A Practical Guide to Distributed Scrum

Succeed with Scrum in Even the Largest, Most Complex Distributed Development Projects   Forewords by Ken Schwaber, Scott Ambler, Roman Pichler, and Matthew Wang   This is the first comprehensive, practical guide for Scrum practitioners working in large-scale distributed environments. Written by three of IBM’s leading Scrum practitioners--in close collaboration with the IBM QSE Scrum Community of more than 1000 members worldwide--this book offers specific, actionable guidance for everyone who wants to succeed with Scrum in the enterprise.   Readers will follow a journey through the lifecycle of a distributed Scrum project, from envisioning products and setting up teams to preparing for Sprint planning and running retrospectives. Each chapter presents a baseline drawn from “conventional” Scrum, then discusses additional issues faced by distributed teams, and presents specific best-practice solutions, alternatives, and tips the authors have identified through hard, empirical experience.   Using real-world examples, the book demonstrates how to apply key Scrum practices, such as look-ahead planning in geographically distributed environments. Readers will also gain valuable new insights into the agile management of complex problem and technical domains.   Coverage includes •  Developing user stories and working with Product Owners as a distributed team •  Recognizing and fixing the flaws Scrum may reveal in existing processes •  Engaging in more efficient Release and Sprint planning •  Conducting intense, brief daily Scrum meetings in distributed environments •  Managing cultural and language differences •  Resolving dependencies, performing frequent integration, and maintaining transparency in geographically distributed environments •  Successfully running remote software reviews and demos •  Brainstorming what worked and what didn’t, to improve future Sprints   This book will be an indispensable resource for every team leader, member, product owner, or manager working with Scrum or other agile methods in any distributed software development organization.  

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Ken Schwaber xvii Foreword by Scott Ambler xix Foreword by Roman Pichler xxiii Foreword by Matthew Wang xxv Preface xxvii Chapter 1 The Evolution of Scrum 1 Core Principles of Scrum 2 An Agile Project Management Framework 2 Scrum Roles 2 Scrum Artifacts 3 The Sprint 4 The Shift to Distributed Development Teams 5 Globally Distributed Teams to Reduce Costs 6 Reaching Market More Quickly with the “Follow the Sun” Model 6 Distributed Teams Expand Access to New Markets 6 Acquisitions 7 Expanding for Innovation and Thought Leadership 7 Telecommuting 7 Improvements in Distributed Collaboration Tools 7 Types of Distributed Teams That Have Emerged 8 Collocated 8 Collocated Part-Time 9 Distributed with Overlapping Work Hours 10 Distributed with No Overlapping Work Hours 11 Ways of Handling Distributed Teams 12 Isolated Scrums 12 Distributed Scrum of Scrums 12 Totally Integrated Scrums 13 IBM’s Experience in Distributed Scrum 14 History of Agile in IBM 15 Summary 17 Chapter 2 Challenges Faced by Distributed Teams 19 Communicating with Distributed Team Members 20 Time Zones and Working Hours 20 Cultural Differences 21 Language Differences 23 Keeping Language Simple 23 Giving Everyone a Chance to Speak 24 Using Group Chat During Meetings 24 Providing a Translator 25 Confirming What Team Members Understand 25 Tools 26 File Sharing 26 Software Engineering Practices 27 Schedule Differences 27 Team Dynamics 28 Telephone Dynamics 29 Providing Access to the Call 29 Working with Telephones in a Meeting Room 30 Identifying the Speaker 31 Handling Visual Cues 31 Encouraging Participation 32 Limiting Side Conversations 33 Muting the Lines 33 Checking for Agreement and Disagreement 34 Identifying an Advocate to Represent Remote Team Members 34 When Nothing Else Works, Everyone Dials In 34 Reminders 34 Impact of Communication Problems 35 How Does Scrum Help? 36 Summary 37 Chapter 3 Starting a Scrum Project 39 How to Identify the Problems Your Product Will Solve 40 Who Are Your Stakeholders? 40 What Problems Will the Project Address? 42 What Are Your Solutions to the Problems? 