrums
      4. Sprint Reviews
      5. Sprint Retrospectives
    8. Implementing Scrum Artifacts
      1. Product Backlog
      2. Sprint Backlog
      3. Increments
    9. Summary
    10. Questions
    11. Further reading
  12. Chapter 3: The Scrum Approach
    1. Scrum as a framework
    2. Guiding the flow of work in Scrum
      1. Establishing the product vision
      2. Implementing iterative and Incremental development cycles
      3. Conducting Product Backlog refinement
      4. Creating User Stories
      5. Identifying a definition of Done
      6. Establishing Sprint Goals
      7. Conducting Sprint Planning meetings
    3. Initiating development work
      1. Conducting Daily Scrums
      2. Conducting Sprint Reviews
      3. Conducting Sprint Retrospectives
      4. Releasing potentially shippable products
    4. Identifying how Scrum can break down
      1. Lacking executive sponsorship
      2. Failing to obtain buy-in
      3. Lacking an agile mindset
      4. Failing to invest
      5. Lacking effective communications programs
      6. Failing to educate
    5. Failing implementations of Scrum
      1. Adding roles that are not part of Scrum
      2. Focusing on the wrong product backlog items
      3. Allowing inappropriate priorities
      4. Directing instead of leading
      5. Performing non-value-added activities
      6. Allowing team burnout
      7. Failing to provide full transparency
      8. Continuing development beyond economic value
      9. Failing to support market segment opportunities
      10. Pushing deliveries beyond capacities
      11. Failing to work as a team
      12. Failing to evolve the product Incrementally
    6. Summary
    7. Questions
  13. Chapter 4: Systems Thinking
    1. Applying systems thinking
      1. Benefitting from interdisciplinary studies
      2. Understanding integrated circuit board manufacturing
      3. Adding layers increased defects
      4. Evaluating the manufacturing facility and processes as a system
      5. Fixing a broken system
      6. Netting out the problems
      7. Addressing causes and effects
    2. Thinking holistically
      1. Visualizing causes and effects
      2. Understanding the concepts and vocabulary of systems thinking
      3. Causal modeling of a single-element system
      4. Causal modeling of a basic Scrum Team system
      5. Implementing feedback loops
    3. Supporting Agile working through systems thinking
      1. Diagramming causal linkages in Sprint Planning
      2. Modeling the requirements flow
      3. Modeling Product Backlog refinement
      4. Modeling design and task clarifications
      5. Modeling sprint capacity assessments
      6. Modeling sprint negotiations and tradeoffs
      7. Putting it all together
    4. Applying systems thinking to large, complex, and integrated products
      1. Putting the focus on products, not projects
    5. Modeling project-to-product team transformations
      1. Modeling a burning platform situation
      2. Modeling Scrum scaling activities
      3. Modeling the development of the Product Backlog and rolling out Scrum Teams
      4. Modeling the rollout of Scrum in a large product environment
    6. Applying systems thinking to enterprise implementations of Scrum
      1. Modeling the business drivers affecting business transformation decisions
      2. Modeling the impact of resources to remove organizational impediments
      3. Modeling the impact of Scrum Team needs assessments
      4. Modeling the elements supporting Scrum events and Scrum Team deployments
      5. Modeling the elements that close the loop to address business drivers
      6. Modeling the entire enterprise Scrum transformation
      7. Modeling delays between enterprise Scrum transformation elements
    7. Review of CLD patterns
    8. Summary
    9. Questions
    10. Further reading
  14. Chapter 5: Lean Thinking
    1. Understanding the basics of Lean Thinking
      1. Classifying types of waste
      2. Introducing the foundational principles behind Lean Thinking
      3. Profiting from Lean practices
      4. Determining value
      5. Understanding the value stream
      6. Identifying and improving flows
      7. Changing from Push to Pull
      8. Seeking perfection
    2. Summary
    3. Questions
    4. Further reading
  15. Chapter 6: Lean Practices in Software Development
    1. Applying Lean principles to software development
      1. Leaning on principles
      2. Adding value
    2. Achieving continuous improvements (Kaizen)
      1. Developing good practices
      2. Leveraging the 80/20 rule
      3. Avoiding radical change
      4. Documenting good practices
      5. Starting with a focus on achieving stability and predictability
      6. Measuring improvements
      7. Continuing to improve through refinement
      8. Applying visual controls to manage intake and flows
    3. Building in quality
      1. Testing incrementally
      2. Refactoring software code
    4. Delaying decisions and commitments
    5. Detecting defects through automation (Jidoka)
    6. Eliminating mistakes (Poka-Yoke)
    7. Eliminating waste
      1. Waiting
      2. Overproducing
      3. Extra or non-value-added processing
      4. Transportation
      5. Motion
      6. Inventory
      7. Defects
    8. Ending multitasking/task switching
    9. Practicing Gemba
      1. Implementing single-piece flows
      2. Improving knowledge
      3. Leveling production (Heijunka)
    10. Optimizing the whole
