Ode to Agility

“Agility is blank.”

That's what I thought to myself before.

We developers have a tendency when we start out with conconsider everything that comes from methodology like some nebulous management trick whose sole function is to provide a framework for the teams, so that a project can be carried out.
Like a slightly superfluous Table of Commandments, laying down rules that only a few people don't naturally apply.

But in fact, no.

This prejudice, I definitely swallowed it thanks to a scrum training proposed by Xebia (and led by the talented Scrum trainer Bruno Sbille) in which I had the pleasure of participating. Scrum Product Owner certifying training spread over 2 days.
And it was, from the first day, one exercise in particular that put my ideas back in place...

The aptly named “Aircraft Exercise”!

Take 3 teams of 5/8 people and ask them to produce the most paper airplanes in 3 minutes.

Rule :
No one should do more than one bend in a row on the same plane, one person embodies the 'product owner' having the role of verifying that each finished plane flies correctly and having a ban on bending.
Before the timer starts, each team has one minute to strategize and announce how many planes they think they can make.

la-fi-tn-45-foot-paper-airplane-glides-over-ar-002

#badstrategy

Uncertain, we thought of doing 4.
0 have stolen.

The other 2 teams did better than us but nothing to show off either.
We then had the opportunity to debate for a minute in order to correct our strategy and give a new estimate before another 3 minutes of intensive folding.

Announced: 16.
Products: 14.

3rd round:

18 announced…
Flown: 18!

We were certainly the team with the most striking production curve, but the statistics of the 3 groups were striking: we all started from a ratio below 40% to end up all at 100%.

Revelation, Shock, Illumination.

Iterating over short periods of time with regular retrospectives improves teamwork dramatically.

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Far more effective than a classic v-cycle for which the development is done in a stupidly linear way.
Finally crowned by a good big debrief where everyone has the opportunity to grasp the extent of the overtaking, overhead and meager proportion of features who eventually went into production.

So yes, the Agile methods remain a methodology, project management tool, a framework, above all there to make the processes more smart, flexible and increase productivity by reducing costs.

Probably unsexy considerations seen from the eye of a coder.

But it is also an incredibly emulator-generating and highly rewarding tool.

Imagine seeing your team success increase with each “sprint” (iteration) and your estimation quality improving, as in the airplanes example.
Exciting isn't it?

Imagine bringing a project to life through a physical board where each feature is represented by a post-it that travels from column to column...
Thrilling isn't it?

Imagine constantly knowing what your 4, 5, 6 fellow developers are coding and having the opportunity to adapt the common strategy at any time according to the deadline?
Impressive?

Well, yeah ! 3 times.

I have, since this change of perspective, the happiness of swimming in a pool of agility, and of retaining all the benefits.

So this is my Mea Culpa.

“Agility, I love you.

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Teaser: The IT platform on which I work is currently preparing its transformation into a “Feature Team” device à la Spotify… A project that promises to be just as painful as it is rewarding. To be continued…

Laurent Masella, UX-Scientist @UX-Republic