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This research note is restricted to the personal use of Sebastien Blanchette (Sebastien.Blanchette2@USherbrooke.ca).

Best Practices in Transitioning to Agile: Picking a Methodology

21 March 2012 | (athan )ilson *ickin+ a ,ethodolo+- is a ke- decision at the start of an a+ile transition. This research +uides T leaders throu+h the process of pickin+ an initial a+ile ,ethodolo+-. !"#002$1%&'

Overview Key Findings

. More than 1& ,ethods clai, to be a+ile or a+ile co,patible. . /or ,ost or+ani0ations1 Scru, is the best choice for a+ile pro2ects1 but there are alternati3es that ,a- be a better fit for specific situations. . (o off4the4shelf ,ethodolo+- 5ill be a perfect fit for -our or+ani0ation. . The abilit- to learn fro, e6perience and adapt the ,ethodolo+- to an or+ani0ation is ,ore i,portant than the initial choice of ,ethodolo+-.

Recommendations
. !o not tr- to find a perfect fit for -our or+ani0ation. Use the decision tree in this research to select a 7+ood enou+h7 ,ethodolo+- to start 5ith. . Make sure that there is ade8uate trainin+ a3ailable in -our area for the ,ethodolo+-ou pick. . /ocus on ,ethodolo+ies that ha3e a si+nificant nu,ber of e6perienced de3elopers in the local labor pool. . Use retrospecti3es to continuousl- re3ie5 and adapt the process.

Analysis What Yo !eed to Know

9r+ani0ations transitionin+ to a+ile can spend a lot of ti,e selectin+ an initial ,ethodolo+-. B- definition1 these or+ani0ations ha3e little to no a+ile e6perience 5hen selectin+ the ,ethodolo+-: hence1 the- rarel- ,ake a perfect choice. /urther,ore1 fe5 ,ature a+ile or+ani0ations use an un,odified off4the4shelf ,ethodolo+-. ;ather than debatin+ the best initial ,ethodolo+-1 application de3elop,ent leaders should" . Select a ,ethodolo+- that is a reasonable startin+ point . <sk a sin+le tea, to use the ,ethodolo+- in a pilot pro2ect . ncre,entall- i,pro3e the ,ethodolo+- until it is read- for broader rollout B- selectin+ and pilotin+ a ,ethodolo+-1 -ou can +ain the kno5led+e needed to create a process that 5orks for -our or+ani0ation and the proof points needed to dri3e a+ile adoption.

The "o rney #s More #m$ortant Than the %tarting Point

/indin+ the best a+ile practices for -our or+ani0ation is a 2ourne-. (o ,ethodolo+- is a perfect fit for a specific or+ani0ation. B- pickin+ a +ood4enou+h ,ethodolo+- and usin+ retrospecti3es to learn fro, each iteration and pro2ect1 or+ani0ations can tailor a ,ethodolo+- that ,eets their needs. The research is intended to +uide T leaders to an a+ile ,ethodolo+- that 5ill be a +ood startin+ point for their or+ani0ations= a+ile 2ourne-. /or a co,prehensi3e list and descriptions of a+ile ,ethodolo+ies1 see 7Understandin+ the /unda,entals of <+ile Methods.7

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This research is one of four reports in a series on transitionin+ to a+ile. The other reports are" . 7Best *ractices in Transitionin+ to <+ile" #ettin+ Started7 . 7Best *ractices in Transitionin+ to <+ile" Scru, >odin+ *ractices7 . 7Best *ractices in Transitionin+ to <+ile" The *ilot *ro2ect7 ?eep in ,ind that the best ,ethodolo+- for -our or+ani0ation toda- 5ill probabl- not be the best se3eral -ears fro, no5. @ffecti3e a+ile or+ani0ations continuousl- adapt their processes and e3en chan+e to ne5 ,ethodolo+ies to i,pro3e the, (see /i+ure 1).

Fig re &' Methodology (ecision Tree

%o rce: )artner *March +,&+-

Kan.an /or 0ontin o s %tream o/ #nde$endent Tasks

)hile ?anban can be used for an- soft5are pro2ect1 it is a better fit for a lar+e nu,ber of s,all independent tasks. n ?anban1 the hi+hest priorit- task is taken fro, the backlo+ and processed. This allo5s for the ite,s in the backlo+ to be continuousl- ,odified and prioriti0ed 5ithout disruptin+ 5ork in pro+ress. /or e6a,ple1 ,an- or+ani0ations use ?anban for production support1 5hile an interation4based ,ethodolo+- like Scru, is used for lon+er4lastin+ de3elop,ent efforts. The lack of interations or other pro2ect phase structure can ,ake ?anban ,ore difficult for an en+ineer 5ho is ne5 to a+ile to understand. ?anban is one techni8ue fro, lean To-ota *roduction S-ste, (T*S) and total 8ualit- ,ana+e,ent (TAM) and often co,bined 5ith before lean or Theor- of >onstraints (see 7<+ile /oundation" Bean Soft5are !e3elop,ent7 C (ote" This docu,ent has been archi3ed: so,e of its content ,a- not reflect current conditions).

