The two methodologies “Lean” and “Agile” are very often used in business and project management. Each methodology has a very clear focus and combining the best of two worlds helps you to bring your project execution to the next level.
Origin: Lean methodology originated from the Toyota Production System in the mid-20th century. It was initially focused on manufacturing but has since been applied to various sectors.
Focus: The primary focus of Lean is on maximizing value while minimizing waste. This means creating more value for customers with fewer resources.
Principles: Lean is based on principles like identifying value from the customer’s perspective, mapping value streams to identify and remove non-value-adding activities, creating smooth workflow, establishing a pull system based on customer demand, and striving for continuous improvement.
Application: Lean methodology is used in various industries, including manufacturing, software development, and service-related fields, to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction.
Origin: Agile methodology originated from the software development industry, as outlined in the Agile Manifesto in 2001.
Focus: Agile focuses on adaptability to changing requirements and fostering a collaborative, cross-functional approach. It prioritizes customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of valuable software or products.
Principles: Key principles of Agile include delivering small, workable segments frequently, welcoming changing requirements, daily collaboration between business stakeholders and developers, sustainable development pace, face-to-face communication, self-organizing teams, and regular reflection on how to become more effective.
Application: While Agile began in software development, its principles have been adapted to other fields like marketing and project management.
Both Lean and Agile methodologies aim to deliver value efficiently, but they differ in their approaches and areas of emphasis. Lean focuses on streamlining and removing waste to optimize processes, whereas Agile focuses on adaptability and quick responses to change. In many modern workplaces, elements of both methodologies are often combined to create more responsive, efficient, and customer-focused operations.
Lean and Agile project are usually organized via Teams of Ten (TofT). Teams of Team are cross functional teams working together on the same backlog items as a team organising themselves for their daily tasks. The name indicates already that the size of the ten should in the range of ten, means between 7 and 13 people. It is very helpful to find a setup supporting the the team is co-located and all members of the team are in the same timezone.
If a teams is growing and reaches a certain size , it makes sense to split it into 2 teams. if teams are getting smaller and result in less than 7 people, it could make sense to combine 2 teams to a new team. Working in a team and letting the team grow within the range of 7 to 13 optimizes the knowledge transfer. In addition the team approach helps to manage the substitution during the time team members are out of office.
“cross-functional team” refers to a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal. In the context of Agile project management, these teams are particularly important for their ability to self-organize and collaborate effectively.
Here are some characteristics of such cross functional teams:
In Agile project management, cross-functional teams are essential for rapid and effective delivery of high-quality products that meet customer needs and adapt to changing market conditions.
Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, define several key roles that are essential for the effective functioning of an Agile team. Each role has specific responsibilities and is crucial for the success of Agile projects. Here are the primary roles in Agile:
Each role in Agile has its unique set of responsibilities and is vital for the Agile process to work effectively. The framework emphasizes collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement, and these roles are designed to support these principles.
An Agile backlog is a prioritized list of items that represents everything that might be needed in the product and is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product. It is a dynamic document that is continuously updated and maintained throughout the project’s lifecycle. The backlog contains various types of items, including but not limited to:
Key characteristics of an Agile backlog include:
The backlog is a critical component of Agile project management, guiding the Agile team on what needs to be done to move the project forward. It is primarily managed by the Product Owner in Scrum, who is responsible for its content, availability, and prioritization, ensuring that the backlog is aligned with the product vision and stakeholder needs.
Sprints are time-boxed, meaning they have a fixed duration, usually between one week and one month, with two weeks being the most common duration. The length of a sprint is determined at the start of the agile project and usually remains consistent throughout.
Clear Scope: At the beginning of each sprint, the team selects items (often user stories) from the product backlog to work on. The amount of work chosen is based on the team’s velocity (how much work they can handle) and the sprint’s length.
Each sprint has a goal of what is to be built, a design and plan for how to make it, and a resulting product increment. This goal is set during the sprint planning meeting and guides the team on why they are building the increment.
During a sprint, the development team works collaboratively. Daily stand-up meetings (or scrums) are typically held to assess progress and plan the day’s work.
To ensure focus and success, the sprint goal should not be changed during the sprint, and the scope should be kept stable. This helps the team concentrate on meeting their commitments.
At the end of a sprint, the team conducts a sprint review/show and tell session to demonstrate what they built during the sprint. After this, a sprint retrospective is held where the team reflects on the sprint and identifies improvements for the next one.
Sprints enable teams to release segments of a product regularly, allowing for frequent feedback and continuous improvement. This iterative process is central to Agile methodologies and ensures transparency for the customer.