46 What Is the Return on Investment? 47 Define the Vision 49 Create the Product Roadmap 50 Organize the Scrum Teams 50 Create and Prioritize the Backlog 51 Estimating the Stories as a Team 52 Prioritizing the Backlog 52 Single Backlog for Multiple Scrum Teams 53 Single Backlog with Sections for Multiple Teams 53 Separate Backlogs for Multiple Scrum Teams 54 Single Backlog Populated by Multiple Other Teams 56 Create the Release Plan 56 What Is the Sprint Length? 58 What Is the Estimated Team Velocity? 59 What Are the Dependencies? 61 What Are the Risks? 63 Coordinate Multiple Product Owners 63 Use Agile Project Management Tools 64 Invest in Smarter Development 65 Coordinating Agile and Non-Agile Teams 66 Reporting on Release Status 66 Ongoing Updates to Release Plan and Vision 66 Important Note about Meeting Face-to-Face 66 Summary 67 Chapter 4 Preparing for Sprint Planning 69 Sprint Preplanning Activities 70 Clarification of the User Stories 71 Breaking Down User Stories 72 Estimating User Stories 72 Dealing with Dependencies 75 Cleanup of the Product Backlog 78 Approaches for the Sprint Preplanning Meeting 78 The Full-Team Approach 80 The Preplanning Team Approach 81 The Balanced Team Approach 82 Considerations for Distributed Teams 82 Summary 83 Chapter 5 Sprint Planning 85 Adequately Preparing for the Sprint Planning Meeting 87 Sprint Planning Meeting Logistics 87 Sprint Planning Meeting Logistics for Scaled Teams 87 Sprint Planning Meeting Logistics for Distributed Teams 88 The First Half of Sprint Planning: Deciding What to Do 88 Reviewing Product Vision and Sprint Goal 89 Reviewing the Product Backlog 89 Engaging Stakeholders 91 The Second Half of Sprint Planning: Deciding How to Get the Work Done 91 Creating the Sprint Backlog 92 Gaining Commitment 94 Updating the Release Plan 94 Summary 94 Chapter 6 Distributed Daily Scrum Meetings 97 Using the Three Questions Effectively 98 Answering the Three Questions 99 Coordinating the Team on a Daily Basis 99 Committing to the Team 100 Verifying Progress 100 Resolving Blockers 101 Daily Scrum Logistics 102 Ways of Communicating During the Daily Scrum 102 Face-to-Face Meeting 102 Teleconference Meeting 103 Videoconference Meeting 104 Group Instant Messaging Approach 105 Approaches to Handling Time Zone Issues 106 Daily Scrums Through Documentation 107 The Liaison Approach 108 Alternating Meeting Times 110 Sharing the Pain 112 Tips for Distributed Daily Scrums 114 Removing Side Conversations 114 Keeping the Team Engaged 114 Facilitating the Meeting 115 Taking Daily Scrum Notes 116 Dealing with Language Barriers 117 Tools to Help with Distributed Daily Scrum 117 Scrum of Scrums 118 Summary 118 Chapter 7 Effective Collaboration During a Sprint 121 Communicating During the Sprint 122 Documentation to Overcome Distance 123 Using the Right Tools 123 Valuing the Whole Team 124 Transparency 124 Handling New Requests in the Middle of a Sprint 125 Single Point of Entry 125 Value of the Well-Groomed Backlog 126 Shortening the Sprint 127 Dealing with Defects 127 Disruptions at the Team Member Level 128 Handling Stories the Team Cannot Complete During the Sprint 128 Handling Blockers During the Sprint 129 Responding to Questions During the Sprint 130 Sustainable Pace 131 Sharing Time Zone Challenges 132 Avoiding Double Workdays 132 Continuous Integration 133 Reports Any Build Failures to the Team 133 Reduces the Risk of Integrating Code 133 Establishes Greater Confidence in the Product 135 Reduces the Time to Find Integration Issues 135 Improves the Efficiency of the Team 136 Builds Can Run at Different Frequencies 136 Test Automation 137 Dedicated Automation Teams 137 Identify High-Value Automated Tests 138 Automate What Is Stable 138 Automated Tests Can Run at Any Time 139 Automation Helps Improve Software Quality 139 Test-Driven Development 139 Provides Documentation and Working Examples of Code 140 Helps Reduce the Time to Fix Defects 140 Helps Improve Code Quality and Provides a Safety Net for Changes 141 Helps Team Members Work Together and Collaborate 141 Helps Teams Move Away from Big Upfront Designs 142 Unit Tests and Continuous Integration 142 Handling Infrastructure Projects 143 Summary 144 Chapter 8 End of Sprint Reviews 147 Who Participates