ScrumXP Flashcards
Scrum XP
ScrumXP is a lightweight process to deliver value for cross-functional, self-organized teams within SAFe. It combines the power of Scrum project management practices with Extreme Programming (XP) practices.
Scrum Construct
Scrum allows cross-functional, self-organized teams to operate within the SAFe construct. It prescribes two specialty roles: Scrum Master and Product Owner [2].
The Scrum Master is a servant leader who helps the team adhere to the rules of Scrum and works inside and outside of the team to remove impediments.
The Product Owner is responsible for defining what gets built. When extended by Lean quality practices and Extreme Programming (XP) engineering techniques, the ScrumXP team provides the basic Agile building block for SAFe.
Details
Self-organization implies that there is no team leader or manager role that oversees the team members, estimates their work, commits them to specific objectives or determines how exactly they will advance the solution.
The team is presented with the intent of the Iteration and is solely responsible for determining how much of that scope they can commit to. The team is cross-functional, with all the roles and skills needed to develop and deliver increments of value.
The self-organization and cross-functional nature of the team—along with constant communication, constructive conflict, and dynamic interaction—can create a productive and more enjoyable work environment for its members.
Product Owner
Each Agile team has a Product Owner (PO) who is responsible for the Team Backlog. Focusing intensely on the team’s efforts, the PO interacts with them every day.
Therefore, the most effective models are to either dedicate a PO to each team or to share one across no more than two teams.
This allows the PO to support the team effectively during Iteration Execution by answering questions, providing more detail on the functionality under development, and reviewing and accepting the completed Stories into the baseline.
Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is the facilitator and Agile coach for the team. Primary responsibilities include:
Promoting and supporting the Agile team in following the ScrumXP process
Educating the team in Scrum, XP, and SAFe practices
Coaching the team in self-management
Helping the team focus on creating an increment of value each iteration Facilitating the removal of impediments to the team’s progress
Ensuring that all team events take place, are productive and kept within the timebox
Creating the environment for continuous improvement
Supporting the overall SAFe implementation
As a full- or part-time role for a team member, the Scrum Master is also typically charged with removing impediments.
Alternately, some dedicated Scrum Masters may support two to three Scrum teams.
The Scrum Process
Scrum is a lightweight team-based process framework that fosters quick, iterative advancement of the solution. Facilitating continuous improvement to support higher quality and productivity, and better outcomes, it employs iterations—typically a two-week timebox—during which the team defines, builds, tests, and reviews results. The Scrum process is further described in the sections below. (Note: Scrum uses the term ‘sprint.’ SAFe uses the more general term ‘iteration.’)
Planning the Iteration
The iteration starts with Iteration Planning, a timeboxed event of four hours or less in which the PO presents the stories for planning.
The team then: Reviews the stories Defines the acceptance criteria Splits larger stories into smaller ones where necessary
Estimates them in story points Distills what they can deliver in the upcoming iteration, based on their known velocity (story points per iteration), into Iteration Goals Commits to the iteration goals
Many teams further divide stories into tasks, estimating them in hours to better refine their understanding of the work ahead. Even before the iteration starts, the Agile team is preparing content by refining the team backlog.
Coordinating with Daily Stand-Up Events
Each day, the team has a formal event—the daily stand-up (DSU)—to understand where they are, escalate problems, and get help from other team members. During this event, each team member describes what they did yesterday to advance iteration goals, what they are going to work on today to achieve the iteration goals, and any blocks they are encountering in delivering iteration goals. As this is a daily coordination meeting, the Scrum Master has to keep it short and to the point. The DSU should take no more than 15 minutes and is done standing up in front of the storyboard.
Demonstrating Value and Improving the Process
At the end of each iteration, the team conducts an Iteration Review and an Iteration Retrospective.
During the iteration review, the team demonstrates each story accomplished, culminating with the team’s increment of value for that iteration. This is not a formal status report; rather, it’s a review of the tangible outcomes of the iteration. Thereafter, the team conducts a brief retrospective—a time to reflect on the iteration, the process, things that are working well, and current obstacles.
Then the team comes up with improvement stories for the next iteration.
Building Quality In
One tenet of SAFe is that, “You can’t scale crappy code.”
Therefore, one of the Core Values of SAFe is Built-In Quality. Quality begins at the code and component levels with the people creating the solution.
Otherwise, it’s difficult (or impossible) to ensure quality later, as the work is integrated and scales from component, to system, to solution.
To make sure teams build quality in, SAFe describes five engineering and quality practices that are inspired by Extreme Programming (XP) and that supplement the work management practices of Scrum.
They are Continuous Integration, Test-First (including Test-Driven Development and Behavior-Driven Development), Refactoring, pair work, and collective ownership.
Some teams use other XP practices, such as a pair programming, and system metaphors [3].
Agile Teams Using ScrumXP Are on the Train
Although the teams are cross-functional, it isn’t always realistic for a team of 5 to 11 people to deliver end-user value when a solution includes different technology platforms and a spectrum of disciplines such as hardware, software, and systems engineering. Typically, many more teams are required. To address this, SAFe Agile teams operate within an ART, which provides mission alignment and a collaborative environment in which teams can cooperate with other teams to build the larger solution capabilities. As part of the ART, all teams plan, demo, and learn together, as illustrated in Figure 2, which avoids them focusing solely on local concerns. This alignment enables teams to more independently explore, integrate, deploy, and release value.
