Publisher Description

A realistic, actionable guide to starting fast with Scrum and agile Leading agile consultant and practitioner Mike Cohn presents detailed recommendations, powerful tips, and real-world case studies drawn from his unparalleled experience helping hundreds of software organisations make Scrum and agile work. Succeeding with Agile is for pragmatic software professionals who want real answers to the most difficult challenges they face in implementing Scrum. Cohn covers every facet of the transition: getting started, helping individuals transition to new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, and finally, implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement. Throughout, Cohn presents 'Things to Try Now' sections based on his most successful advice. Complementary 'Objection' sections reproduce typical conversations with those resisting change and offer practical guidance for addressing their concerns. Coverage includes

• Practical ways to get started immediately - and 'get good' fast
• Overcoming individual resistance to the changes Scrum requires
• Staffing Scrum projects and building effective teams
• Establishing 'improvement communities' of people who are passionate about driving change
• Choosing which agile technical practices to use or experiment with
• Leading self-organising teams
• Making the most of Scrum sprints, planning, and quality techniques
• Scaling Scrum to distributed, multiteam projects
• Using Scrum on projects with complex sequential processes or challenging compliance and governance requirements
• Understanding Scrum's impact on HR, facilities, and project management

Back Cover

Proven, 100% Practical Guidance for Making Scrum and Agile Work in Any Organization This is the definitive, realistic, actionable guide to starting fast with Scrum and agile-and then succeeding over the long haul. Leading agile consultant and practitioner Mike Cohn presents detailed recommendations, powerful tips, and real-world case studies drawn from his unparalleled experience helping hundreds of software organizations make Scrum and agile work. Succeeding with Agile is for pragmatic software professionals who want real answers to the most difficult challenges they face in implementing Scrum. Cohn covers every facet of the transition: getting started, helping individuals transition to new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, and finally, implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement. Throughout, Cohn presents "Things to Try Now" sections based on his most successful advice. Complementary "Objection" sections reproduce typical conversations with those resisting change and offer practical guidance for addressing their concerns. Coverage includes Practical ways to get started immediately-and "get good" fast Overcoming individual resistance to the changes Scrum requires Staffing Scrum projects and building effective teams Establishing "improvement communities" of people who are passionate about driving change Choosing which agile technical practices to use or experiment with Leading self-organizing teams Making the most of Scrum sprints, planning, and quality techniques Scaling Scrum to distributed, multiteam projects Using Scrum on projects with complex sequential processes or challenging compliance and governance requirements Understanding Scrum's impact on HR, facilities, and project management Whether you've completed a few sprints or multiple agile projects and whatever your role-manager, developer, coach, ScrumMaster, product owner, analyst, team lead, or project lead-this book will help you succeed with your very next project. Then, it will help you go much further: It will help you transform your entire development organization.

Table of Contents

• Part I: Getting Started
• Chapter 1: Why Becoming Agile Is Hard (But Worth It)
• Chapter 2: ADAPTing to Scrum   
• Chapter 3: Patterns for Adopting Scrum    
• Chapter 4: Iterating Toward Agility    
• Chapter 5: Your First Projects    
• Part II: Individuals    
• Chapter 6: Overcoming Resistance    
• Chapter 7: New Roles    
• Chapter 8: Changed Roles    
• Chapter 9: Technical Practices    
• Part III: Teams    
• Chapter 10: Team Structure     
• Chapter 11: Teamwork    
• Chapter 12: Leading a Self-Organizing Team    
• Chapter 13: The Product Backlog    
• Chapter 14: Sprints    
• Chapter 15: Planning    
• Chapter 16: Quality    
• Part IV: The Organization    
• Chapter 17: Scaling Scrum    
• Chapter 18: Distributed Teams    
• Chapter 19: Coexisting with Other Approaches    
• Chapter 20: Human Resources, Facilities, and the PMO    
• Part V: Next Steps    
• Chapter 21: Seeing How Far You've Come    
• Chapter 22: You're Not Done Yet    
• Reference List    
• Index    

