Agile Resources e-book

Agile Resources e-book

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Agile project management Agile principles: An illustrated guide Agile project management certification The Agile Manifesto: An illustrated guide Certification for Agile Business Analysts Agile business analyst – a growing role How to write a user story The top 15 agile books you should read The 4 Kanban principles: A visual guide

Agile project management Agile project management is becoming a key skill within the software industry. As more businesses adopt agile, they are seeking dedicated agile project management methods to help them. Individuals with agile certifications in project management can therefore command a premium in the jobs market.

Read on to find out more about agile and project management and professional certification.

Delivery methods The term ‘agile’ means a lot of different things to different people.

Agile methods originated in the software industry, not as project management methods, but as project delivery methods.

“

A project delivery method is a system used … for organizing and financing design, construction, operations, and maintenance services … by entering into legal agreements with one or more entities or parties Wikipedia [1]

Projects deliver outputs The above definition covers both “construction” and “operations and maintenance”. Construction refers to any activities required to design and build a product or service and these take place as part of a project. Projects which are temporary in nature deliver outputs (products or services).

Business as usual Operations and maintenance, however, are what are normally referred to as “business as usual” (BAU) i.e. the ongoing, everyday activities which take place in an organization. It’s usually projects which deliver products at the end of the projects, and these are often maintained by staff who work in BAU. For example, on an IT project in a large organization, it is often the IT department which operates and maintains the IT system after it’s been delivered by the project.

Agile Manifesto Agile is now an umbrella term underneath which lots of different agile delivery methods, concepts, behaviours and techniques are placed. The closest definition of what agile is can be found in the Agile Manifesto created in 2001 by a group of leading agile thinkers. This is what the Agile Manifesto says:

“

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.

Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

Working software over comprehensive documentation.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.

Responding to change over following a plan.

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Agile Manifesto [2]

Agile was a response to project problems Agile delivery methods were developed to overcome many of the problems which often plagued software projects. These problems often meant projects were late, over budget and beset with quality problems.

Agile has moved beyond the software industry Although agile started in the software industry and a lot of its terminology is directly related to I.T., there is now an acknowledgement that agile delivery methods, behaviours, principles and techniques can be used on any type of project.

Some people even replace the word ‘software’ found in the Agile Manifesto with words such as ‘product’ or ‘service’.

Agile delivery methods are for teams One common feature of almost all agile delivery methods is that they tend to focus at the team level e.g. how to make teams more efficient and better able to deliver what the customer needs on time using a variety of agile techniques. Agile delivery methods do not focus on project management (PM) because they were not designed for that purpose.

Must understand ‘why?’

However, on any project there is a need to understand why the project is required. This is the most important question of all. A lack of clarity here could mean a lot of time and money is wasted developing products which are not required by the business. This question is answered usually on a project by its business sponsor often known as a project sponsor or executive.

Historically, project management (PM) has focused on the top 2 levels shown in the diagram above, whilst leaving the methods to be used at the bottom for the teams themselves to specify.

Ensuring the project gives value for money Project management methodologies such as PRINCE2 are clear about the business sponsor role. It is to ensure that the project

gives value for money, that it fits in with corporate strategies and that it can be funded. It is also to ensure that the project delivers a product which in turn, will achieve the forecasted benefits i.e. the positive things which will result as a return for the investment.

Directing projects Often projects have steering committees or project boards which bring together the major business, user and supplier stakeholders, so that there is unified direction given to the project. The people on these boards are, by their very nature, senior people. They commit the necessary resources and approve plans.

Managing projects Sitting in between the teams and a project board is a project manager. The project manager’s traditional role is to manage the project day to day. This involves agreeing work with teams, managing issues and risks, creating and updating plans and reporting progress to the project board.

Delivering products The teams on a project are responsible for delivering in a timely manner those products which the customer needs. Agile teams now have a variety of agile delivery methods to choose from: Extreme Programming, Kanban, DSDM, Lean Startup and Scrum – the latter being the most well-known. These agile delivery methods are able to maximize the productivity of their team members by applying the principles defined in the Agile Manifesto.

Iterative versus waterfall

- click here to see infographic https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/agile/agile-project-management

Waterfall methods Before agile delivery methods began to dominate the software industry, the delivery methods employed on projects were often referred to as “waterfall methods”. These typically relied on lots of documentation to be produced, had predefined sequential phases to go through (requirements analysis, design, build, test, deployment) and each phase required signoff before proceeding to

the next. These methods found it difficult to respond to customers’ changes.

