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> Does it, in fact, intimate that collaboration may have become a buzzword for a collective that is more a bureaucracy than a truly productive organism? I rece
by clumsysmurf 4y ago
> Does it, in fact, intimate that collaboration may have become a buzzword for a collective that is more a bureaucracy than a truly productive organism?
I recently worked at a company that hired Agile consultants to install SAFe. We had PI planning each quarter, which ran for 3 full days. At its conclusion, the consultants, leaders, and PMO always called it "successful collaboration." I guess they were having lots of fun ... but the engineers were not. Most of it was us guessing estimates for things 6 weeks out, and management turning that into commitments. Needless to say, this whole circus became negative experience for almost all the producers.
- spaetzleesser 4y agoFor people who don't know SAFe, here is the diagram: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/wp-content/uploads/delightful-downloads/2021/01/Scaled-Agile-Framework_Essential_A4-3.pdf https://www.scaledagileframework.com/wp-content/uploads/deli...
- brikil 4y agoThat reminds me of the cell biology diagrams from grade school.
- pixelrevision 4y agoLol they should just change the name of “agile” to “brittle” and go with the slogan of “processes over people”
- encryptluks2 4y agoAgile has become exactly that. It is where you have people in marketing and business thinking they know more about tech than actual tech professionals.
- semicolon_storm 4y agoAmazing how they can pack so much into a diagram yet still show absolutely nothing of value for understanding SAFe.
- zbird 4y agoAnd to think that there are people who get paid for this.
- moistly 4y agoHow does upper management look at that and not immediately say “Hey, waittasec, this is clearly bullshit!”?
- wsostt 4y agoHow do you propose stopping estimates from becoming commitments? Genuinely asking because I struggle to not do this as a manager.
- mkoubaa 4y agoIt starts understanding the meaning of the word "estimate" in the English language.
- dd444fgdfg 4y agoImagine a timeline from left to right. On the left is where there's the least knowledge about the project, and on the right the most (when the project is done). Estimates are made at the far left, when the developers know the least. So as you move along the timeline and more knowledge is discovered, you need to reset expectations frequently.
- jtdev 4y ago
- CSMastermind 4y agoPart of the answer is don't give estimates when you can help it. I've had a lot of success just having a roadmap and telling people, this is what we're working on now, this is what's next in the pipeline, and here's where you can track our progress for yourself. Another tip I have is to constrain estimates to board timescales like Q3 or H2 when you are able to (there are certain business scenarios that do require estimates). A similar thing you can do is give your "estimate" not in the form of a date but in the form of ambiguity and scale. Or better yet just state the factors that would go into giving an estimate without offering one. Lastly I'd suggest just not shying away from commitments but making them about effort not outcome. "I have 3 developers working on this full time and it will be their sole focus until we ship. Nothing you say or do is going to get this feature launched any faster than it's going to be now."
- groby_b 4y ago
- bdavisx 4y agoLOL, safe uses an "agile release train", because everyone knows how agile trains are. They can stop on a dime and move in any direction, the very definition of agility.