Disciplined Agile was first developed at IBM in 2009 and then introduced to the mainstream in a 2012 book entitled Disciplined Agile Delivery. Disciplined Agile (DA) is a people-first process decision toolkit with a focus on learning and the streamlining of internal processes.
Aspect
Explanation
Concept Overview
– Disciplined Agile (DA) is a process decision framework that provides a comprehensive approach to agile and lean practices for organizations. It offers guidance on how to select and tailor agile and lean approaches to fit specific context and needs. Developed by Scott W. Ambler and Mark Lines, DA goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, recognizing that different situations require different strategies. It integrates several popular agile and lean methods, such as Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe, into a coherent framework.
Key Principles
– Disciplined Agile is guided by several key principles: 1. Choice: DA offers a range of choices and options for teams and organizations to tailor their approach. 2. Flexibility: It recognizes that different situations require different strategies and adapts accordingly. 3. Pragmatism: DA promotes practical solutions that align with organizational goals and constraints. 4. Context Matters: The framework emphasizes that context, including team size, geographic distribution, and regulatory environment, influences process choices. 5. Enterprise Awareness: DA considers the needs of the entire organization and provides strategies for scaling agile practices. 6. Full Delivery Lifecycle: It addresses the entire delivery lifecycle, from ideation to delivery to operations.
DA Disciplines
– Disciplined Agile encompasses various disciplines, including: 1. Agile Delivery: Focuses on the delivery of value through iterative and incremental development. 2. Disciplined DevOps: Emphasizes a holistic approach to development and operations, including continuous delivery and automation. 3. Lean Portfolio Management: Addresses the lean and agile approach to portfolio management. 4. Agile Product Management: Covers product ownership, requirements, and prioritization. 5. Agile Architecture: Discusses architecture and design within an agile context. 6. Team and Technical Agility: Focuses on team practices and technical excellence. 7. Organizational Agility: Addresses the overall organizational context and culture.
Implementation
– Implementing Disciplined Agile involves assessing your organization’s context, selecting the appropriate DA lifecycles, and tailoring the practices and processes to fit your specific needs. DA provides guidance for different lifecycles, including Agile, Lean, Continuous Delivery, and Exploratory. Organizations can also choose a combination of these lifecycles based on their requirements.
Benefits and Impact
– Disciplined Agile offers several benefits and impacts: 1. Flexibility: Organizations can choose the practices that suit their context, making it adaptable to various industries and situations. 2. Comprehensive Guidance: DA provides a wide range of practices and strategies, covering the entire delivery lifecycle. 3. Scalability: It offers strategies for scaling agile practices to large and complex organizations. 4. Efficiency: DA promotes efficient delivery by incorporating lean and agile principles. 5. Pragmatic Solutions: It focuses on practical solutions that align with organizational goals. 6. Alignment: DA helps align teams and stakeholders with common objectives.
Challenges and Risks
– Challenges in implementing Disciplined Agile may include the need for organizational change and alignment, the complexity of tailoring practices, and the risk of misinterpreting or misapplying the framework’s principles. Risks can involve resistance to change and a lack of understanding of the DA approach.
Early incarnations of Disciplined Agile had a broad focus on process decisions across an organization.
Then, more specific adaptations began to appear including “Disciplined DevOps” and “Disciplined Agile IT.”
Disciplined Agile has now been designed to cover the full end-to-end product lifecycle, from project initiation to final delivery.
Fundamentally, DA helps businesses understand how seemingly compartmentalized activities such as security, finance, and product management can work together contextually.
With a focus on everything from consumable solutions to working software and documentation, Disciplined Agile is unique among scaling methodologies.
DA also advocates that the scaling of agile practices be based on decisions that result in the greatest customer value.
The four layers of the Disciplined Agile toolkit
To assist decision-makers in navigating the DA toolkit, information is commonly grouped into four separate layers.
Let’s look at each layer:
Foundation
This layer forms the conceptual underpinning of the entire toolkit. As a result, it contains the principles and guidelines of the DA mindset.
It also includes concepts fundamental to agile and lean methodologies and information on roles and responsibilities within a team.
Lastly, the foundation layer guides the choice of a way of working (WoW).