Waterfall projects often failed Research conducted by the Standish Group of projects conducted between 2002 and 2010 reported that: “Software applications developed through the agile process have three times the success rate of the traditional waterfall method and a much lower percentage of time and cost overruns” [3]. Success in the report was defined as on time, on budget, and with all planned features.

Little ‘design up front’ One of the features of agile delivery methods is the lack of focus on “design up front” when compared with waterfall approaches.

The latter utilizes a design phase in which software architectures and high-level designs are produced. The construction of the software proceeds after the design phase has been signed off.

Agile enables fast delivery Agile methods work in a series of iterations, each iteration producing a workable and incremental piece of software. During these iterations, design (and re-design) is done bit by bit, not all at once as in waterfall.

Agile is therefore a good choice for projects which need to quickly bring software to market e.g. a website or web-based tool or service.

Hybrid methods enable more robust systems It is less good at producing long-lasting and well-engineered systems. Can you imagine the control software for a nuclear power station being developed with no up-front design?

This problem was highlighted in the 2014 CRASH Report [3], which showed that enterprise software built using a mixture of agile and waterfall methods – with an up-front emphasis on architectural quality and design – will result in more robust and secure

applications than those built using either agile or waterfall methods alone.

Agile project management Agile methods don’t define a ‘project manager’ role Even if your project is using agile delivery methods you still need project management. That’s because agile delivery methods were never designed as project management methodologies. The fact is that none of the different agile approaches define a ‘project manager’ role.

Project management strengths One of the strengths of project management methodologies such as PRINCE2 is that they have developed over a long time. They have been developed by experienced project managers managing many different types of projects over many years and as such are based upon best practices.

Combining agile with project management The strengths of project management methodologies such as PRINCE2 lie in their focus on giving direction and management on a project. PRINCE2 and other PM standards or methodologies do not, however, provide any focus in the area of product delivery.

Agile delivery methods focus almost entirely at the product delivery level, and do not concern themselves with the project direction or management. So, agile project management is a way of providing project management and direction to a project which uses agile methods at the team level.

Agile project management (agile PM), however, is more than just a marriage between project management methodologies and agile delivery methods. It’s also about applying agile principles to both the project management and delivery methods.

Agile project management certification Boost your career If you work either as a project manager, or work as part of an agile team using something like Scrum or XP, you can boost your career by gaining professional certification. That’s because having professional certification shows employers that you have the knowledge to complement and boost your experience in the field.

Most popular certification In the UK the most popular agile PM certification is AgilePM® offered by the APMG. Announced in 2010, this qualification scheme was developed in conjunction with the Agile Business Consortium (formerly the DSDM Consortium).

The syllabus for the certification is based upon DSDM, which was the world’s first agile PM methodology when it launched in 1995.

The DSDM Consortium was a signatory to the original Agile Manifesto in 2001.

The latest version – the DSDM Agile Project Framework (AgilePF) – was launched in 2014 and is documented in the Agile Project Management Handbook v2.0.

AgilePM® certification AgilePM® certification is available at two levels – Foundation and Practitioner. You can obtain these certifications by studying either 3 or 4 days of agile PM training.

These courses were designed to help students develop both the knowledge and skills required to work on an agile project and develop the understanding to apply the guidance on an agile project.

Growth of AgilePM® certification

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Conclusion If you either work on projects developing products or manage projects which use an agile approach you will find using a dedicated agile project management approach extremely useful.

Agile PM combines the flexibility of agile with the control of project management. It enables rapid delivery and fast response to customer’s changing requirements by using agile principles, whilst at the same time providing an understanding of why the project is required and how it fits in with organisational strategies.

Gaining professional certification can set you apart from many competitors in the jobs market because the qualifications are relatively new and therefore haven’t yet reached the saturation levels which some other professional certifications have.

Gaining agile PM certification is therefore a sensible choice for professionals in 2019.

References

Wikipedia. (2018). Project delivery method. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_delivery_method.

Last accessed: 26 Nov 2018.

[2] Mike Beedle et al. (2001). Manifesto for Agile Software Development. http://www.agilemanifesto.org/. Last accessed: 26 Nov 2018.