Agile1P2O$en1P /or %trong 1ni/ied Process Organi3ations

<lthou+h core U* has been e3ol3in+ to be ,ore a+ile1 there are se3eral 3ariants that should be considered if an or+ani0ation 5ants an e3en li+hter45ei+ht process. <+ileU* and 9penU* are +ood choices for an or+ani0ation that uses U* effecti3el-1 but 5ants to beco,e

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,ore a+ile. Both are based on rational U* (;U*) and1 therefore1 pro3ide an easier transition to a+ile for U* practitioners. The ,ethodolo+ies ha3e a four4phase approach C inception1 elaboration1 construction and transition C that can be inte+rated 5ith sta+e +ate +o3ernance and fundin+. <+ileU*1 like /!!1 is suited to pro2ects that re8uire ,ore for,al ,odelin+.

F(( /or Agile Model4(riven

/or or+ani0ations that 5ant to keep a desi+n4dri3en focus and still beco,e ,ore a+ile1 /!! can be a +ood choice. The use of a co,,on pro2ect do,ain ,odel ,akes /!! attracti3e for proble, do,ains that need earl- desi+n 3alidation or in areas 5ith co,ple6 concepts and relationships. /!! has de,onstrated it can scale to support lar+e distributed pro2ects and has natural s-ner+- 5ith ser3ice4oriented architecture (S9<) and ser3ice4oriented de3elop,ent of applications (S9!<)1 5hich aids tea, decouplin+. !ue to li,ited use in (orth <,erica1 e6perienced practitioners ,a- be difficult to find (see 7<+ile /oundation" /eature4!ri3en !e3elop,ent7 C (ote" This docu,ent has been archi3ed: so,e of its content ,a- not reflect current conditions).

(%(M Prince +2PMBOK #ntegration Re5 ired

<tern !S!M is desi+ned to 5ork in con2unction 5ith pro2ect ,ana+e,ent fra,es like *rince 2 and to facilitate S9%000D1 co,pliance 5ith T. t is a +ood fit for an or+ani0ation that ,ust keep its de3elop,ent or+ani0ation *rince 2D*M certified1 but 5ants to be so,e5hat ,ore a+ile. t is a fairl- hea3-5ei+ht process1 5ith an e6tensi3e +uidebook1 but allo5s for a+ilit- in hi+hl- structured en3iron,ents. Trainin+ and certification are a3ailable. !ue to li,ited use outside the U.?. and @urope1 e6perienced practitioners ,a- be difficult to find (see 7<+ile /oundation" !-na,ic S-ste, !e3elop,ent Method7 C (ote" This docu,ent has been archi3ed: so,e of its content ,a- not reflect current conditions).

%cr m /or 6veryone 6lse

Scru,=s 5ide adoption and fle6ibilit- ,akes it a +ood fit for ,ost or+ani0ations. Trainin+ and certification are 5idel- a3ailable1 and ,an- e6perienced practitioners are a3ailable. Scru, e6perience is a hi+hl- sou+ht skill1 resultin+ in +enerall- hi+h acceptance rates a,on+ de3elopers. Scru, co3ers the basic a+ile concepts of" . Self4or+ani0in+ +roups . ncre,ental deli3er. Stor-4based de3elop,ent Scru, pro3ides +reat transparenc- into a pro+ress. t has been pro3en in s,all and lar+e pro2ects 5orld5ide. Scru, is hi+hl- fle6ible in codin+ practices. )hile this increases the nu,ber of situations 5hen it can be used1 Scru, should be used in con2unction 5ith additional codin+ practices1 such as T!!1 pair pro+ra,,in+ and refactorin+.

What A.o t 67treme Programming8

@6tre,e *ro+ra,,in+ (E*) is probabl- the ,ost publici0ed of all the a+ile ,ethods1 after Scru,. The underl-in+ principal in E* is to pick 12 a+ile practices and take the, to the lo+ical e6tre,e. <s such1 it is a +reat reference ,odel1 especiall- 5hen it co,es to codin+ practices. <s a stand4alone ,ethodolo+-1 it does not pro3ide the or+ani0ational +uidance of Scru,1 and so,e of the direct interactions and colocation 5ith end users can be i,practical. There is1 ho5e3er1 po5erful s-ner+- 5hen -ou add E* codin+ practices into a Scru, or ?anban ,ana+ed pro2ect (see /i+ure 21 7Best *ractices in Transitionin+ to <+ile" Scru, >odin+ *ractices7 and 7<+ile /oundation" @6tre,e *ro+ra,,in+7 ).

Fig re +' Methodology Matri7: %trengths and Weaknesses

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%o rce: )artner *March +,&+-

Recommended Reading
Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription. 7=Fust @nou+h *rocess= for <pplications7 7Understandin+ the /unda,entals of <+ile Methods7 7<+ile !e3elop,ent Methodolo+ies7 7*eer *ractices" Soft5are !e3elop,ent *ractices7

G 2012 #artner1 nc. andDor its <ffiliates. <ll ;i+hts ;eser3ed. ;eproduction and distribution of this publication in an- for, 5ithout prior 5ritten per,ission is forbidden. The infor,ation contained herein has been obtained fro, sources belie3ed to be reliable. #artner disclai,s all 5arranties as to the accurac-1 co,pleteness or ade8uac- of such infor,ation. <lthou+h #artner=s research ,a- discuss le+al issues related to the infor,ation technolo+- business1 #artner does not pro3ide le+al ad3ice or ser3ices and its research should not be construed or used as such. #artner shall ha3e no liabilit- for errors1 o,issions or inade8uacies in the infor,ation contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions e6pressed herein are sub2ect to chan+e 5ithout notice.

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