This document discusses empirical management and scaling professional Scrum. It argues that organizations should start with Scrum before attempting to scale it, and should maximize Scrum practices rather than adding complexity. When scaling, organizations should grow teams while maintaining a single product backlog and definition of done. Measures should focus on direct value, time to market, and innovation rather than process adherence. Empirical management optimizes software value through primary indicators and facilitating organizational change.
1. by Scrum.org – Improving the Profession of Software Development
Empirical Management Explored
Evidence-Based Managing of Software
Gunther Verheyen
Shepherding the Professional series
Scrum.org
Munich
January 29, 2015
Short Abstract
One of the core principles of the agile movement was to shift the focus of software development to creating more valuable software, sooner. It can be expected that the act of managing in an agile environment puts value at its heart; thereby preferring value over old, industrial parameters like scope, budget, time. On top of that, informed management decisions to maximize value cannot be made without collecting evidence of value. Such evidence is found in the outcome of the work. Enter the need of evidence-based decision-making. Evidence becomes the primary source for inspections, in order to adapt how the software is being produced. Hence, the introduction of the Scrum Stance in the managerial domain. Enter a new management culture, Empirical Management.
Gunther explores the idea of Empirical Management through the lens of Scrum’s history and the compelling desire of many organizations to scale Scrum.
Gunther is director of the Professional Series at Scrum.org and a partner of Ken Schwaber.
Extended Abstract
Scrum has been around for almost 2 decades. During the first decade of agile, the adoption of agile and Scrum have grown incredibly. But the dependence of businesses and society on software has increased even more. Software is eating the world.
The survival and prosperity of many people and organizations depend on software. Complexity and unpredictability continue to increase. Yet, many organizations are stuck with old thinking like productivity, performance and blindly pushing more requirements out to the market. The focus of managing has not shifted to optimizing the value that the software brings to the organization. The urgency to do so grows.
The agile movement has left the act of managing largely unaddressed or -at least- under-focused. The agile values and spirit are more needed than ever, but it's time to include management. This can be achieved by applying the Scrum Stance in the managerial domain, hence promote Empirical Management.
Gunther Verheyen directs the Professional Series at Scrum.org and is a partner of Ken Schwaber, Scrum co-creator. Gunther and Ken have developed a framework for empirical management based on the principles of Scrum, agile and Evidence-Based Management. EBM has its roots in medical practice.
In his presentation Gunther look at the state of agile through the lens of EBM, and introduce how to apply its principles in a context of software.
“If no evidence is collected on the value of software, informed management decisions to maximize it cannot be made. Software development deserves a professional way of managing, a way of managing that is more than mere intuition, opinion and position.”
Learning Objectives
Inspire by challenging some common understanding of ‘agile’
Participants will be challenged on their understanding of agile, and the purpose of agile at a business and management level.
Participants will be challenged to shift their focus from how the development work is done, to the outcome of the work, and its impact on the market.
Participants will get an insight into a possible future of agile, the future of agile in its next decade of existence.
Audience
For: Decision makers, leaders, managers looking to reground themselves in a context of 'agile'.
Typical Elapse Time
1 hour
The Agile movement successfully established a set of values and principles that better fit the creative and complex nature of software development. The focus is on teams, collaboration, people, self-directed discovery. The Scrum framework provides a great foundation for organizations to grasp ‘Agility’.
The adoption of the Agile thinking via Scrum represents a major and on-going shift in our industry. Even without Scrum having prescriptions for management, it is clear that the self-organizing fundaments of Scrum have a profound impact on the role, approach and act of managing. The challenge is to discover and implement the new needs and demands for managers.
Based on „stam·pede„ ( /stʌmˈpiːd/ ):
Sudden frenzied rush of (panic–stricken) animals.
To flee in a headlong rush.
Followed by a rush toward scaling Scrum.
Scrum, ultimately
can only be fully comprehended when its rules and roles are read as an expression of the values and principles of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.
is an operating system for the values and principles of the Manifesto. The kernel of the OS is the Scrum Stance.
The degree of performance achieved with Scrum, i.e. how well is Scrum being applied:
Not Scrum – Teams are doing something they think is Scrum, but it isn’t. They are doing something, and maybe it even works for them, but it isn’t Scrum.
Scrum – These teams are often using Scrum, and getting some advantage from it. However, they aren’t seeing the true changes and advantages Scrum offers. These teams are often living the mechanics, and not the values of Scrum.
High beneficial Scrum – Scrum Teams in this categorization are the rare beast. They are living the dream, increasing productivity, quality, and value delivered deliberately over time. Scrum Teams in this area live in a broader agile organization, giving very real context to the use of Scrum within the teams.
The term “Nexus” means a connection, link; also a causal link, or a connected group or series.
It’s origin is Latin (from nectere "to bind“) and was first used in 1663 (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nexus)
It’s not about the structure, it’s about the connections (i.e. collaboration and conversation)
An activity without value. The ideal victim for cost cutting.
About Gunther Verheyen
Gunther Verheyen (gunther.verheyen@scrum.org) is a seasoned Scrum professional. He works for Scrum.org, the home of Scrum. He represents Scrum co-creator Ken Schwaber and Scrum.org in Europe.
Gunther ventured into IT and software development after graduating as Industrial Engineer in 1992. His Agile journey started with eXtreme Programming and Scrum in 2003. Years of dedication followed, of working with several teams and organizations, of using Scrum in diverse circumstances. Building on the experience gained, Gunther became the driving force behind some large-scale enterprise transformations.
Gunther left consulting to partner with Ken Schwaber, Scrum co-creator, at Scrum.org in 2013. He is Professional Scrum trainer, directs the ‘Professional Scrum’ series and co-created the framework for Evidence-Based Management of Scrum.org. He shepherds classes, trainers, courseware and assessments for the programs of Professional Scrum Foundations (PSF), Professional Scrum Developer (PSD), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), and Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO).
In 2013 Gunther published his highly appraised book “Scrum – A Pocket Guide,” a ‘smart travel companion’ to Scrum.
Gunther lives in Antwerp (Belgium) with his wife Natascha, and their children Ian, Jente and Nienke.
Find Gunther on Twitter as @ullizee or read more of his musings on Scrum on his personal blog, http://guntherverheyen.com/tag/scrum/.