[3] The Standish Group. 2011. The CHAOS Report, page 25. https://www.standishgroup.com/ [4] CAST Software Inc. (2017). The CRASH Report 2017. https://www.castsoftware.com/research-labs/crash-reports.

Last accessed: 26 Nov 2018.

[1]

Agile principles: An illustrated guide The 12 agile principles underpin every successful agile project and can inspire even non-agile teams. They form a core part of any agile project management course. Below is our beautifully illustrated infographic detailing the agile principles. Perfect for anyone working on agile projects!

Download and print your free poster here. Put it on the wall in your workplace to help your team learn the 12 agile principles.

Feel free to use either of these graphics on your website, but please link back to this page so others can enjoy our free resources.

Agile project management certification

Agile project management certifications are gaining popularity fast!

Whilst agile development methods and certifications such as Scum dominate the software industry, they are gaining popularity in other industries too.

As more businesses adopt agile, they are seeking agile project management methods to help them. People with agile project management certification can therefore command a premium in the jobs market.

Read on to find out more about the growing Agile Project Management certification (Agile PM) from APMG and the Agile Business Consortium.

Agile PM certification The AgilePM certification scheme announced by the APM Group (APMG) in 2010 was developed in conjunction with the Agile Business Consortium (formerly the DSDM Consortium). Since its launch in 2010, AgilePM has fast established itself as the leading agile project management certification and framework.

Agile Project Management courses are popular with professionals eager to add agile project management certification to their CV. In December 2018, the APMG announced that the total number of AgilePM examinations sat worldwide had reached 100,000.

2012 2013 2014

2015

AgilePM Foundation

612

1,677 3,032 6,481

8,986 12,104 16,851 n/a

n/a

AgilePM Practitioner

540

1,308 2,114 3,791

4,864

n/a

Total % year on year increase

2016

6,130

2017 2018

Total

2011

7,850

n/a

1,152 2,985 5,146 10,272 13,850 18,234 24,701 n/a 100,000 n/a

159% 72%

100%

35%

32%

35%

31%

n/a

By the end of 2018, approximately 65,000 AgilePM Foundation exams and over 35,000 AgilePM Practitioner exams have been sat worldwide. As more and more professionals learn about the new qualifications scheme, these numbers are set to rise.

In 2017, approximately one third of AgilePM Foundation exams taken were sat in the UK. Global pass rates in 2018 for the Foundation exam were 98.5% and 94.7% for Practitioner.

Why is AgilePM so popular?

There are 6 key factors why AgilePM is proving to be popular as the premier agile project management certification.

It provides governance and agility Based upon the Agile Project Framework (APF) which was established over 20 years ago, AgilePM blends both corporate governance aspects with key agile concepts and is specifically

aimed at project managers. The authors of the APF were the ones who developed DSDM, one of the founding signatories to the agile manifesto.

Never compromise quality Never compromising quality is an underlying principle of AgilePM. This is helped by agreeing high-level acceptance criteria throughout the full project lifecycle.

Risk management A starting point in AgilePM for understanding risks is the Project Approach Questionnaire. This enables a shared understanding of project risks and how to mitigate them.

Goes beyond product development approaches Whereas common agile methods such as Scrum offer product development approaches, they do not address project management. AgilePM goes further than Scrum by offering an agile project management approach.

Clear roles and responsibilities AgilePM assigns clear roles and responsibilities to individuals from the business, user, technical and management areas so that effective stakeholder collaboration can be achieved.

Incorporates popular agile practices Key agile practices such as MoSCoW, timeboxing and iterative development are incorporated into AgilePM to support effective product development.

Who should get Agile Project Management certification?

APMG’s AgilePM qualifications are aimed at professionals working in an agile environment who want some of the discipline which more structured project management approaches can offer.

With the demands on businesses ever increasing, there is pressure on project managers to deliver products faster, cheaper and more efficiently than ever before.

Traditional project management Requirements Falsely, traditional project management approaches assume that requirements are well known at the start.

Such methods use the commonly understood ‘project triangle’ of time, cost and scope whereby the scope is fixed at the start of the project and both time and cost are varied as the project continues.

This is one reason why many such projects suffer from time and cost overruns.

Bureaucratic Traditional project management methods are often seen as bureaucratic and heavy on documentation, managed in a top-down ‘command and control’ type of way. How such methods are seen and how they are used are two entirely different things however.

Not designed for agile Traditional project management methods such as PRINCE2 can be adapted to suit the needs of agile projects, but they were never designed from the ground up to do so.

