Disciplined Agile Delivery

08/28/2012 · No Responses

Master IBM’s Breakthrough DAD Process Framework for Succeeding with Agile in Large, Complex, Mission-Critical IT Projects

It is widely recognized that moving from traditional to agile approaches to build software solutions is a critical source of competitive advantage. Mainstream agile approaches that are indeed suitable for small projects require significant tailoring for larger, complex enterprise projects. In Disciplined Agile Delivery, Scott W. Ambler and Mark Lines introduce IBM’s breakthrough Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) process framework, which describes how to do this tailoring. DAD applies a more disciplined approach to agile development by acknowledging and dealing with the realities and complexities of a portfolio of interdependent program initiatives.

Ambler and Lines show how to extend Scrum with supplementary agile and lean strategies from Agile Modeling (AM), Extreme Programming (XP), Kanban, Unified Process (UP), and other proven methods to provide a hybrid approach that is adaptable to your organization’s unique needs. They candidly describe what practices work best, why they work, what the trade-offs are, and when to consider alternatives, all within the context of your situation.

Disciplined Agile Delivery addresses agile practices across the entire lifecycle, from requirements, architecture, and development to delivery and governance. The authors show how these best-practice techniques fit together in an end-to-end process for successfully delivering large, complex systems–from project initiation through delivery.

Coverage includes

Scaling agile for mission-critical enterprise endeavors
Avoiding mistakes that drive poorly run agile projects to chaos
Effectively initiating an agile project
Transitioning as an individual to agile
Incrementally building consumable solutions
Deploying agile solutions into complex production environments
Leveraging DevOps, architecture, and other enterprise disciplines
Adapting your governance strategy for agile projects

Based on facts, research, and extensive experience, this book will be an indispensable resource for every enterprise software leader and practitioner–whether they’re seeking to optimize their existing agile/Scrum process or improve the agility of an iterative process.

Review
“Mark and Scott not only made me think, they reminded me of lots of things that I had forgotten. Things that the agile fashion police have made uncool to talk about. This book is not about fashionable agile; it is about serious change, and it should be required reading for any change leader.”
–Dave West, chief product officer, Tasktop, and former VP and research director Forrester Research

“Finally, a practical down-to-earth guide that is true to agile values and principles while at the same time acknowledging the realities of the business and the bigger picture. You will find no purist dogma here, nor any hype or hyperbole. Ambler and Lines show how to navigate the varied contexts and constraints of both team-level and enterprise-level needs to hit the agile ‘sweet spot’ for your team and attain the real benefits of sustainable agility. I wish I’d had this book ten years ago!”
–Brad Appleton, agile/lean development champion for a large fortune 150 telecommunications company

“We have found the guidance from Disciplined Agile Delivery to be a great help in customizing our PMO governance for agile projects at CP Rail. The book will definitely be on the must-read list for teams using agile delivery.”
–Larry Shumlich, project manager coach, Canadian Pacific Railway

“This book is destined to become the de facto standard reference guide for any organization trying to apply agile/scrum in a complex environment. Scott and Mark provide practical guidance and experiences from successful agile teams on what it takes to bring an end-to-end agile delivery lifecycle to the enterprise.”
–Elizabeth Woodward, IBM agile community leader, coauthor of A Practical Guide to Distributed Scrum

“There are many ways to achieve the benefits of agility, so it’s really encouraging to see a pragmatic and usable ‘umbrella’ description that encapsulates most of these without becoming a diluted kind of ‘best of’ compilation, or a one-size-fits-all. Great reading for anyone orientating themselves in an ever-growing and complex field.”
–Nick Clare, agile coach/principal consultant, Ivar Jacobson International

“Scott and Mark have compiled an objective treatment of a tough topic. Loaded with insights from successful application under game conditions, this book strikes a good balance between progressive agilists looking to accelerate change and conservative organizational managers looking for scalable solutions.”
–Walker Royce, chief software economist, IBM

“Disciplined Agile Delivery, a hybrid and experience-based approach to software delivery, reflects the growing trend toward pragmatism and away from the anti-syncretism that has plagued the software development industry for over 40 years. I commend Scott and Mark for writing this book and showing the leadership necessary to take our profession to the next level.”
–Mark Kennaley, CTO, Software-Development-Experts.com; author of SDLC 3.0: Beyond a Tacit Understanding of Agile

“I’ve seen ‘certified agile’ run rampant in an organization and create more severe problems than it solved. Finally, we have a definitive source on how to apply agile pragmatically with discipline to deliver success. Thanks, Scott and Mark.”
–Carson Holmes, EVP, service delivery, Fourth Medium Consulting, Inc.

Table of Contents
Part 1: Introduction to Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
Chapter 1. Disciplined Agile Delivery in a Nutshell
Chapter 2. Introduction to Agile and Lean
Chapter 3. Foundations of Disciplined Agile Delivery

Part 2: People First
Chapter 4. Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities
Chapter 5. Forming Disciplined Agile Teams

Part 3: Initiating a Disciplined Agile Delivery Project
Chapter 6. The Inception Phase
Chapter 7. Identify a Project Vision
Chapter 8. Identify the Scope
Chapter 9. Identify a Technical Strategy
Chapter 10. Initial Release Planning
Chapter 11. Forming the Team and Work Environment
Chapter 12. Case study. Inception phase

Part 4: Building a Consumable Solution Incrementally
Chapter 13. The Construction Phase
Chapter 14. Initiating a Construction Iteration
Chapter 15. A Typical Day During Construction
Chapter 16. Concluding a Construction Iteration
Chapter 17. Case study. Construction phase

Part 5: Releasing the Solution
Chapter 18. The Transition Phase
Chapter 19. Case study. Transition phase

Part 6: Disciplined Agile Delivery in the Enterprise
Chapter 20. Governing Disciplined Agile Teams
Chapter 21. Scaling Disciplined Agile Delivery
Chapter 22. Adoption and Tailoring
Chapter 23. Overcoming Organizational Impediments

Part 7: Conclusion
Chapter 24. Towards Lean Disciplined Agile Delivery
Chapter 25. Parting Thoughts