Disciplined DevOps
This involves the streaming of software development (dev) and IT operations (ops).
Disciplined Agile favors a collaborative approach to release management, data management, support, and operations.
The DevOps framework can be adapted to suit depending on the structure and maturity level of the organization concerned.
Examples of DA release management strategies may include SAFe release trains and slow or quick cadence release windows.
Value streams
This layer encompasses every set of actions that take place to bring value to the customer, from the initial concept to final delivery and customer support.
Here, businesses must concentrate on adding value that can be realized in the marketplace.
The DA FLEX mindset ties organizational strategy to effective value streams, ensuring that innovative decisions add value to both the customer and business.
Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE)
This layer can respond with agility to changing market conditions.
It does this via the promotion of a flexible and adaptable organizational culture and structure.
This agility is reinforced by the business adopting a learning mindset, which helps to drive innovation.
Strengths of Disciplined Agile
Flexibility
Far from being a tool that is used by software development teams exclusively,
DA is an approach that is relevant to any customer-facing role or department.
Marketing and sales teams, for example, benefit greatly from enhanced collaboration with customers by taking advantage of DA principles and adapting them to suit.
Robust decision-making framework
DA does not assume that the project team needs to tailor up or tailor down according to their experience level.
Instead, it takes a middle-of-the-road approach and describes all options and the potential trade-offs of each.
Options are sourced from a variety of sources including Scrum, XP, Agile Modeling, Kanban, and Outside-In Development.
Ultimately, DA utilizes a risk value lifecycle, with a focus giving the teams the freedom to make their own decisions.
Weaknesses of Disciplined Agile
Does require experience
DA is unsuited to teams that are unfamiliar with agile practices because it does not detail an actionable methodology or set process.
In some cases, the business may need to hire external consultants to provide training.
Can be cumbersome
Since DA seeks to break down compartmental barriers, the organization-wide rollout of its principles may take longer when compared with similar agile systems.
It also requires discipline, direction, and coordination – particularly when teams are largely autonomous.
When to Use Disciplined Agile:
Disciplined Agile is suitable in various business scenarios:
Enterprise Agility: For organizations aiming to achieve agile transformation at an enterprise level.
Project and Product Management: In project and product management contexts where flexibility and adaptability are crucial.
Delivery Teams: For agile delivery teams looking to enhance their practices.
Regulated Industries: In industries with regulatory requirements where flexibility and compliance are essential.
Complex Projects: For complex projects where a tailored approach is necessary.
How to Implement Disciplined Agile Effectively:
To implement Disciplined Agile effectively, consider the following steps:
Training and Education: Provide training and education to teams and leaders in Disciplined Agile practices and principles.
Process Tailoring: Tailor the DA toolkit to suit the specific needs and context of your organization.
Team Collaboration: Foster collaboration among cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement: Implement feedback loops to continuously improve processes and practices.
Measurement and Metrics: Define and track key metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen approaches.
Expected Benefits of Disciplined Agile:
When implementing Disciplined Agile effectively, expect the following benefits:
Flexibility: DA provides the flexibility to choose and adapt agile and lean practices that best fit your organization’s needs.
Improved Delivery: It helps organizations deliver value more efficiently and effectively.
Enhanced Collaboration: DA encourages collaboration among teams and stakeholders.
Compliance: Organizations in regulated industries can maintain compliance while adopting agile and lean practices.
Continuous Improvement: DA promotes a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
Potential Drawbacks of Disciplined Agile:
While Disciplined Agile offers numerous advantages, it also has potential drawbacks:
Complexity: DA can be complex to implement, especially in large organizations.
Resource Intensive: Implementing and maintaining DA practices may require additional resources.
Resistance to Change: Traditional organizations may face resistance when transitioning to DA.
Related Frameworks and Methodologies:
Scrum: Scrum is an agile framework that focuses on iterative and incremental product development.
Kanban: Kanban is a lean method that emphasizes visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and optimizing workflow.
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): SAFe is a framework for scaling agile and lean practices to large organizations.
Lean: Lean principles focus on eliminating waste and delivering value efficiently.
Agile Manifesto: The Agile Manifesto is a set of guiding values and principles for agile development.