Agile delivers product releases iteratively Changing requirements Agile approaches recognize that users often don’t fully know their requirements when projects start and therefore they will likely change during the project. Whilst changing requirements can often be problematic in more traditional project management approaches, agile approaches embrace changes in requirements.

On agile projects time and cost are normally the fixed elements but the requirements and scope of the project are variable. Agile

therefore is better at delivering on time than more traditional project management approaches.

Agile approaches focus on incremental and iterative releases of products to users and customers, each iteration or incremental release giving the user yet more functionality. Agile can therefore deliver products early to users and this helps users better understand and refine their requirements after a period of use.

Agile is branching out Although agile methods developed in the software industry, the agile philosophy has moved beyond its initial beginnings and has started to be used in other industries – particularly digital media and marketing.

How to become an agile-certified project manager To gain Agile PM certification requires you to pass one of the two Agile PM exams: Foundation and Practitioner.

Usually, students either attend a classroom Agile Project Management course or an online Agile Project Management course. Classroom Foundation courses last 3 days with a further day for the Practitioner part.

AgilePM Foundation online courses can be completed in 20 hours including exam.

AgilePM examinations Both examinations are in multiple-choice formats with a pass mark of 50%. The Foundation examination contains 60 questions to be answered in one hour. This exam is closed-book and tests students’ ability to recognise and distinguish between the main elements of the AgilePM approach.

Agile project management training courses at Foundation level are aimed at people who are already practising agile project managers, or members of agile project teams who are seeking to step up into agile project management.

The Practitioner exam paper contains 4 questions with 15 marks available for each question. It’s an open book exam lasting two hours and tests students’ ability to apply and tailor the AgilePM guidance to a given project scenario. It is designed to test a candidate’s competence to begin working as an Agile Project Manager on a non-complex project.

AgilePM pre-requisites The pre-requisites for taking the AgilePM Practitioner examination is passing either the AgilePM Foundation certificate (above), or either the DSDM Atern Foundation or Practitioner certificate.

Summary Agile Project Management certification, along with the framework learned on an AgilePM course, can be an extremely valuable asset to project managers wanting to manage projects in an agile way.

Whilst the number of professionals with Agile PM certification remains far less than the number of PRINCE2 certified practitioners, this is an advantage for those professionals willing to put the work in to get their Agile PM certification.

Having Agile PM certification is a great way to stand out from competitors in the jobs market when applying for agile project manager roles.

The Agile Manifesto: An illustrated guide

Discover the key values of the Agile Manifesto with this colourful infographic! If you're an agile project manager, or a developer on projects, the manifesto will inform the way you work.

Download and print a free poster version. Put it on the wall in your workplace to help your team learn the four values of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Ideal for anyone working on agile projects!

Feel free to use this graphic on your website, but please link back to this page so others can enjoy our free resources.

Certification for Agile Business Analysts

Agile business analysts Many organisations today are employing agile business analysts.

They are business analysts who typically work in an agile project environment (whether software or other).

Agile business analysis course APMG International developed, in partnership with the Agile Business Consortium, the AgileBA® certification (Agile Business Analysis). These training courses will help develop your skills to become a competent business analyst in an agile project team.

Other associations offer certified agile business analysis like BCS and IIBA®.

APMG’s certification scheme for course (Agile BA) comes in two levels:  Foundation;  Practitioner.

agile

business

analyst

AgileBA® Foundation course The AgileBA Foundation course offers delegates common agile principles suitable for a business analyst. In addition, you will learn about agile business analysis techniques.

The agile business analysis book is called: AgileBA® Agile Business Analysis Handbook. The Scrum Framework is not covered by this course.

This course is for:  Current business analysts;  Agile team members wanting to become agile business analysts;  Product owners and managers;  Individuals studying towards the AgileBA Practitioner certificate.

There are no prerequisites for entering this course. The Foundation course will cover the following topics: The role of the business analyst in an agile world;  Agile fundamentals and agile business analysis;  The agile business case;  Stakeholders in an agile project;  Requirements and user stories;  Prioritisation;  Workshops;  Modelling;  Timeboxing and iterative development;  Requirements planning and estimating throughout lifecycle;  The requirements lifecycle in an agile project;  Making the transition to agile business analysis;

the

After the course, you may sit the AgileBA Foundation exam. The exam format is as follows:     

Multiple choice questions; 50 questions per paper; 25 marks required to pass (out of 50 available) – 50%; 40-minute duration; Closed book.

