Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum

Description

Proven, 100% Practical Guidance for Making Scrum and Agile Work in Any Organization

This is the definitive, realistic, actionable guide to starting fast with Scrum and agile - and then succeeding over the long haul. Leading agile consultant and practitioner Mike Cohn presents detailed recommendations, powerful tips, and real-world case studies drawn from his unparalleled experience helping hundreds of software organizations make Scrum and agile work.

Succeeding with Agile is for pragmatic software professionals who want real answers to the most difficult challenges they face in implementing Scrum. Cohn covers every facet of the transition: getting started, helping individuals transition to new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, and finally, implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement.

Throughout, Cohn presents Things to Try Now sections based on his most successful advice. Complementary Objection sections reproduce typical conversations with those resisting change and offer practical guidance for addressing their concerns. Coverage includes

* Practical ways to get started immediately - and get good fast
* Overcoming individual resistance to the changes Scrum requires
* Staffing Scrum projects and building effective teams
* Establishing improvement communities of people who are passionate about driving change
* Choosing which agile technical practices to use or experiment with
* Leading self-organizing teams
* Making the most of Scrum sprints, planning, and quality techniques
* Scaling Scrum to distributed, multiteam projects
* Using Scrum on projects with complex sequential processes or challenging compliance and governance requirements
* Understanding Scrum's impact on HR, facilities, and project management

Whether you've completed a few sprints or multiple agile projects and whatever your role - manager, developer, coach, ScrumMaster, product owner, analyst, team lead, or project lead - this book will help you succeed with your very next project. Then, it will help you go much further: It will help you transform your entire development organization.

CONTENTS:

Foreword xvii

Introduction xix

Part I: Getting Started 1

Chapter 1: Why Becoming Agile Is Hard (But Worth It) 3

Chapter 2: ADAPTing to Scrum 21

Chapter 3: Patterns for Adopting Scrum 43

Chapter 4: Iterating Toward Agility 61

Chapter 5: Your First Projects 81

Part II: Individuals 95

Chapter 6: Overcoming Resistance 97

Chapter 7: New Roles 117

Chapter 8: Changed Roles 137

Chapter 9: Technical Practices 155

Part III: Teams 175

Chapter 10: Team Structure 177

Chapter 11: Teamwork 201

Chapter 12: Leading a Self-Organizing Team 219

Chapter 13: The Product Backlog 235

Chapter 14: Sprints 257

Chapter 15: Planning 285

Chapter 16: Quality 307

Part IV: The Organization 325

Chapter 17: Scaling Scrum 327

Chapter 18: Distributed Teams 355

Chapter 19: Coexisting with Other Approaches 389

Chapter 20: Human Resources, Facilities, and the PMO 405

Part V: Next Steps 427

Chapter 21: Seeing How Far You've Come 429

Chapter 22: You're Not Done Yet 447

Reference List 449

Index 465