Strategies for Managing Dependencies
- 1. Dependency Management 12 Strategies for improving systemic flow Introduction to Kanban Lean Estimation, Tracking & Planning Making Software Delivery more Predictable 12 Strategies for Managing Dependencies Advanced Kanban – classes of service and backlog mgmt
- 3. 80% OF YOUR CAPACITY IS ABSORBED IN WASTEFUL ACTIVITY
- 4. Develop self-serve capability Develop self-serve capability within the team to remove the dependency (self-serve). 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 5. Systemic Swarming In a multi-kanban environment (multiple delivery streams / teams) move people with the right skills between delivery streams to deliver the dependent requirements (so as to respect the release cadence) before returning to their own delivery stream. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 6. Consumer Driven Contracts Check out the article on Martin Fowlers blog where Ian Robinson discusses a Service Evolution Pattern called Consumer Driven Contracts. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 7. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs Think carefully about the consequences of using these approaches from a testing perspective. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 8. Queue and Wait Move the Story out of flow whilst you wait for the dependent requirement to be fulfilled. Once fulfilled return the Story to flow. This is shown in the “3rd party blocked” section in the Dev column above. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 9. Planning & Scheduling Schedule the various requirements to be complete in line with a plan (in my experience the odds of success of this technique are similar to a seven horse accumulator!). BUT, you do get value from flagging up known dependencies earlier in the backlog to help with your selection policy. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 10. Visualise Blockers If you uncover or stumble across a dependency during dev use blocker stickers to raise the awareness then focus on unblocking. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 11. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite Below you’ll see an External row in the backlog. Agree an org-wide policy that anything arriving into this row is expedited or prioritised as part of the selection policy. Don’t use this for shared service teams. Incidents Unplanned Planned Tech Debt External Breakdown Establish a class of service policy across all work streams 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 12. Avoid Self-Competing If you are dependent on a shared service team, make sure your tribal leader attends their prioritisation / selection meeting because you may end up competing against yourself or other squads within your tribe for what should be a tribe level prioritisation call. Backlog Select WIP DONE Squad A Squad B Squad C Squad D Tribe 2 Tribe 1 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 13. Re-Architect …to remove / reduce dependencies (stovepipe solution?). 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 14. Remove Environment Contention …invest in more / better environments. 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s
- 15. Merge hell – Feature Toggles …to remove / reduce dependencies (stovepipe solution?). 1. Develop self-serve capability 2. Systemic Swarming 3. Consumer Driven Contracts 4. Fake Objects, Mocks, or Stubs 5. Queue and wait 6. Planning & Scheduling 7. Visualise Blockers 8. Use Explicit Policies to Expedite 9. Avoid self-competing 10. Re-Architect 11. Invest in Env’s 12. Feature Toggles