      1. Failing through suboptimization
      2. Pushing software products through development
      3. Waterfalling is suboptimizing
      4. Changing from project to product-oriented development
    11. Producing just-in-time (JIT)
    12. Rejecting unfinished work
    13. Respecting people
    14. Summary
    15. Questions
    16. Further reading
  16. Section 2: Comparative Review of Industry Scaled Agile Approaches
  17. Chapter 7: Scrum of Scrums
    1. Original Scrum scaling concepts
    2. Scaling with the SoS
    3. Understanding the basics
      1. Designating Ambassadors
      2. Eliminating network density
      3. Building on Scrum
      4. Supporting Scrum of Scrums meetings
      5. Coordinating and integrating work
      6. Establishing useful metrics
      7. Answering contextually useful questions
    4. Scaling SoS
      1. Method one – building on a foundation of success
      2. Method two – starting with big things in mind
      3. Method three – Scrum CoE
    5. Identifying Scrum CoE benefits
      1. Building organizational skills and expertise
      2. Eliminating waste while adding value
      3. Developing useful information radiators
      4. Fulfilling compliance requirements
      5. Providing I.T. Governance
      6. Identifying and mitigating risks
      7. Determining portfolio investment strategies
      8. Establishing CoPs
    6. Avoiding CoE failures
    7. Building effective CoEs
    8. Evaluating best fits
    9. Summary
    10. Questions
    11. Suggested reading
  18. Chapter 8: Scrum@Scale
    1. Coordinating multiple Scrum Teams
    2. Defining the S@S use case
      1. Overcoming Brooks's Law
      2. Repeating structural patterns
      3. Minimizing bureaucracy
      4. Networking concepts and metaphors
      5. Nothing scales
    3. Implementing scale-free Scrum architectures
    4. Scaling Scrum with S@S
      1. Installing SoS artifacts, roles, and events
      2. Applying an Agile operating system
      3. Leveraging Scrum's team process
      4. Optimizing Scrum and SoS Teams around sets of fives
      5. Leveraging pentagonal structures, ad infinitum
    5. Facilitating SoS events
      1. Coordinating the what and the how
      2. Intersecting the PO and SM cycles
    6. Installing executive leadership
      1. Executive Action Team
      2. Executive MetaScrum Team
    7. Building healthy organizations
    8. Summary
    9. Questions
    10. Further reading
  19. Chapter 9: The Nexus Framework
    1. Building on Scrum
      1. Connecting multiple Scrum Teams
      2. Scaling Scrum Teams within a Nexus
      3. Establishing the Nexus foundation
    2. Reviewing the Nexus Framework
      1. Defining Nexus roles
      2. Creating Nexus artifacts
      3. Implementing Nexus events
      4. Understanding the Nexus process flow
    3. Learning the basics of Nexus
      1. Defining a Nexus
      2. Establishing a NIT
      3. Organizing and resourcing a NIT
      4. Making work and value transparent
      5. Creating transparency with Nexus artifacts
    4. Conducting a Nexus Sprint
      1. Maintaining flow with Nexus events
      2. Organizing Nexus Sprint reviews
      3. Improving through Sprint retrospectives
      4. Defining "Done" in a Nexus
    5. Getting into the details
      1. Building products, not running projects
    6. Establishing value
      1. Keeping things simple
      2. Staying small
    7. Extending Scrum to form a Nexus
      1. Creating a Nexus
      2. Planning a Nexus Sprint
      3. Building products incrementally
      4. Measuring and judging velocity
      5. Earning continued support
    8. Evaluating best fits
    9. Summary
    10. Questions
    11. Further reading
  20. Chapter 10: Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS)
    1. Introducing Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS)
    2. Focusing on systems thinking and organizational design
    3. Building on Scrum
    4. Leveraging LeSS principles, roles, guides, and experimentation
      1. Applying LeSS principles
      2. Implementing LeSS rules
      3. Employing LeSS guides
      4. Understanding experimentation
      5. Revisiting Shu-Ha-Ri
    5. Implementing the LeSS and LeSS Huge Frameworks
      1. Implementing the LeSS Framework
      2. Understanding LeSS roles
      3. Understanding LeSS artifacts
      4. Understanding LeSS events
      5. Implementing the LeSS Huge Framework
    6. Adopting the LeSS Frameworks
      1. LeSS adoption rules
      2. LeSS adoption guides
      3. LeSS Huge adoption rules
      4. LeSS Huge adoption guides
    7. Evaluating best fits
    8. Summary
    9. Questions
    10. Further reading
  21. Chapter 11: Disciplined Agile
    1. Determining your way of working
    2. Finding context
      1. Mindset
      2. People
      3. Deciding life cycle flows
      4. Providing industry-proven practices
    3. Tooling your WOW
      1. Using Process Goal Diagrams
    4. Choosing your level of agility
      1. Scaling Disciplined Agile
      2. Building on a solid foundation
      3. Installing Disciplined DevOps
      4. Adding value streams
    5. Putting it all together
      1. Initiating your DA teams
      2. Creating business value
      3. Going into production
      4. Sustaining and evolving your teams
    6. Lean Governance and Milestones
    7. Best fits
    8. Summary
    9. Questions
    10. Further reading
  22. Chapter 12: Essential Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®)