If you pass the Foundation exam, you would be eligible to sit the AgileBA Practitioner exam.

AgileBA® Practitioner course The AgileBA Practitioner course is for delegates who want to put AgileBA theory into practice. Since you have the knowledge from the Foundation course, you will now learn how to apply it in your organisation.

The topics you will study in this course are:  The philosophy and principles of the DSDM Agile Project Framework;  Agile practices in a project like: Facilitated workshops, MoSCoW Prioritisation, iterative development and modelling;  Testing, estimating and evaluating the benefits delivery in an agile project;  The mechanisms for facilitation and support within an agile project;  The agile approach to managing and prioritising requirements.

After the course, you may sit the AgileBA Practitioner exam. The exam format is as follows:     

Complex multiple-choice questions; 4 questions per paper with 20 marks available per questions; 40 marks required to pass (out of 80 available) - 50%; 2.5-hour duration; Open book (AgileBA Handbook only).

Certified Agile Business Analyst When you pass each exam, you can claim a digital badge representing your certificates from APMG. It can be embedded on your email signature, website, social media or digital resume.

This is proof from APMG that you have a certified agile business analyst. It will show your organisation or employers that you are confident in the subject of agile business analysis.

Statements: IIBA® is a registered trademark owned by International Institute of Business Analysis.

Agile business analyst – a growing role

Business analysts have worked on projects for many years. Agile business analyst roles are becoming more widely advertised. So, what’s the difference, and how can you become an agile business analyst?

What is an agile business analyst?

An agile business analyst (Agile BA) is a business analyst who works on projects using agile methodologies. These methodologies are based upon:     

Adaptive planning; Early delivery; Responding to change quickly and easily; Empowerment of people at the right levels; Continuous improvement.

Agile business analysts require certain attributes such as:  Business-oriented;  Eagerness;  Empathy;

   

Flexibility; Goal-oriented; Innovation; Leadership.

How to become an agile business analyst The steps in becoming an agile business analyst are similar to the steps in becoming a business analyst. In addition you need to develop a range of agile business analyst skills.

Agile business analyst skills To become an Agile BA you need to develop the skills below or enhance them by extra training:  The ability to see the big picture and identify possible solutions;  An understanding of the agile development process;  Outstanding verbal and non-verbal communication skills;  An understanding of the industry involving the project;  The ability to accept changes throughout the project;  Team-building skills;  Multi-tasking skills.

Agile business analyst certification A training course in agile business analysis, like AgileBA®, combines both business analysis techniques and agile methodologies in one Agile Business Analysis qualification Agile business analysis is a growing area as more companies utilise the benefits of agile development methods on their projects.

Getting a qualification such as the AgileBA® can help enhance your resume/CV and distinguish yourself in the job market.

How to write a user story

Writing user stories takes a bit of practice when you are new to agile. That’s why we have developed this simple guide and handy graphic to get you started! They are covered in the popular Agile Project Management course.

If you think this guide will give others a good start to writing user stories, feel free to link to it from your blog or share it with your networks.

What is a user story in agile?

A user story is a simple description of a requirement and is a popular agile method to capture user requirements. It serves as a guide for the team about a user requirement. User stories are one of the many agile technique or methods which you will learn on the Agile Project Management courses.

User stories provide context and clarity of expectations, without focusing on technical details. Defining technical details too early can discourage alternative design options and changes. Being purposely vague, user stories provide room for creativity and interpretation.

A user story speaks from the end user perspective and follows this format: As a ….. I want to ….. so that …..

User stories encourage team conversation which may uncover hidden assumptions and requirements. They are to be kept brief and should always meet the allocated acceptance criteria or definition of “Done”.

Who can write a user story?

Users are the ideal people to write user stories. If you’re using Scrum, it’s the Product Owner’s job to keep the Product Backlog full of user stories. The highest priority stories are pulled from the backlog to work on during a Scrum sprint.

How to write a user story The key to writing an effective user story is to determine the who, what and why. Ensure that your user stories follow the I.N.V.E.S.T. standard – independent, negotiable, valuable estimable, small and testable.

1. Define your end user The first thing to do when writing your story is to define your end user. Who is the person that will be using your product? A helpful way to visualise your user is to make them a persona profile. Give the person a name and find them a photo. Add their relevant attributes, attitudes and behaviours. Finally, give them a goal. The following example is a user definition for a smart baby monitor.