in the Reviews 148 Enterprise Stakeholders 148 Who Should Present 149 Preparing Stakeholders 150 Reviewing the Strategic Vision of the Product 151 Approaches to Help Focus the Review 151 Using Themes and a Script 152 Having the Product Owner Introduce Each Presentation 152 Scheduling for Teams with Overlapping Work Hours 153 Scheduling for Teams with No Overlapping Work Hours 154 Alternating Meeting Times 154 Multiple Sprint Review Meetings 155 Sharing the Pain 156 Feeling the Pain 156 Recording the Entire Sprint Review Meeting 157 Challenges Teams Face 157 Not Keeping Track of the Stakeholder Comments 157 Demos May Provide a False Sense of Completion 158 The Team Has Nothing to Present 158 Added Challenges of Distributed Teams 159 Neglecting to Demo the Work of Part of the Team 159 Coordinate with Teams on Different Sprint Lengths 160 Remote Demonstrations 160 Network Delays and Poor Performance 160 Services May Vary by Location 161 Demos Outside of Office Hours 161 Summary 162 Chapter 9 Retrospectives 163 Sprint Retrospectives 163 What Should Come Out of a Retrospective? 165 Retrospective Timing 166 Hold Joint Retrospective as Needed 166 Hold Regular Joint Retrospectives 166 Joint Retrospectives for Teams on Different Sprint Lengths 167 Retrospectives for Teams in the Same Product Family 167 Conducting Retrospectives After Reviews 167 Larger Retrospectives 168 Building Trust 168 Effects of Distance 169 Preparing for the Retrospective 169 Setting Expectations 169 Understanding the Team Members’ Personalities 170 Respecting Cultural Differences 171 Offering Anonymity 171 Asking for Comments Before the Retrospective Meeting 171 What Went Well and What Can We Improve? 171 Providing Questions to Focus the Discussion 172 Consolidating Comments Is Extra Work 172 Conducting the Retrospective 173 Discussing Reported Issues 173 Giving Everyone a Chance to Engage 174 Using Common Terminology 175 State the Obvious 175 Keep the Conversation on Track 175 Managing Time Effectively 175 Release Retrospectives 176 Summary 177 Chapter 10 Closing Thoughts 179 Index 181

About the Author :
Elizabeth Woodward is a Senior Software Consultant with IBM Quality Software Engineering under the Corporate Headquarters Office of Innovation and Technology. She has served as the project manager or development leader on more than 100 globally distributed projects for IBM and other development companies. Elizabeth coaches distributed software development teams to improve efficiency and effectiveness of their development practices. She has co-chaired the IBM Academy of Technology Conference on Agile Methods, teaches courses on Disciplined Agile Development, and co-leads the IBM Agile Community.   Steffan Surdek is a User Experience Lead and Agile Champion in IBM. He has worked in the software development industry for over fifteen years as a software developer, architect, project manager, and team leader. Steffan has managed and coordinated large-scale projects with teams distributed in as many as five countries--India, Egypt, Israel, China, and Canada. He coaches distributed agile teams, is a co-leader of the IBM Agile Community, and teaches Disciplined Agile Development workshops. He is an active member of the Montreal Agile Community and has written on agile methods and globally distributed development for developerWorks and Dr. Dobbs Journal. In his spare time, he does some writing on his website at www.surdek.ca.   Matthew Ganis is an IBM Senior Technical Staff Member and ibm.com site architect. Matt was was co-founder of the Agile@IBM Community and was an early adopter of agile within IBM. He currently teaches Disciplined Agile Development and has published numerous articles and papers on the use of agile methods within ibm.com--both within its traditional web development and the development/support of their Second Life Island. Matt has been the co-chair and chair of the Academy of Technology’s Agile Conferences for the past two years and is a Certified Scrum- Master and Practitioner. Outside of IBM, Matt serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Agile and Extreme Software Development and is a steering committee member of New York City’s Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN) chapter.