Posts Tagged ‘SDLC’
Software Moulding Methods
Christian Sarkar and I started an e-dialog on Agile Business Service Management in BSMReview. Both of us are keenly interested in exploring the broad application of Agile BSM in the context of Gartner’s Top Ten Technologies for 2010. To quote Christian:
Israel, where do agile practices fit into this? Just about everywhere as well?
The short answer to Christian’s good question is as follows:
I consider the principles articulated in the Manifesto For Agile Software Development http://agilemanifesto.org universal and timeless. They certainly apply just about everywhere. As a matter of fact, we are seeing the Manifesto principles applied more and more to the development of hardware and content.
The fascinating thing in what we are witnessing (see, for example: Scale in London – Part II, An Omen in Chicago, Depth in Seattle, and Richness and Vibrancy in Boston) is the evolution of the classical problem of managing multiple Software Development Life Cycles. Instead of dealing with one ‘material’ (software), we handle multiple ‘materials’ (software, hardware, content, business initiative, etc.) of dissimilar characteristics. The net effect is as follows:
The challenge then becomes the simultaneous and synchronized management of two or more ‘substances’ (e.g. software and content; software, content and business initiative; or, software, hardware, content and business initiative) of different characteristics under a unified process. It is conceptually fairly similar to the techniques used in engineering composite materials.
Ten years have passed since Evans and Wurster demonstrated the effects of separating the virtual from the physical. As software becomes pervasive, we are now starting to explore putting the virtual back together with the physical through a new generation of software moulding methods.
The Executive’s Workshop for Scaling Agile to The Enterprise
Readers of this blog are well aware of my keen interest in enterprise level Agile. I am now offering a specialized workshop for executives on this topic.
The Executive’s Workshop for Scaling Agile to The Enterprise
This one day workshop and free follow-on coaching service prepares executives for their roles in large-scale Agile implementation.
This workshop is ideal for building a shared understanding of your company’s Agile goals and practices amongst members of the leadership team. It illustrates how executives could/should engage in the Agile process in a meaningful manner, and includes strategies for addressing common challenges. Your team will see how to govern Agile effectively, and most importantly, you’ll learn proven practices for attaining the operational, financial and business benefits of a successful enterprise-level Agile implementation.
Objectives
Agile is shown to cut the cost, improve the flexibility and shorten time-to-market of software-driven projects. Upon completion of this service, executive teams will be able to:
- Scale Agile to the enterprise level
- Minimize risks associated with large-scale Agile rollout
- Apply Agile practices in development and beyond
- Galvanize the team around a shared, cross-functional Agile vision
Approach
The Executive’s Workshop for Scaling Agile to The Enterprise service is divided into three parts, each designed to help company leaders accelerate their adoption of Agile.
Part I: Preparation via phone interviews and web-based coaching. The workshop leader works with your executive team to gather context, discuss logistics and focus the on-site workshop on your needs.
Part II: One day on-site workshop is delivered through combination of presentation, examples, exercises and participant discussion.
Part III: Free telephone coaching and mentoring with the Workshop Leader for six months after the workshop. The objective is to help executives respond effectively to the challenges they encounter in the course of implementing Agile.
On-Site Workshop Details
Leading an enterprise adoption of Agile requires that you understand the key concepts, principles and practices of Agile without getting bogged down in technical details. You must learn techniques for handling the expected “noise” associated with organizational change while identifying the critical tasks needing your attention and leadership to succeed. The workshop is designed to address these challenges with a minimal investment of time.
Here is an overview of the key topics you will add to your experience set:
Explaining the Rationale for Agile to Your Company
- Why now?
- What is the state of the art in Agile and what is our goal
- Expected return on our Agile investment
How The Agile Process Fits into Your Company:
- Understanding Agile as an example of other common, iterative, quality-oriented processes
- How Agile works with other software development life cycle processes
- How to run a heterogeneous software development environment that mixes Waterfall, Agile and other methods
- Connecting Agile to your budgeting process
- How to perform governance and portfolio management with Agile
How to Implement Agile:
- Choosing suitable projects for Agile methods
- Rollout strategies that mitigate risks
- Keeping departments aligned during the Agile rollout
- Defining the social contract for Agile
- How to make Agile sustainable in your particular culture
- How Agile impacts your partner eco-system
- Succeeding with off-shoring and outsourcing
Setting Up The Agile Enterprise:
- Determining your performance metrics for Agile
- How to negotiate Agile contracts
- Achieving breakthrough innovation through Agile
- Business designs that utilize the power of Agile
Price and Availability
- Limited to 12 people per workshop
- Please contact me at isrgat@gmail.com
The Agile Executive 