Example: As a [parent]

2. Specify what your end user wants For this part you’ll need to think about the solution your product is offering. What does your end user want from your product? Refer to the “goal” section of your persona profile, then add a brief description of this to your story. The following example shows what the end user wants from using a smart baby monitor.

Example: As a [parent], I want to [check up on my sleeping baby without going into their room]

3. Describe the benefit of your product Imagine that you are the end user speaking to the product developer. Tell the developer the benefit you will gain from using

this product. The following example shows how the end user will benefit from using a smart baby monitor.

Example: As a [parent], I want to [check up on my sleeping baby without going into their room], so I can [ensure their safety without disturbing them].

4. Add acceptance criteria In agile, teams are required to deliver products that are potentially shippable. Acceptance criteria is the clearest and quickest way to determine whether a user story is done or not-done.

Each user story should have at least one acceptance criteria but try not to list too many. You can use S.M.A.R.T objectives to ensure your criteria are measurable. Always remember to write from your end user’s perspective and not confuse acceptance criteria with a to-do list.

Example: As a [parent], I want to [check up on my sleeping baby without going into their room], so I can [ensure their safety without disturbing them].

- Night camera installed on baby’s cot monitor - Baby temperature and breathing monitor function - Data sent to parent’s smartphone - Parent alert sent to smartphone if problem occurs

Start building your backlog Once you have written your user story, you can add it to the backlog. Once you have a bunch of user stories, you can work on prioritizing and estimating the effort.

Embracing change is all part of the agile ethos, so product requirements may change during a sprint and you can refine your user stories as you progress. If you find that your user story is becoming complicated or undoable, you can break it into smaller user stories. That way, the stories are less likely to be left not-done at the end of a sprint.

The top 15 agile books you should read

This list of books is ideal for those of you interested in agile, Scrum or Lean! We created this list by noting the books mentioned most in online project management communities. We also scoured Amazon reviews and totted up star ratings to build our ultimate list of agile books. Many of the concepts descibed in these books form the basis of the increasingly popular agile project management courses which provides guidance for project managers on agile projects.

Click this link to see graphic: https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/agile/top-agile-books Our list of the top 15 best agile books are as follows (best at the top).

1 – ‘Running Lean’ by Ash Maurya Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works. Ash Maurya (2012). O'Reilly Media. ISBN-13: 978-1449305178 An ideal tool for business managers, CEOs, small business owners, developers and programmers, and anyone who’s interested in starting a business project.

2 – ‘Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time’ by Jeff Sutherland Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. Jeff Sutherland (2015). Random House Business. ISBN-13: 9781847941107 Filled with practical examples relevant to any organisation. It will make you re-think the fundamentals of successful management, plus show you how to get both ambitious and everyday tasks done, however large or small your organisation is.

3 – ‘The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win’ by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win. Gene Kim, Kevin Behr and George Spafford (2016).

Random House Business. ISBN-13: 978-0988262508 An entertaining fictional story that follows an IT manager in a company with a troubled project, capturing the dilemmas and offering real-world solutions that the reader can learn from.

4 – ‘The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses’ by Eric Ries The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses. Eric Ries (2011). Portfolio Penguin. ISBN13: 978-0670921607 Most new business failures are preventable. Now is the time to think Lean. This author highlights the importance of learning what your customer wants and adapting before it’s too late. A must for innovative managers and entrepreneurs.

5 – ‘Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process’ by Kenneth Rubin Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process. Kenneth S. Rubin (2012). Addison Wesley. ISBN13: 978-0137043293 An enjoyable read with visual icon language used to create the diagrams. Nice glossary for buzz word reference. Great for beginners and for Scrum Masters’ team training.

6 – ‘Scrum: a Breathtakingly Brief and Agile Introduction’ by Chris Sims and Hillary Johnson Scrum: a Breathtakingly Brief and Agile Introduction. Chris Sims and Hillary Louise Johnson (2012). Dymaxicon. ISBN-13: 9781937965044 A perfect, pocket-sized overview of the bare essentials of Agile development and Scrum. Good reference for the experienced and a brief but effective primer for beginners.