Key takeaways
Disciplined Agile is process decision structure in software development that prioritizes individuals and the connection between individuals.
Disciplined Agile comprises four layers: foundation, Disciplined DevOps, value streams, and Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE). Each layer helps project teams make sense of a large amount of information within the DA toolkit.
Disciplined Agile is a flexible and robust decision-making framework. But it does assume some experience in agile and can be cumbersome to implement in larger or compartmentalized organizations.
Key Highlights
Origin and Purpose of Disciplined Agile (DA):
Developed at IBM in 2009 and introduced in 2012.
DA is a people-first process decision toolkit with a focus on learning and streamlining processes.
Scope and Evolution of DA:
Originally covered broad process decisions across organizations.
Adaptations like “Disciplined DevOps” and “Disciplined Agile IT” emerged.
Now covers end-to-end product lifecycle from initiation to delivery.
Emphasizes contextual collaboration across seemingly separate activities.
Focus and Uniqueness of Disciplined Agile:
Focuses on consumable solutions, working software, and documentation.
Scales agile practices based on decisions yielding the most customer value.
Four Layers of the Disciplined Agile Toolkit:
Foundation: Principles, guidelines, agile/lean concepts, roles, and choice of way of working.
Disciplined DevOps: Collaboration between development and operations, adaptable release management.
Value Streams: Bringing customer value from concept to delivery, aligning strategy with value.
Flexibility: Relevant to various customer-facing roles, not just software development.
Robust Decision-Making: Presents options and trade-offs, incorporates various sources.
Weaknesses of Disciplined Agile:
Experience Requirement: Unsuitable for teams unfamiliar with agile practices.
Potential Cumbersomeness: Implementation may take longer due to breaking down compartmental barriers.
Key Takeaways:
DA prioritizes individuals and their connections in software development.
DA includes layers like foundation, Disciplined DevOps, value streams, and DAE.
DA is flexible and robust, assuming some agile experience, but can be complex in larger organizations.
Related Frameworks
Description
When to Apply
Scrum Framework
– Scrum is an iterative and incremental Agile framework for managing complex projects. – It emphasizes empirical process control, self-organization, and collaboration to deliver high-value products. – Scrum roles include the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team. – It consists of sprints, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives for continuous improvement.
– When managing software development projects or other complex initiatives where requirements may change frequently, and iterative delivery is preferred.
Kanban Method
– Kanban is a visual management tool that helps teams optimize workflow and limit work in progress. – It visualizes the flow of work on a Kanban board, with columns representing different stages of the workflow. – It focuses on continuous delivery, pull-based scheduling, and workflow transparency to improve efficiency and effectiveness. – Kanban allows teams to identify bottlenecks and optimize processes iteratively.
– When managing workflows or projects that require flexibility, visualizing work, and minimizing waste by limiting work in progress.
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
– SAFe is a scalable and collaborative framework for large-scale Agile projects. – It provides guidance on organizational alignment, team collaboration, and continuous delivery. – SAFe includes roles, events, and artifacts tailored for enterprise-level agility. – It supports program increment planning, value stream mapping, and devops practices for end-to-end delivery.
– When implementing Agile at scale across large organizations or managing complex projects with multiple teams and dependencies.
Lean Startup
– The Lean Startup methodology emphasizes rapid experimentation, validated learning, and iteration in product development cycles. – It advocates for building minimum viable products (MVPs) to test assumptions and gather feedback from customers early. – Lean Startup principles include validated learning, innovation accounting, and build-measure-learn cycles.
– When launching new products or ventures, especially in uncertain environments, to quickly validate assumptions, learn from customer feedback, and iterate on product development based on validated learnings.
Design Thinking
– Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that focuses on empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating solutions, prototyping ideas, and testing with users. – It encourages collaboration, creativity, and iteration to develop innovative solutions. – Design Thinking stages include empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.
– When seeking to understand user needs, generate innovative ideas, and prototype solutions iteratively to solve complex problems or develop user-centric products and services.
Lean UX
– Lean UX applies Lean principles to user experience (UX) design, focusing on rapid iteration, collaboration, and validated learning. – It emphasizes cross-functional teams, early and frequent testing, and minimal viable products (MVPs). – Lean UX methods include user research, collaborative design, and iterative prototyping. – It aims to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and deliver value to users quickly and continuously.
