Transition

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Arrows scaling upward 7 Key Factors for Scaling Agile in Large Organizations

Agile adoption has grown from a small number of agile teams within an organization to many agile teams, larger teams, and entire organizations themselves, bringing a new set of challenges and complexities. Regardless of the framework, some important factors play a major role in making large-scale agile adoption successful. Here are seven aspects you should consider when scaling agile across an organization.

Pooja Wandile's picture Pooja Wandile
Testing feedback loop 5 Key Factors to Achieve Agile Testing in DevOps

Part of the path to DevOps requires adoption of agile methodologies. What does it mean for testing when you switch from the traditional waterfall model, with a few long release cycles per year, to the agile model, with changes occurring every two weeks? Here are five key factors to achieve the agile software testing necessary in DevOps.

Denise Rigoni's picture Denise Rigoni
Laptop with code on the screen Agile Development: Focusing on the Health of Your Code

In Scrum, the product owner and the ScrumMaster are supposed to drive sustainable development. But there's a third force missing from the formula: the health of the code itself. We often forget that our code is also a member of our team, and we have to be concerned about its health and well-being as much as any other team member. That means using practices to develop good code from the beginning.

David Bernstein's picture David Bernstein
Red highway sign saying "Wrong Way" Warning Signs That Your Agile Effort Has Lost Its Focus

Agile should be about using tailored practices, techniques, tools, and team organizations that fully align to your business context. But the world of cookie-cutter solutions strongly influences businesses and their IT teams to follow their one-size-fits-all frameworks, methods, and tools. Such an approach often introduces many risks, so beware of the following symptoms that may indicate that your agile team has gone astray.

Anil Rao's picture Anil Rao
A coach training a baseball player What Kind of Agile Coach Should I Hire?

Having your organization make the mental shift necessary to adopt agile is the first important step in an agile transformation. But once you decide you want to change, now what? Should you attempt your agile adoption yourselves or hire an expert? Joel Bancroft-Connors details the benefits and downsides of going it alone and of using contract, consultant, and full-time agile coaches so you can decide what's best for you.

Joel Bancroft-Connors's picture Joel Bancroft-Connors
An illuminated lightbulb, photo by Johannes Plenio Agile Is Not a Process, It’s a Mindset

Agile transformation requires more than a change in process; it needs a change in mindset. In order to fully embrace agile and create a productive environment, you have to change how you think about priorities and failure. Priorities are decided proactively, not reactively, and failure is not punished, it is celebrated. Once you make this shift in perspective, you can reap the rewards of agile.

Lisa Rich's picture Lisa Rich
Business analyst in a suit The Modern Role of the Agile Business Analyst

The business analyst (BA) has played a key role in software development. But within a modern agile context, the role of the BA is less clear, and there is some confusion as to whether the product owner role subsumes that of the traditional BA. Let’s look at the roles the BA can play with agile teams and how to fully leverage their expertise to supplement or augment that of the product owner.

Rich Stewart's picture Rich Stewart
Open agile workspace The Ideal Workspace for an Agile Team

If your agile team is all wearing noise-canceling headphones and stepping outside for conference calls, you have a problem. An agile workspace doesn't only mean putting everyone in the same room. The layout, configuration, and seating must be conducive to sustainable teamwork. Here are some tips about what an agile workspace is—and isn't.

Joel Bancroft-Connors's picture Joel Bancroft-Connors
Technical writing Fitting Technical Writing into Agile Development

As teams strive to move to a mature agile process, technical writers must adapt as effectively as the development personnel. This new agile process demands that knowledge dealing with software or product releases is only sparingly documented up front, making the technical writer's job of gathering information much more dependent on talking with people over reading requirements.

Robert Spielman's picture Robert Spielman
Agile task board Using Agile to Lead Your Agile Transformation

There's something ironic about starting an agile transformation by spending six months creating a detailed transformation plan. We have to move away from a prescriptive playbook and toward a more responsive transformation model. Why not use the agile transformation as your first opportunity to be agile?

Joel Bancroft-Connors's picture Joel Bancroft-Connors

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