7 – ‘The Scrum Field Guide: Agile Advice for Your First Year’ by Mitch Lacey The Scrum Field Guide: Agile Advice for Your First Year. Mitch Lacey (2012). Addison Wesley. ISBN-13: 978-0321554154 Are you having day-to-day problems implementing Scrum? When they arise, pick up this handbook. Flick to the chapter you need and discover how the author has been in exactly the same situation as you! Less theory, more practical every-day advice.

8 – ‘Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster’ by Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster. Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz (2013). O'Reilly Media. ISBN13: 978-1449335670

A staple book for the hands of those in a Lean startup. Learn which metrics matter according to your business type, model and the stage in which you are at, in a non-daunting way. Measuring progress of a new startup has never been easier!

9 – ‘Impact Mapping: Making a Big Impact with Software Products and Projects’ by Gojko Adzic Impact Mapping: Making a Big Impact with Software Products and Projects. Gojko Adzic (2012). Provoking Thoughts. ISBN-13: 9780955683640 Impact mapping helps to create better plans and roadmaps that ensure alignment of business and delivery, and are easily adaptable. This book aims to help ensure software products and projects don’t die a slow death without making any impact.

10 – ‘Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum’ by Mike Cohn Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum. Mike Cohn (2009). Addison Wesley. ISBN-13: 978-0321579362 Ideal for those who are spreading Scrum into an organization. It covers every stage of the transition from getting started, helping individuals into new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, to implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement.

11 – ‘Agile Product Management with Scrum: Creating Products that Customers Love’ by Roman Pichler Agile Product Management with Scrum: Creating Products that Customers Love. Roman Pichler (2010). Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN-13: 978-0321605788 A fundamental book for current or prospective product owners, as well as executives and coaches interested in establishing agile product management. Understand the role and practices, and how to avoid and overcome the common challenges.

12 – ‘Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices’ by Robert C. Martin Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices. Robert C. Martin (2002). Pearson. ISBN-13: 9780135974445 For Software Engineers, Programmers, and Analysts who want to understand how to design object-oriented software with state-ofthe-art methods.

13 – ‘Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Agile Software Development)’ by Jim Highsmith Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Agile Software Development). Jim Highsmith (2009). Addison Wesley.

ISBN-13: 978-0321658395 An exploration into the best practices for managing projects in agile environments. The author has over 30 years’ experience as an IT manager, product manager, project manager, consultant, and software developer. Ideal for project leaders, managers, and executives at all levels.

14 – ‘Scrum: A revolutionary approach to building teams, beating deadlines, and boosting productivity’

by Jeff Sutherland Scrum: A revolutionary approach to building teams, beating deadlines, and boosting productivity. Jeff Sutherland (2014).

Random House Business Books. ISBN-13: 978-1847941091 Written by one of the Scrum founders, this book delves into the origins and evolution of Scrum, referencing real world examples with autobiographical elements. Not so much a practical book, but useful for explaining the “whats” and the “whys” about Scrum.

15 – ‘Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams’ by Tom Demarco Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams Tom Demarco (1988).

John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13: 978-0932633057 A great insight into team development and what makes a company succeed. Statistical evidence and humour is used to point out that the manager’s function is not to make people work, but make it possible for them to work.

Which agile books are for you?

If you’re just getting up to speed with agile, then we hope the list of books above will help you. If you need further help in understanding agile project management or Scrum in particular, then we have courses to help you.

If you just want to learn on your own and you’re an agile amateur, then check out ‘Scrum: A Breathtakingly Brief and Agile Introduction’.

Are you leading an agile team? Well, if you agree with the notion that many project problems are sociological, not technological, best-seller ‘Peopleware’ by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister will help you tighten your team. ‘Succeeding with Agile’ by Mike Cohn will benefit those who are leading an agile transition within an organization.

If you’re having day-to-day issues implementing Scrum, we’d recommend keeping ‘The Scrum Field Guide’ by Mitch Lacey handy. As its always best to hear things straight from the horse’s mouth, both titles of ‘Scrum’, written by one of Scrum’s founders, Jeff Sutherland, also come highly recommended for anyone using Scrum.

If you’re a product owner, ‘Agile Product Management with Scrum’

by Roman Pichler clarifies the role and responsibilities of the Scrum product owner.

For those who are involved in starting a business project, make sure to add ‘Running Lean’ by Ash Maurya, ‘Lean Analytics’ by Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz and ‘The Lean Startup’ by Eric Ries to your reading list.