– When integrating UX design processes with Agile development, particularly in environments where rapid iteration and user feedback are essential to product success.
DevOps
– DevOps is a culture, philosophy, and set of practices that aims to bridge the gap between software development and IT operations. – It promotes collaboration, automation, and measurement to improve deployment frequency, reliability, and scalability. – DevOps practices include continuous integration, continuous deployment, and infrastructure as code.
– When seeking to improve collaboration between development and operations teams, accelerate software delivery, and enhance the reliability and quality of software releases through automation and cultural alignment.
Agile Modeling
– Agile Modeling is a practice-based methodology for modeling and documentation in Agile projects. – It advocates for sufficient and just-in-time modeling, focusing on value and communication. – Agile Modeling principles include model with a purpose, multiple models, and travel light. – It aims to minimize waste, improve communication, and maximize the value of modeling efforts in Agile development.
– When modeling and documenting software systems in Agile projects, emphasizing agility, simplicity, and value-driven approaches to modeling and communication.
Continuous Delivery
– Continuous Delivery is a software development practice where code changes are automatically built, tested, and deployed to production environments. – It emphasizes automated and reliable release processes to enable frequent and predictable software releases. – Continuous Delivery relies on continuous integration, automated testing, and infrastructure as code to streamline the delivery pipeline.
– When aiming to achieve shorter development cycles, faster time to market, and more reliable software releases by automating the build, test, and deployment processes in software development.
AIOps is the application of artificial intelligence to IT operations. It has become particularly useful for modern IT management in hybridized, distributed, and dynamic environments. AIOps has become a key operational component of modern digital-based organizations, built around software and algorithms.
Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business.
Agile Program Management is a means of managing, planning, and coordinating interrelated work in such a way that value delivery is emphasized for all key stakeholders. Agile Program Management (AgilePgM) is a disciplined yet flexible agile approach to managing transformational change within an organization.
Agile project management (APM) is a strategy that breaks large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. In the APM methodology, each project is completed in small sections – often referred to as iterations. Each iteration is completed according to its project life cycle, beginning with the initial design and progressing to testing and then quality assurance.
Agile Modeling (AM) is a methodology for modeling and documenting software-based systems. Agile Modeling is critical to the rapid and continuous delivery of software. It is a collection of values, principles, and practices that guide effective, lightweight software modeling.
Agile Business Analysis (AgileBA) is certification in the form of guidance and training for business analysts seeking to work in agile environments. To support this shift, AgileBA also helps the business analyst relate Agile projects to a wider organizational mission or strategy. To ensure that analysts have the necessary skills and expertise, AgileBA certification was developed.
Agile leadership is the embodiment of agile manifesto principles by a manager or management team. Agile leadership impacts two important levels of a business. The structural level defines the roles, responsibilities, and key performance indicators. The behavioral level describes the actions leaders exhibit to others based on agile principles.
The andon system alerts managerial, maintenance, or other staff of a production process problem. The alert itself can be activated manually with a button or pull cord, but it can also be activated automatically by production equipment. Most Andon boards utilize three colored lights similar to a traffic signal: green (no errors), yellow or amber (problem identified, or quality check needed), and red (production stopped due to unidentified issue).
Bimodal Portfolio Management (BimodalPfM) helps an organization manage both agile and traditional portfolios concurrently. Bimodal Portfolio Management – sometimes referred to as bimodal development – was coined by research and advisory company Gartner. The firm argued that many agile organizations still needed to run some aspects of their operations using traditional delivery models.
Business innovation is about creating new opportunities for an organization to reinvent its core offerings, revenue streams, and enhance the value proposition for existing or new customers, thus renewing its whole business model. Business innovation springs by understanding the structure of the market, thus adapting or anticipating those changes.
Business modelinnovation is about increasing the success of an organization with existing products and technologies by crafting a compelling value proposition able to propel a new business model to scale up customers and create a lasting competitive advantage. And it all starts by mastering the key customers.
A consumer brand company like Procter & Gamble (P&G) defines “Constructive Disruption” as: a willingness to change, adapt, and create new trends and technologies that will shape our industry for the future. According to P&G, it moves around four pillars: lean innovation, brand building, supply chain, and digitalization & data analytics.
