Re-read Saturday, Actionable Agile Volume II, Week 11, Chapters 11 – 12, Different Sampling Methods and 85 Percent or Bust

In this installment of our re-read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability we again tackle two chapters. Chapter 11, “Different Sampling Methods”, points out that random sampling techniques are just the tip of the iceberg in approaches. Chapter 12, ”What Percentile Do I Choose?”, discusses whether you always need to quote the 85th percentile range. The short answer is no but like most things there is more to it than that. 

 

Re-read Saturday, Actionable Agile Volume II, Week 10, Chapters 9 -10, VoP, VoC, Predictability, Monte Carlo and More

Today we tackle two chapters of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability. We begin with Chapter 9 – VoP, VoC, and Predictability which sums up Section I, Variability and Predictability. Chapter 10, titled Monte Carlo Simulation, Revisited, begins Section II, Advanced Monte Carlo Simulation and Predictability.

 

Re-read Saturday, Actionable Agile Volume II, Week 7, Chapter 6 – Detecting Signals on PBCs

Chapter Six, of  Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability, is titled Detecting Signals on PBCs. Finding a signal in the noise is like separating the wheat from the chaff. Adding to the pile of quotes, one of the most enduring is “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” A more appropriate version in the context of this chapter might be “Give a person some data and they will see a trend. Teach a person to detect a signal and they won’t be as silly” – doesn’t have the same punch, but the new version encapsulates Chapter 6.

 

Re-read Saturday, Actionable Agile Volume II, Week 3, Chapter 3 – Variation and Predictability

Vacanti begins Chapter 3 of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability by Daniel S. Vacanti, by reminding the reader: “A predictable process behaves in a way we expect it to.” Further a predictable process exhibits only routine variation. By definition, an unpredictable process exhibits both routine and exceptional variation. The manta of the book (it is in the title) is predictability, therefore tools that provide an understanding of when a process is predictable or not are critical. In this chapter Vacanti reintroduces the Process Behavior Chart (PBC) we saw in Volume 1 of the book. The explanation in this chapter opened my eyes to how to create and interpret this chart.

 

Re-read Saturday, Actionable Agile Volume II, Week 2, Chapters 1 and 2, Wilt the Stilt and Variation Defined

This week we begin the read of Actionable Agile Metrics Volume II, Advanced Topics in Predictability by Daniel S. Vacanti in earnest covering Chapters One and Two. These two chapters provide a statistical cautionary tale and then go on to define variability. The definition of variability is a foundation that much of AA Volume II builds on.

 

SPaMCAST 629 – Agile Metrics In Action- A Conversation With Christopher W H Davis

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This week we are staying with metrics and Manning Publications for a chat with Christopher W H Davis, author of Agile Metrics in Action, How to Measure and Improve Team Performance. Why more metrics?  Well first, the M in SPaMCAST is for metrics. Secondly, metrics are important tools for teams and organizations when used wisely. Many in the agile world hear the term metric or measure and run screaming from the room. I asked Chris if he thought combining ‘metics’ and ‘agile’ was an oxymoron – he thinks not. 

After you have listened, buy a copy of Chris’s book using the link http://mng.bz/r2Og Don’t pay full price by using the discount code podspam20 to get a 40% discount code (good for all Manning products in all formats).

 

SPaMCAST 515 – Transformations and Agile Metrics, Quality, and Dependencies, Essays and Discussions

http://www.spamcast.net

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SPaMCAST 515 features our essay on transformation and agile metrics. Whether you like the word transformation or not, many in the process improvement and agile communities help to facilitate change. Involvement in any non-trivial change effort requires resources, people, support and the expenditure of political capital. Metrics are a tool for getting the people and resources you need.

We also feature a visit from the Software Sensi.  Mr. Pries weights in on defining “what is quality”.  Kim mixes theory and practice to make a profound statement.

Anchoring the cast this week is Gene Hughson.  Gene writes at the Form Follows Function blog. This week we talk about a piece titled, Dependency Management – Anti-Patterns as Art from The Daily WTF.  It really is art —  but really a visualization of anti-patterns at the same time.

Re-Read Saturday News

This week we conclude our re-read of The Checklist Manifesto with a few final thoughts and notes and a restatement of a checklist for a checklist that Stephen Adams contributed in the comments for Chapter 9 – they deserve more exposure.  