Software developers need look no further than ‘Agile Software Development’ by Robert C Martin for good design practice, and ‘Impact Mapping’ by Gojko Adzic and Marjory Bisset for creating better plans and roadmaps.

If you prefer fiction over theory, ‘The Phoenix Project’ by Gene Kim and Kevin Behr cleverly tells the tale of an IT project, taking the reader through its successes and failures.

Last but not least, delve into ‘Agile Project Management’ by Jim Highsmith for an integration of the best project management, product management, and software development practices.

We hope you find these top agile books list useful. Feel free to share or link back to this page so others can benefit from it. Don’t forget to pin the graphic to your Pinterest board for easy reference!

The 4 Kanban principles: A visual guide

We have developed this visual guide to help you understand how Kanban method works and whether it will be useful for your organisation. Kanban is such a flexible agile method that it can be used on all types of work and different types of projects, as long as the 4 principles are followed.

Kanban is discussed on many agile courses, including Agile Project Management (AgilePM) courses.

What is Kanban?

Developed by Toyota Kanban is a highly visual work management method, developed in Japan in the late 1940’s by Toyota engineers. The word Kanban roughly translates in Japanese as “visual card”.

Limiting waste By displaying cards on a board, a team can easily display a workflow to everybody involved in the team. The fundamental

benefit of working in this way is that any disruptions to workflow are easily identified, and team members can collaborate to rectify issues before they get out of control.

The approach also limits the amount of work in progress, thereby minimising any build-up of tasks which wastes time and money.

Pulling work Kanban is based on a pull rather than a push system. This means that team members only start work when they have capacity, rather than work being pushed to them with the potential of getting piled up. Kanban can be a valuable tool when managing projects that require deliverables frequently and is also a popular choice for software development teams.

The graphic below was created to help you get a basic understanding of the 4 principles of Kanban. If you like it, please show your appreciation by linking back to this page.

The 4 principles of Kanban 1. Visualize workflow Visualize your work on a board with cards to represent user stories (work) in your product backlog (inventory). Use colours to represent the theme of your user stories. For a simple Kanban board, label one column “TO-DO” and another “DONE”. Label columns in between “TO-DO” and “DONE” to represent either the type of work or whoever is responsible for undertaking it. Split these columns into two and label “Doing” and “Done”. Place the cards into columns depending on their workflow status. Doing this enables the whole team to view work in progress, work that has been completed and work to be started next. As work gets completed, move your cards from left to right.

Top tip: Keep your column labels simple and intuitive.

2. Limit work in progress (WIP) Set a limit on how much work can be in progress at one time in each column. In other words, how many cards can be in each column at a given time. This ensures that cards are moving smoothly across the board as and when the team are ready for them.

Do the top priority work first Your “TO-DO” column should be filled with top priority work from your product backlog. When you have a space in your “TO-DO” column, you can fill it with another user story from your product backlog.

By setting work in progress limits (WIP limits), the entire team can quickly see if there is a blockage and collaborate to fix it. Setting WIP limits eliminates multi-tasking, which is the ultimate productivity killer.

Top tip: Teams can assist other teams when bottlenecks are identified, regardless of expertise.

3. Focus on flow By now, your work should flow freely through the Kanban system.

It might even feel very easy! Make sure that you keep a lookout for any interruptions in flow and use these as opportunities for improvement. Workflow should run smoothly and not stop and start.

Choose some flow metrics to track and analyse them. Which ones you choose are entirely up to you, but here are some helpful examples:  Lead time - how long does it take for a card to move from “TODO” to “DONE”?  Cycle time - how long does it take for a card to move from “Doing” to “Done”?  Number of items not started - are you struggling with your workload?  Number of items that are WIP - are you staying within your WIP limits?  Blockage areas - do you see any areas where cards build up, causing a blockage in flow?

Top tip: Smooth flow = creating value

4. Continuous improvement Remember that even after implementing Kanban, the work is never truly finished. Part of the Kanban method is to continuously improve your processes. Monitor your Kanban system and make improvements on an ongoing basis.

Conclusion By following these 4 principles, you should have enough of an overview to get yourself started with a Kanban board and some cards to represent your user stories.

For some teams, Kanban may be all they need to effectively manage their day-to-day development. Kanban ensures that there is a seamless flow to your production line regardless of the type of work you do. However, you might like to use Kanban alongside a good Scrum framework, which will provide even more structure and organisational improvements.