That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business model. Continuous innovation is a mindset where products and services are designed and delivered to tune them around the customers’ problem and not the technical solution of its founders.
A design sprint is a proven five-day process where critical business questions are answered through speedy design and prototyping, focusing on the end-user. A design sprint starts with a weekly challenge that should finish with a prototype, test at the end, and therefore a lesson learned to be iterated.
Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO, defined design thinking as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Therefore, desirability, feasibility, and viability are balanced to solve critical problems.
DevOps refers to a series of practices performed to perform automated software development processes. It is a conjugation of the term “development” and “operations” to emphasize how functions integrate across IT teams. DevOps strategies promote seamless building, testing, and deployment of products. It aims to bridge a gap between development and operations teams to streamline the development altogether.
Product discovery is a critical part of agile methodologies, as its aim is to ensure that products customers love are built. Product discovery involves learning through a raft of methods, including design thinking, lean start-up, and A/B testing to name a few. Dual Track Agile is an agile methodology containing two separate tracks: the “discovery” track and the “delivery” track.
eXtreme Programming was developed in the late 1990s by Ken Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham. During this time, the trio was working on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3) to help manage the company payroll system. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology. It is designed to improve software quality and the ability of software to adapt to changing customer needs.
Feature-Driven Development is a pragmatic software process that is client and architecture-centric. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an agile software development model that organizes workflow according to which features need to be developed next.
A Gemba Walk is a fundamental component of lean management. It describes the personal observation of work to learn more about it. Gemba is a Japanese word that loosely translates as “the real place”, or in business, “the place where value is created”. The Gemba Walk as a concept was created by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System of lean manufacturing. Ohno wanted to encourage management executives to leave their offices and see where the real work happened. This, he hoped, would build relationships between employees with vastly different skillsets and build trust.
GIST Planning is a relatively easy and lightweight agile approach to product planning that favors autonomous working. GIST Planning is a lean and agile methodology that was created by former Google product manager Itamar Gilad. GIST Planning seeks to address this situation by creating lightweight plans that are responsive and adaptable to change. GIST Planning also improves team velocity, autonomy, and alignment by reducing the pervasive influence of management. It consists of four blocks: goals, ideas, step-projects, and tasks.
The ICE Scoring Model is an agile methodology that prioritizes features using data according to three components: impact, confidence, and ease of implementation. The ICE Scoring Model was initially created by author and growth expert Sean Ellis to help companies expand. Today, the model is broadly used to prioritize projects, features, initiatives, and rollouts. It is ideally suited for early-stage product development where there is a continuous flow of ideas and momentum must be maintained.
An innovation funnel is a tool or process ensuring only the best ideas are executed. In a metaphorical sense, the funnel screens innovative ideas for viability so that only the best products, processes, or business models are launched to the market. An innovation funnel provides a framework for the screening and testing of innovative ideas for viability.
According to how well defined is the problem and how well defined the domain, we have four main types of innovations: basic research (problem and domain or not well defined); breakthrough innovation (domain is not well defined, the problem is well defined); sustaining innovation (both problem and domain are well defined); and disruptive innovation (domain is well defined, the problem is not well defined).
The innovation loop is a methodology/framework derived from the Bell Labs, which produced innovation at scale throughout the 20th century. They learned how to leverage a hybrid innovation management model based on science, invention, engineering, and manufacturing at scale. By leveraging individual genius, creativity, and small/large groups.
The Agile methodology has been primarily thought of for software development (and other business disciplines have also adopted it). Lean thinking is a process improvement technique where teams prioritize the value streams to improve it continuously. Both methodologies look at the customer as the key driver to improvement and waste reduction. Both methodologies look at improvement as something continuous.
A startup company is a high-tech business that tries to build a scalable business model in tech-driven industries. A startup company usually follows a lean methodology, where continuous innovation, driven by built-in viral loops is the rule. Thus, driving growth and building network effects as a consequence of this strategy.
As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology.
Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy.
Jidoka was first used in 1896 by Sakichi Toyoda, who invented a textile loom that would stop automatically when it encountered a defective thread. Jidoka is a Japanese term used in lean manufacturing. The term describes a scenario where machines cease operating without human intervention when a problem or defect is discovered.