    1. Becoming SAFe
      1. Integrating Lean and Agile development concepts
      2. Leveraging economies of scale
      3. Building cyber-physical systems
      4. Building large software products with SAFe
      5. Limiting factors when scaling Scrum
      6. Expanding agility on an enterprise scale
    2. Improving business agility on an enterprise scale
      1. Implementing a dual operating system for business agility
      2. Establishing a Lean-Agile mindset
      3. Building on the four core values of SAFe
      4. Developing the seven core competencies
    3. Taking the train
      1. Building on cadence, releasing on demand
      2. Scaling small Agile teams
      3. Scaling roles and responsibilities
    4. Configuring SAFe®
    5. Building on Essential SAFe
      1. Purpose of Essential SAFe
      2. Elements of Essential SAFe
    6. Developing core competencies
    7. Defining roles and responsibilities
      1. Conceptualizing essential team responsibilities
    8. Installing Lean-Agile practices
      1. Building value with customer centricity
      2. Thinking about design
      3. Managing via Kanbans
      4. Integrating Scrum with XP
      5. Establishing backlogs
    9. Maintaining flow
      1. Maintaining cadence via PI
      2. Planning PIs
      3. Maintaining continuous delivery pipelines
      4. Riding on the ART
      5. Scaling with ARTs
      6. Leveraging Dunbar's Number
      7. Going beyond Dunbar's Number
    10. Establishing a solution context
      1. Understanding the solution context
      2. Developing solution intent and solution context
    11. Breaking down silos with DevOps
    12. Building in quality
    13. Remaining Essential SAFe artifacts
    14. Evaluating best fits
    15. Summary
    16. Questions
  23. Chapter 13: Full Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®)
    1. Scaling with Large Solution SAFe®
      1. Scaling with Solution Trains
    2. Core competencies supporting Large Solution SAFe®
      1. Distinguishing Large Solution SAFe® roles and responsibilities
    3. Elements of the Large Solution SAFe® configuration
      1. Building the Solution Intent
      2. Establishing and refining the Solution Backlog
      3. Weighted Shortest Jobs First
    4. Riding on the Solution Train
      1. Coordinating trains and teams
    5. Remaining Large Scale SAFe® artifacts
    6. Managing investment risks with Portfolio SAFe®
      1. Applying Lean principles to Portfolio Management
    7. Defining Portfolio SAFe® roles and responsibilities
    8. Elements of Portfolio SAFe®
      1. Connecting portfolios to strategy
      2. Implementing a Portfolio Vision
      3. Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
      4. Governing Lean Portfolios
      5. Decentralizing Portfolio Operations
      6. Leveraging portfolio-level Kanbans
      7. Defining epic portfolio objectives
    9. Creating Portfolio Backlogs
      1. Marshaling investments across planning horizons
      2. Delivering the highest value across program increments
    10. Establishing Lean Budgets
      1. Harnessing participatory budgeting practices
      2. Implementing guardrails
    11. Supporting value streams
      1. Monitoring value stream Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
    12. Achieving Full SAFe®
    13. Following the SAFe® Implementation Roadmap
    14. Evaluating best fits
    15. Questions
    16. Further reading
  24. Section 3: Implementation Strategies
  25. Chapter 14: Contrasting Scrum/Lean-Agile Scaling Approaches
    1. Assimilating capabilities
    2. Maximizing value
    3. Building unanimity through options
    4. Revisiting module one
    5. Revisiting module two
      1. Staying true to Scrum
      2. Leveraging Lean-Agile practices
    6. Revisiting Scrum and Lean-Agile strategies
    7. Selecting based on context
      1. Implementation of the Scrum framework
      2. Implementation of Systems Thinking
      3. Implementation of Lean development
      4. Guidance on business drivers
      5. Overcoming cultural influences
      6. Software development support
      7. Implementation of Portfolio Management
      8. Implementation of Product Management
      9. Implementation of DevOps
      10. Generalized development-oriented practices
      11. Team integration, synchronization, and coordination
      12. Roadmaps to scaling
      13. Guidance on government and highly regulated industries
    8. Side-by-side comparison of all assessment criteria
    9. Summary
    10. Questions
    11. Further reading
  26. Assessments
    1. Chapter 1 – Origins of Agile and Lightweight Methodologies
    2. Chapter 2 – Scrum Beyond Basics
    3. Chapter 3 – The Scrum Approach
    4. Chapter 4 – Systems Thinking
    5. Chapter 5 – Lean Thinking
    6. Chapter 6 – Lean Practices in Software Development
    7. Chapter 7 – Scrum of Scrums
    8. Chapter 8 – Scrum@Scale
    9. Chapter 9 – The Nexus Framework
    10. Chapter 10 – Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS)
    11. Chapter 11 – Disciplined Agile (DA)
    12. Chapter 12 – Essential Scaled-Agile Framework (SAFe®)
    13. Chapter 13 – Full Scaled-Agile Framework (SAFe®)
    14. Chapter 14 – Contrasting Scrum/Lean-Agile Scaling Approaches
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Product information

  • Title: Scaling Scrum Across Modern Enterprises
  • Author(s): Cecil Rupp
  • Release date: August 2020
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781839216473