This is an excellent book that is very useful for anyone involved in worrying about whether work is done consistently.  My punchline, “try using a checklist because they make sure our actions matter.” I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do.  

Next week we will lay out the plan for our read of Bad Blood (buy your copy today https://amzn.to/2zTEgPq  and support the blog and the author).  Bad Blood is a new book for me, therefore a “read” rather than a re-read.

All of the entries for our re-read of the Checklist Manifesto:

Week 11 – Concluding Notes – https://bit.ly/2BZubSG

 

Agile Metrics: Follow The Money

Sometimes it is all about the money!

In our interlude, I posited that there are questions that organizations need to ask and find a mechanism to answer. Some of the feedback I received suggested that the questions weren’t agile or weren’t agile enough. To some, only the outcome matters, not the cost or the amount of time it takes to deliver the functionality requested. The perspective of a team can be very parochial, focused on delivering what is in front of them; however, their existence is tied to more than customer satisfaction.   All organizations are tied to cost and productivity. Understanding the impact and return on effort, raw material and capital within a company that is ultimately needed to deliver the organization’s products and services define ROI and profitability.

 

Agile Metrics: An Interlude

An interlude before the day begins!

I am studying for and taking tests and assessments this week, which has thrown my cadence off a bit.  This essay was intended to be a deeper dive into cost in the world of agile metrics, but studying came first.  Therefore a useful interlude:

Agile metrics are important because internal and external stakeholders have questions to which they want answers.  Agile admonishes organizations to focus on outcomes as the most critical measure of success. The statement is hard to argue with but provides an incomplete picture. Defining outcomes is useful for addressing the nuances of stakeholder questions.  Outcomes are “things” of consequence. For a development organization, regardless of external or internal focus, the “things” of consequence they deliver are features, functions or services – enabled by code. As organizations grow and mature they must start to deal with the hard questions (internally first) well before customer satisfaction falls or other stakeholders begin asking.

Questions that need to be asked and answered include:

1. Are we delivering enough outcomes?
2. Are we spending too much to deliver an outcome?
3. Are we spending too much (or too little) to support our code base?
4. Which features, modules or products are providing the highest return?
5. Are we staffed correctly?

All of these questions are important.  Depending on where you are in your organization’s life cycle, these questions become critical.  We will discuss a framework to address these questions in the near future but until then are there other questions to add to the list?

Additional reading on return —

Metrics Minute: Return on Investment (ROI)
https://tcagley.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/metrics-minute-return-on-investment-roi/

Metrics Minute: Return on Assets (ROA)
https://tcagley.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/metrics-minute-return-on-assets-roa/

 

 

SPaMCAST 486 – Daniel S Vacanti, Actionable Agile Metrics

http://www.spamcast.net

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SPaMCAST 486 features our interview with Daniel S. Vacanti.  Mr. Vacanti is the author of Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction.  We discussed the concepts in the book, answered a question from Steven Adams, and talked about his new book.  It was great to talk about a book with the author after the re-read.

Daniel Vacanti’s Bio:

Daniel Vacanti is a 20-plus year software industry veteran who has spent most of his career focusing on Lean and Agile practices.  In 2007, he helped to develop the Kanban Method for knowledge work and managed the world’s first project implementation of Kanban that year.  He has been conducting Lean-Agile training, coaching, and consulting ever since. In 2011 he founded ActionableAgileTM (previously Corporate Kanban) which provides industry-leading predictive analytics tools and services organizations that utilize Lean-Agile practices.  In 2015 he published his book, “Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability”, which is the definitive guide to flow-based metrics and analytics. Daniel holds an M.B.A. and regularly teaches a class on lean principles for software management at the University of California Berkeley.

Contact Information:

Twitter:  @danvacanti

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielvacanti/

Mail: daniel@actionableagile.com

Web: https://www.actionableagile.com/

 

Re-Read Saturday News
We will begin the full-scale re-read of L. David Marquet’s Turn the Ship Around! next week and I am stoked. Buy your copy and listen to the interview I did with Mr. Marquet (SPaMCAST 202) to get involved in the re-read.  I am going to lead the re-read from my 2012 (7th printing) copy.  The book has 29 chapters, not including the forward, a cast of characters, index, afterword, and a glossary. The book is an easy read because Marquet is such an excellent communicator.  My intent is to knock out the preface material next week and then begin delivering 2 chapters per week. If my estimating ability holds true, we will complete our re-read in 18 weeks. I expect to miss two weeks due to travel.