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle was first proposed by American physicist and engineer Walter A. Shewhart in the 1920s. The PDCA cycle is a continuous process and product improvement method and an essential component of the lean manufacturing philosophy.
RAD was first introduced by author and consultant James Martin in 1991. Martin recognized and then took advantage of the endless malleability of software in designing development models. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a methodology focusing on delivering rapidly through continuous feedback and frequent iterations.
Retrospective analyses are held after a project to determine what worked well and what did not. They are also conducted at the end of an iteration in Agile project management. Agile practitioners call these meetings retrospectives or retros. They are an effective way to check the pulse of a project team, reflect on the work performed to date, and reach a consensus on how to tackle the next sprint cycle. These are the five stages of a retrospective analysis for effective Agile project management: set the stage, gather the data, generate insights, decide on the next steps, and close the retrospective.
Scaled Agile Lean Development (ScALeD) helps businesses discover a balanced approach to agile transition and scaling questions. The ScALed approach helps businesses successfully respond to change. Inspired by a combination of lean and agile values, ScALed is practitioner-based and can be completed through various agile frameworks and practices.
The SMED (single minute exchange of die) method is a lean production framework to reduce waste and increase production efficiency. The SMED method is a framework for reducing the time associated with completing an equipment changeover.
The Spotify Model is an autonomous approach to scaling agile, focusing on culture communication, accountability, and quality. The Spotify model was first recognized in 2012 after Henrik Kniberg, and Anders Ivarsson released a white paper detailing how streaming company Spotify approached agility. Therefore, the Spotify model represents an evolution of agile.
As the name suggests, TDD is a test-driven technique for delivering high-quality software rapidly and sustainably. It is an iterative approach based on the idea that a failing test should be written before any code for a feature or function is written. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an approach to software development that relies on very short development cycles.
Timeboxing is a simple yet powerful time-management technique for improving productivity. Timeboxing describes the process of proactively scheduling a block of time to spend on a task in the future. It was first described by author James Martin in a book about agile software development.
Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.
Scrumban is a project management framework that is a hybrid of two popular agile methodologies: Scrum and Kanban. Scrumban is a popular approach to helping businesses focus on the right strategic tasks while simultaneously strengthening their processes.
Scrum anti-patterns describe any attractive, easy-to-implement solution that ultimately makes a problem worse. Therefore, these are the practice not to follow to prevent issues from emerging. Some classic examples of scrum anti-patterns comprise absent product owners, pre-assigned tickets (making individuals work in isolation), and discounting retrospectives (where review meetings are not useful to really make improvements).
Scrum at Scale (Scrum@Scale) is a framework that Scrum teams use to address complex problems and deliver high-value products. Scrum at Scale was created through a joint venture between the Scrum Alliance and Scrum Inc. The joint venture was overseen by Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of Scrum and one of the principal authors of the Agile Manifesto.
Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating errors or defects in a product, service, or process. Six Sigma was developed by Motorola as a management approach based on quality fundamentals in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was popularized by General Electric who estimated that the methodology saved them $12 billion in the first five years of operation.
Stretch objectives describe any task an agile team plans to complete without expressly committing to do so. Teams incorporate stretch objectives during a Sprint or Program Increment (PI) as part of Scaled Agile. They are used when the agile team is unsure of its capacity to attain an objective. Therefore, stretch objectives are instead outcomes that, while extremely desirable, are not the difference between the success or failure of each sprint.
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an early form of lean manufacturing created by auto-manufacturer Toyota. Created by the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1940s and 50s, the Toyota Production System seeks to manufacture vehicles ordered by customers most quickly and efficiently possible.
The Total Quality Management (TQM) framework is a technique based on the premise that employees continuously work on their ability to provide value to customers. Importantly, the word “total” means that all employees are involved in the process – regardless of whether they work in development, production, or fulfillment.
The waterfall model was first described by Herbert D. Benington in 1956 during a presentation about the software used in radar imaging during the Cold War. Since there were no knowledge-based, creative software development strategies at the time, the waterfall method became standard practice. The waterfall model is a linear and sequential project management framework.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