Each sprint end is a milestone where customers and stakeholders can give feedback. This ensures necessary adjustments can be made and keeps the risk of misunderstanding among the stakeholders low. If something goes wrong, it can be adjusted within the next sprint. This minimises the potential scope of rework.
A sprint cycle should ideally be two weeks, as smaller cycles increase the overhead (sprint-related meetings), and longer sprint cycles increase the risk of wrong directions and give room for ‘shadow management’ and ‘shadow reporting’ to keep the stakeholders informed.
A sprint backlog is a subset of the product backlog that contains the items selected for implementation in the current sprint, along with an action plan for delivering the product increment and realizing the sprint goal. It is a crucial artefact in Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, that guides the development team through the sprint. The sprint backlog has several defining characteristics:
Selected Items: These contain the user stories, defects or tasks that the team wants to complete during the sprint and that were chosen in the sprint planning meeting. These items are selected based on the sprint’s goal and the team’s capacity.
Commitment: The development team commits to the work in the sprint backlog, indicating their agreement to strive towards completing the items to meet the sprint goal.
Flexible: While the sprint goal remains fixed, the sprint backlog is flexible. The development team can negotiate the scope with the product owner as needed, especially if they discover new work or impediments that interfere with their original commitment.
Plan for the Sprint: The sprint backlog not only lists the work to be done but also often includes a breakdown into more detailed tasks and a plan for how the team will deliver the sprint goal.
Ownership: The development team owns the sprint backlog. It is responsible for updating it throughout the sprint to reflect what tasks have been completed, what work is in progress, and what work remains.
Visibility: The sprint backlog is visible to all team members and possibly other stakeholders, providing transparency about what the team is working on during the sprint.
The sprint backlog is created during the sprint planning meeting, in which the team selects the elements from the product backlog that can be completed in the upcoming sprint due to their speed or capacity. The sprint backlog is crucial for the daily scrum meetings as it helps the team review its progress towards the sprint goal and make necessary adjustments. It serves as a dynamic planning document that guides the team during the sprint, ensures focus and provides a basis for measuring progress.
The expression “runnable software after each day” refers to a principle in software development that is particularly emphasized in agile methods, where the goal is to have a working version of the software at the end of each development day. This concept can be broken down into several key components:
“Runnable software after each day” is a practice that promotes efficiency, adaptability, and steady progress in software development projects. It is precious in environments where requirements can change rapidly, and there is a need for frequent testing and feedback.
“usable software after each sprint” is a core principle in Agile software development, particularly in frameworks such as Scrum. It means that at the end of each sprint, the team delivers a version of the software that is functional and meets a sufficient level of quality to be used by end users. Here are the critical aspects of this principle:
In summary, “usable software after each sprint” embodies the Agile commitment to delivering value to customers frequently and ensuring that each development cycle (sprint) results in a tangible, high-quality product that is ready for real-world use and could be assessed by the customer to ensure customer satisfaction and transparency.
“dailies”, “daily scrums”, or “daily stand-ups” are short, time-boxed meetings held every day of the sprint, usually at the same time and place, to ensure regular and efficient team communication. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what dailies typically involve:
The Scrum Master facilitates the meeting, ensuring it starts on time, stays on track, and helps remove any impediments raised.
Retrospective meetings take place at the end of each development sprint. The primary purpose of these meetings is for the team to reflect on the last sprint, discuss what went well, identify what did not go as planned and determine actionable strategies for improvement in the next sprint. The focus here is on continuous improvement and team collaboration. Key activities during a retrospective include:
The meeting is attended by all Agile team members, including the Scrum Master and Product Owner, and it emphasizes open communication, respect, and a non-judgmental approach to problem-solving. The retrospective is a key component of Agile practices, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.
Sprint Planning Meetings are events that mark the beginning of a new sprint. These meetings are crucial for setting the direction and goals for the upcoming sprint. The entire Scrum team, including the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team are participating and are focused on two main objectives:
The Sprint Planning Meeting is a collaborative effort that ensures the team clearly understands the sprint’s objectives and a solid plan for achieving them. It sets the stage for a focused and productive sprint by aligning the team’s efforts with the project’s goals and facilitating task distribution according to the team’s capacity and expertise.
Sprint reviews or show-and-tell sessions are meetings at the end of a sprint. The purpose of these meetings is to review the outcome of the sprint and determine future adjustments. The meetings can take place in a single meeting or, for larger projects, be split into a sprint review meeting and a separate meeting for show & tell involving the customer stakeholders.
What is in for you?
As a customer
As a IT Company
As a member of a Lean & Agile Product team
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