Scaling Agile Methods

Covering why scaling agile is important, the two scaling perspectives (scaling up vs scaling out), six ways large systems differ from small, three critical adaptations for large systems, brownfield systems, four reasons agile is difficult to introduce in large companies, conflicts with change management and testing standards, the most enthusiastic agile adopters, and agile introduction as cultural change

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QUESTION OF

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Views #: 226

Questions #: 10

Time: 10 minutes

Pass Score: 80.0%

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Why Scaling Agile Is Important

1 pts

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The diagram below shows the two perspectives on scaling agile methods.

Why has there been great interest in scaling agile methods to cope with larger systems?

Because agile tools only work well at scale and are too complex for small teams

Because regulatory bodies require all large systems to use agile methods

Because agile methods were originally developed for small co-located teams, but the need for faster delivery of software also applies to larger systems developed by large organisations

Because large systems are simpler than small ones and therefore easier to develop with agile methods

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Scaling Up vs Scaling Out

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To complete the line match

Click on an item in the first group
Click on an item in the second group
To delete a match, double click on a line

Perspective

Scaling up

Scaling out

Definition

Concerned with using agile methods for developing large software systems that cannot be developed by a small team

Concerned with how agile methods can be introduced across a large organisation with many years of software development experience

There are two perspectives on scaling agile methods. Match each perspective to its correct definition.

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Six Ways Large Systems Differ from Small Systems

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Large software system development is different from small system development in several ways. Which of the following are identified differences? Select all that apply.

Large systems usually have a diverse set of stakeholders, making it practically impossible to involve all of them in the development process

Large systems are 'brownfield systems' that include and interact with a number of existing systems — many requirements are concerned with this interaction

Large systems have a long procurement and development time making it difficult to maintain coherent teams

Where several systems are integrated, a significant fraction of development is concerned with system configuration rather than original code development

Large systems are usually collections of separate, communicating systems where separate teams develop each — it is practically impossible for each team to have a view of the whole system

Large systems always have fewer stakeholders than small systems, making requirements easier to manage

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Three Critical Adaptations for Large Systems

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Agile methods must be adapted to cope with large systems engineering. Complete the sentence about the three critical adaptations.

For large systems development, you need more up-front (1) and system documentation. Cross-team (2) mechanisms must be designed and used. And while strict continuous integration is practically impossible at scale, frequent system builds and regular (3) are essential.

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Brownfield Systems

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What is meant by large systems being described as 'brownfield systems', and why does this make agile approaches more difficult?

Brownfield systems are legacy systems that use outdated programming languages incompatible with agile tools

Brownfield systems are systems that have already failed and are being rebuilt from scratch

Brownfield systems are systems developed in industrial areas with environmental constraints

Brownfield systems include and interact with a number of existing systems — many requirements concern this interaction and don't really lend themselves to flexibility and incremental development; changes to existing systems often require negotiation with their managers

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Four Reasons Agile Is Difficult to Introduce in Large Companies

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Reasons

×Project managers may be reluctant to accept the risk of a new approach as they do not know how it will affect their particular projects

×Large organisations often have quality procedures and standards that all projects are expected to follow — these are likely to be incompatible with agile methods

×Agile methods seem to work best when team members have a relatively high skill level — within large organisations there may be a wide range of skills and people with lower skill levels may not be effective

×There may be cultural resistance to agile methods in organisations with a long history of using conventional systems engineering processes

Management reluctance

Organisational standards conflict

Skill level variation

Cultural resistance

Introducing agile methods into large companies is difficult for a number of reasons. Classify each reason under the correct category.

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Change Management and XP's Refactoring Conflict

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Change management is described as conflicting with XP's refactoring practice. Why?

Change management requires all code to be written in pairs, conflicting with XP's individual coding sessions

Change management requires waterfall planning which is incompatible with XP's incremental approach

Change management controls changes so their impact is predictable and costs controlled — all changes must be approved in advance before being made; this conflicts with XP where any developer can improve any code without getting external approval

Change management prevents any refactoring from occurring, making XP's continuous improvement impossible

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Most Enthusiastic Agile Adopters

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Which type of organisation is identified as among the most enthusiastic adopters of agile methods, and why?

Government agencies, because they have the most to gain from faster delivery

Academic institutions, because they have freedom to experiment with new methods

Small software companies that develop software products — they are not constrained by organisational bureaucracies or process standards and can change quickly to adopt new ideas

Large multinational corporations, because they have the resources to implement agile at scale

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Agile Introduction as Cultural Change

1 pts

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True or False: Introducing and sustaining agile methods across a large organisation is primarily a technical challenge rather than a cultural challenge.

False

True

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External Regulation and Agile Testing Conflicts

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For large systems, there are testing standards that conflict with agile approaches. What is the specific conflict described?

Testing standards require test-first development which conflicts with agile's code-first approach

Testing standards require all tests to be written in a specific formal language incompatible with agile tools

For large systems there are testing standards where a system build is handed over to an external testing team — this conflicts with the test-first and test-often approaches used in XP

External testing teams must use waterfall processes which prevent integration with agile sprints

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Undergraduate Professional

Why Scaling Agile Is Important

Correct Answer

Explanation

Scaling Up vs Scaling Out

Perspective

Definition

Correct Answer

Explanation

Six Ways Large Systems Differ from Small Systems

Correct Answer

Explanation

Three Critical Adaptations for Large Systems

Correct Answer

Explanation

Brownfield Systems

Correct Answer

Explanation

Four Reasons Agile Is Difficult to Introduce in Large Companies

Correct Answer

Explanation

Change Management and XP's Refactoring Conflict

Correct Answer

Explanation

Most Enthusiastic Agile Adopters

Correct Answer

Explanation

Agile Introduction as Cultural Change

Correct Answer

Explanation

External Regulation and Agile Testing Conflicts

Correct Answer

Explanation

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