Melting Pot
Real Agile Teams define and build their work separate from the testing teams
Anti-Pattern
There are not separate development and testing teams. Agile team can define, build, and test increment of the solution.
SM (Scrum Master) work with team members and their functional managers to help them acquire T-shaped skills.
Best Approach
SM encourage team members to pair with others to expand their skills, take on task in another discipline or business domain, promotes continuous learning.
Purpose of the Daily Stand-UP (DSU) is to provide status of work planned or in-progress.
Anti-Pattern
DSU purpose it to coordinate team activities, raise blocking issues and dependencies.
The ultimate goal for PI Planning is to build a plan.
Anti-Pattern
Aligning the entire ART on a common vision creates a shared sense of purpose, is the goal. Plans emerge from this alignment.
Only a few people participate
Anti-Pattern
Entire Agile Team encouraged to participate but only the workers estimates
When an organization decides to transform, they must have all elements within a framework (i.e. LPM, Solution Trains, Full Automation, etc.)
Anti-Pattern
On the contrary, we want to focus on a single team or train before scaling. Essential SAFe describes the minimal SAFe elements necessary for success.
PO (Product Owner) creates all stories in the backlog for team execution.
Anti-Pattern
While the PO has content authority of the team backlog, anyone can create a story. It's up to the PO to validate, accept and prioritize the story.
To be most efficient, Agile teams should strive to ensure capacity and load are exactly the same during Iteration Planning.
Anti-Pattern
Team needs to be protected from burnout while ensuring quality in the solution. Balance is required.
Over planning ahead of time, makes PI Planning more efficient
Anti-Pattern
Over planning loses the essence of PI Planning which is to align all the teams on the ART to a shared mission and vision.
Ensure relative estimates are used
Best Approach
Use adjusted/modified Fibonacci scale to estimate volume, complexity, knowledge, uncertainty
Successful transformations are based on educating leadership first
Best Approach
Leadership has to be trained and buy in first. Executives need to be trained on the actions they need to take, not just the principles.
Its ok to have a group of people assume the Product Role rather than a single person as long as the job gets done.
Anti-Pattern
Multiple product owners create competing interests, inefficiency, and lack of a clear product vision. Having a single (full-time) person as product owner creates clarity for the team.
Agile teams that regularly conduct Iteration Reviews do not require System Demo
Anti-Pattern
System Demo provides an integrated view of new Features that are complete.
Uncommitted Objectives are created by Agile teams as work to do when time allows
Anti-Pattern
Uncommitted Objective identifies work that can be variable due to dependencies and teams lack of experience with functionality
Pressure by stakeholders to lower estimations
Anti-Pattern
Agile Team owns the estimate and PO should support the teams estimate
During Iteration Planning, time should be reserved for support activities.
Best Approach
Capacity allocation model must include all work types. This ensures time is allocated for technical debt activities.
SA (System Architect/Engineer) is solely responsible for defining the vision for an ART (Agile Release Train)
Anti-Pattern
While SA maintain technical authority, they collaborate with Product Management to define and communicate the shared tech/arch vision for the ART.
Team Retrospective focus on what to improve and not on what to preserve.
Anti-Pattern
Team needs to celebrate what they do wall and seek ways to get more of the good stuff.
If Agile teams along SM, PO and RTE only attends PI Planning, teams can still create effective plans for execution.
Anti-Pattern
PI Planning provides the rhythm for the ART connecting strategy to execution by business and technology alignment. Entire ART needs to be present as no one person knows all the impediments.
Focus the discussion around the contested items
Best Approach
No need to spend added time on items where there is understanding and shared commitment
Inviting people outside the team (especially management) to the retrospective.
Anti-Pattern
Unless the team agrees to invite outsiders, keep others out. This is not a time for management to gather intel for performance reviews.
RTE (Release Train Engineer) is responsible for directing and managing activities of the ART.
Anti-Pattern
RTE acts as Servant Leader focused on providing the support needed by teams and ARTs to be self-organizing and self-managing.
Inspect and Adapt event does not require stakeholder's participation
Anti-Pattern
Inspect & Adapt assembles teams and stakeholders to assess the solution, define and take action on improvements to increase velocity, quality and reliability of the next PI.
During PI Planning, the ART plans features or stories for the IP (Innovation and Planning) Iteration
Anti-Pattern
IP Iteration acts as an estimating buffer for meeting PI Objectives and provides dedicated time for innovation and learning.
Team is spending too much time estimating and the PO is former SME in a related domain, PO should provide the estimate
Anti-Pattern
PO leads the discussion until understanding is gained and accepts the team estimate