Are you interested in Disciplined Agile Adoption?
Disciplined Agile (DA) is a process decision framework that prioritizes individuals and provides only guidance to help teams optimize their processes based on the specific needs of each project. DA is similar to the Crystal method in some ways as a people-first agile framework. Indeed, DA is intended to be a hybrid approach that incorporates elements of XP, Scrum, Kanban, and other methodologies.
Defined Agile Adoption
Agile Adoption is commonly defined as "a change in process to one that is consistent with the Agile Values and Principles." During Agile Adoption, the emphasis is on process change. Agile adoption can be viewed as a transition from one process, such as waterfall or SDLC, to an Agile process or framework. This is also known as an Agile transition.
The Scrum Framework is the most commonly used process change. It may also imply implementing Kanban, Lean Software Development, eXtreme Programming (XP), or another agile method. This is how most organizations first encounter Agile. When a company runs an "agile pilot," they are referring to Agile Adoption.
What are the Framework's advantages and disadvantages?
DA's advantages include:
- This framework's hybrid nature draws the best elements from several tried-and-true methodologies.
- Allows teams to use the agile method while also tailoring it to their specific requirements.
Among DA's disadvantages are:
- It is not suitable for organizations that are new to agile because it does not provide sufficient guidance on how to implement the philosophy.
- Because of this lack of guidance, organizations attempting to implement the DA framework are more likely to require the assistance of professional consultants.
The four-stage agile adoption process
The agile adoption framework's "backbone" is the four-stage assessment process. The four stages are classified according to the goal they aid in achieving:
Stage 1: Determine the discontinuing factors
The goal of stage 1 is to provide an assessment process that identifies key factors that may impede the successful implementation of agile practices. These are known as discontinuing factors, and they differ from one organization to the other. They typically refer to an organization's resources, such as money, time, and effort, as well as the leadership's support.
Stage 2: Project-level evaluation
The goal of this stage is to determine the highest level of agility that a project can achieve. This is one of the five agile levels and is known as the target level. In theory, all projects should strive for the highest possible level of agility. However, the reality is that each project is surrounded by circumstances that are often beyond the organization's control. As a result, constraining factors limit the level of agility that a project aspires for.
Stage 3: Evaluation of organizational readiness
Identifying a project's target level does not always imply that it is reachable. To determine the extent to which that target level can be attained, the organization must be evaluated to determine whether it is prepared to adopt each of the agile practices and concepts associated with the target level and beyond.
Stage 4: Reconciliation
Following the organizational readiness assessment, the organization's agile level is known. Stage 2 determines the agile level to which the project aspires. As a result, the final step, reconciliation, is required to determine the agile practices that the project will deploy. The differences between the target level and the organization's readiness are resolved during this phase to determine the final set of agile practices that will be adopted.
Should You Implement Disciplined Agile?
This type of hybrid model may provide much-needed flexibility for a highly experienced agile team. However, for teams that are new to the agile approach, DA may make the learning curve too steep and costly.