Title of Presentation: Leading the Change to Agile in a Six Sigma Organization

Short Abstract and Outline:

This session will focus on expected frustrations (and strategies for dealing with them) when a process-centric IT organization faces Agile for the first time.  

This session will describe lessons learned from piloting Agile teams within a process-focused organization. Six Sigma and DMAIC are appropriate for reducing variation in quick cycle-time, repeatable processes, but not software development. DMAIC techniques have slowed down productivity in software development by attempting to decompose a naturally empirical problem into unrepeatable activities. If your IT organization is structured by process area (e.g. Systems Analysts, Systems Testers, UI Designers, Enterprise Data Modelers, etc.), then you will want to attend to learn about:

• DMAIC: an Agile Anti-Pattern

• Wasted Effort (why waterfall works, but Agile works better)

• Must-haves before you start an Agile pilot

• Frustrations you should expect

• Productivity gains you should expect (and how to measure)

• Winning the metrics game

• Winning the status game

• Productivity will get you noticed

• Leveraging your organization's discipline

• Intangibles, and how to make them tangible

• The Agile-V: The Perfect Daily Status

• Get what you measure

• Warning Signs

• Transform process-driven discipline to test-driven productivity

• System Testers can be your best friend

• Dependent Enterprise organizations will be your worst enemy

• Demonstrating Discipline

• Exposing dependencies

• Intangibles