For large scale organizations that need to scale Agile, one of the biggest challenges is selecting the option that will fit best. In this interview Scott Ambler, co-creator of the Disciplined Agile framework offers explains the origin of DisciplinedAgile, what makes it different than the other scaling options and how to handle some of the more common issues facing traditional orgs that are trying to adopt Agile and handle governance.
SHOW NOTES
00:07 Interview Begins
00:35 Background on the Disciplined Agile Framework
01:34 The Origin of Disciplined Agile and what it was designed to help with
05:01 What drives organizations to want one common way to practice Agile
06:13 How Disciplined Agile responds to the desire for one process to rule them all
08:36 If you support multiple approaches to development, how do you bring it all together from a governance perspective and how do you communicate with management about process and progress?
11:10 If you are going to govern, what should you actually be governing?
12:30 Do we really want the PMO to be in charge of governing all aspects of the work?
13:20 How Disciplined Agile looks at the bigger picture with respect to governance
15:55 Making room for someone who can watch how things are being measured and keeping track of performance
16:39 We do not want to inflict the same process on 50 different teams. We need to up our game and look at the full enterprise picture
17:24 Everything in the complex adaptive system impact everything else in the system
17:56 The difference between Disciplined Agile and the other options for scaling Agile
20:55 There is no such thing as a best practice… EVER
21:08 If you want to be effective, pick and choose the techniques that work for you
22:50 Teaching them how to make decisions on their own, rather than just prescribing a solution
23:15 Getting qualified, experienced coaches to help you adopt Disciplined Agile
25:19 How Disciplined Agile makes sure the people teaching it are experienced it and know what they are doing
26:42 The first step is not to park your brain at the door. Hire someone who has experience and knows what they are doing.
27:25 The legions of Agile coaches … a 4 day class does not make you an experienced expert
28:55 Avoiding the trap of hiring “experts” who have merely completed few days of training
30:20 Making the case to senior leadership for taking a more mindful approach, despite the additional risk and effort
31:36 If it took your organization decades to get into the state they are in now, it is not going to go away overnight
32:50 The investment is more than just dollars
34:44 No matter how good we are, there is always something more we can tweak to get better
35:12 Organizations need to wake up, observe and have an honest discussion - make the bigger picture obvious
36:47 If you want to get in touch with Scott
37:44 Scott’s upcoming speaking events
38:22 Interview Ends
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