This is a case study of an Agile pilot in Comverse which was presented By Galit Altinyuva AVP, localization unit manager, as part of AgileTour 2010, an international conference that was organized by Ignite and held in the Computer Science Faculty of the Technion, Israeli leading academic institute for technological studies

1. Galit Altinyuva – Nov 2010y

2. About me:About me:
AVP, Localization Unit Manager @ Comverse
Background in S/W Development &
several Managerial positions in R&D

3. O T tO T tOur TargetOur Targetgg
1

4. 2009
2008
We have set a 2 years improvement plan
t titargeting:
50% cost improvement in 2009
During 2009 many improvements were implemented:
Continuous integration
2010
High Cost
Long TTM
Low Quality
p
Additional 20% cost improvement in 2010
25% i t i TTM
Continuous integration
Improved testing methodology
Generate “bank of test cases” for project utilization
Moving to Agile…
2010Low Quality
25% improvement in TTMGenerate bank of test cases for project utilization
Documentation optimization - Templates
Enhanced trainingEnhanced training
Something didn’t work – Thinking “out of the box” was required

5. Why Agile?
s •Improve project Visibility
• Improve TTM
TTMTTM
Benefits
• Increase Flexibility
• Enhance ability to Manage priorities
nessB
• Enhance software Quality
• Reduce Risks
BudgetBudget
QualityQuality
Busi
• Improved Productivity
• Reduce Waste
ts
• Increase Team accountability
• Reduce actual Cost
Benefi
Increase Team accountability
• Increase Collaboration
• Increase Employees satisfaction
5
Soft
p y
• Improve Team morale

6. Getting StartedGetting Started
Select external experts for Agile implementation
AgileSparks – provided full support & guidance
throughout the implementation
p g p
Define pilots & success criteria
2 projects were chosen for pilots with well defined
success criterions in terms of Cost, TTM & Quality
p
High management attention
High focus on pilots
Making a buzz around agileg g
6

8. Agile - Scrum Process
Daily
Scrum
• What did you do yesterday?
• What will you do today?
24
Hours
What will you do today?
• Any obstacles?
Hours
Planning
Planning
2 Weeks
Sprint Backlog –
features
assigned to
sprint
Features
expanded
to tasks
Retrospective
Review
Potentially
Shippable
Product
Prod ct Backlog
8
Product Backlog –
Prioritized project features

9. Impediments Faced…
Too
manyy
meetings I don’t
know how
to give EE
Teams
g
Teams
It is impossible to
Management
is tracking my
working
It is impossible to
split my large
tasks into small
ones
progress every
day

10. Tracking & MonitoringTracking & Monitoring
Agile steeringAgile steering
Scrum Master & Product Owner forumsScrum Master & Product Owner forums
RBL templatep
Measurement dashboard
10

11. Pilots’ Results – Great Success
TTM reduced in 20%
Pilots Results Great Success
Cost aligned with targets – 30% reduction
High Quality ~1-3 defects on customer site
11

12. Successful Pilots – The next Impediment ?
Define tool for mass projectsp j

13. Agile Championg p
• Accountable for the Agile implementation
• Objective – Coach and mentor
Needs to be:
Certified Scrum MasterCertified Scrum Master
Up-To-Date with Agile trends and processes
Seek for continuous improvement
Responsibilities:
Makes sure Agile process is being followed in all projects in similar wayMakes sure Agile process is being followed in all projects in similar way
Initiate and facilitate internal Scrum forums (such as SM forum, PO
forum etc)
Define tool measurements and visibility reportsDefine tool, measurements and visibility reports
Facilitate the Steering Committee meeting
Monitor the Scrum Ceremonies (Daily, Review, Retrospective, Planning)
i diff t j t d k it i ffi i tin different projects and make sure it is efficient

14. Agile Supporting Tool - VersionOne
F ll A il Lif • Planning and tracking
• One view for impediments & Retrospective
Full Agile Life-
cycle Support
• Drag-and-drop Task board
• Drag-and-drop ranking and iteration planning
Simplified User
Interface
• 50+ Pre-packaged agile metrics and reports
• Executive-level Dashboards with best practice
i
Reporting
metrics
p g
• Free platform and third-party tool connectorsOpen Integration Free platform and third party tool connectors
• Integration with QC, CQ, Hudson
p g
Platform
14

15. Looking Ahead
All I Si ht4 j t i l ti A ilAll InSight4 projects are implementing Agile
Positive trends in terms of Cost, TTM & Quality
Focus on Testing Automation
C t t D t d hiConstant Day-to-day coaching
Project management tools assimilation

16. Th k YThank You
Galit Altinyuva
Galit.Altinyuva@comverse.comy @