Review

Praise for Succeeding with Agile   "Understanding the mechanics of an agile process is just not enough. Mike Cohn has compiled a superb and comprehensive collection of advice that will help individuals and teams with the intricate task of adopting and adapting agile processes to fit their specific challenges. This book will become the definitive handbook for agile teams." –Colin Bird, Global Head of Agile, EMC Consulting   "Mike Cohn's experience working with so many different organizations in the adoption of agile methods shines through with practical approaches and valuable insights. If you really want agile methods to stick, this is the book to read." –Jeff Honious, Vice President, Innovation, Reed Elsevier   "Mike Cohn has done it again. Succeeding with Agile is based on his experience, and all of our experience, with agile to date. He covers from the earliest days of the project up to maturity and offers advice for the individual, the team, and the enterprise. No matter where you are in the agile cycle, this book has something for you!" –Ron Jeffries,   "If you want to start or take the next step in agile software development, this book is for you. It discusses issues, great solutions, and helpful guidelines when scaling up in agile projects. We used the guidelines from this book extensively when we introduced agile in a large, FDA-regulated department." –Christ Vriens, Department Head of MiPlaza, part of Philips Research   "If making the move to agile has always baffled you, then this book will unlock its mysteries. Mike Cohn gives us all the definitive, no-nonsense guide to transforming your organization into a high-powered, innovative, and competitive success." –Steve Greene, Senior Director, Program Management and Agile Development,   "Mike Cohn is a great advisor for transforming your software organization. This book is a distillation of everything Mike has learned over the years working with companies that are trying to become more agile. If you are thinking of going agile, pick up this book." –Christopher Fry, Ph.D., Vice President Development, Platform,   "Whether you're just starting out or have some Scrum experience under your belt, in Succeeding with Agile, Mike Cohn provides a wealth of information to guide you in your quest toward continuous improvement. Throughout the book, concepts are reinforced with practical everyday advice, including how to handle objections and thought-provoking 'things to try now.' An extensive list of recommended readings round this out to be a must have book." –Nikki Rohm, Studio Director Project and Resource Management, Electronic Arts   "The first steps along the path of improving your software process with Scrum are hard, and every step reveals new challenges. In Succeeding with Agile, Mike Cohn shows how other organizations have followed this path, how you can learn from them to have a successful implementation of Scrum, and put your organization on the path of constant improvement and

Long Description

Proven, 100% Practical Guidance for Making Scrum and Agile Work in Any Organization This is the definitive, realistic, actionable guide to starting fast with Scrum and agile-and then succeeding over the long haul. Leading agile consultant and practitioner Mike Cohn presents detailed recommendations, powerful tips, and real-world case studies drawn from his unparalleled experience helping hundreds of software organizations make Scrum and agile work. Succeeding with Agile is for pragmatic software professionals who want real answers to the most difficult challenges they face in implementing Scrum. Cohn covers every facet of the transition: getting started, helping individuals transition to new roles, structuring teams, scaling up, working with a distributed team, and finally, implementing effective metrics and continuous improvement. Throughout, Cohn presents "Things to Try Now" sections based on his most successful advice. Complementary "Objection" sections reproduce typical conversations with those resisting change and offer practical guidance for addressing their concerns. Coverage includes Practical ways to get started immediately-and "get good" fast Overcoming individual resistance to the changes Scrum requires Staffing Scrum projects and building effective teams Establishing "improvement communities" of people who are passionate about driving change Choosing which agile technical practices to use or experiment with Leading self-organizing teams Making the most of Scrum sprints, planning, and quality techniques Scaling Scrum to distributed, multiteam projects Using Scrum on projects with complex sequential processes or challenging compliance and governance requirements Understanding Scrum's impact on HR, facilities, and project management Whether you've completed a few sprints or multiple agile projects and whatever your role-manager, developer, coach, ScrumMaster, product owner, analyst, team lead, or project lead-this book will help you succeed with your very next project. Then, it will help you go much further: It will help you transform your entire development organization.

Review Text

Praise for Succeeding with Agile "Understanding the mechanics of an agile process is just not enough. Mike Cohn has compiled a superb and comprehensive collection of advice that will help individuals and teams with the intricate task of adopting and adapting agile processes to fit their specific challenges. This book will become the definitive handbook for agile teams." - Colin Bird , Global Head of Agile, EMC Consulting "Mike Cohn's experience working with so many different organizations in the adoption of agile methods shines through with practical approaches and valuable insights. If you really want agile methods to stick, this is the book to read." - Jeff Honious , Vice President, Innovation, Reed Elsevier "Mike Cohn has done it again. Succeeding with Agile is based on his experience, and all of our experience, with agile to date. He covers from the earliest days of the project up to maturity and offers advice for the individual, the team, and the enterprise. No matter where you are in the agile cycle, this book has something for you!" - Ron Jeffries , "If you want to start or take the next step in agile software development, this book is for you. It discusses issues, great solutions, and helpful guidelines when scaling up in agile projects. We used the guidelines from this book extensively when we introduced agile in a large, FDA-regulated department." - Christ Vriens , Department Head of MiPlaza, part of Philips Research "If making the move to agile has always baffled you, then this book will unlock its mysteries. Mike Cohn gives us all the definitive, no-nonsense guide to transforming your organization into a high-powered, innovative, and competitive success." - Steve Greene , Senior Director, Program Management and Agile Development, "Mike Cohn is a great advisor for transforming your software organization. This book is a distillation of everything Mike has learned over the years working with companies that are trying to become more agile. If you are thinking of going agile, pick up this book." - Christopher Fry , Ph.D., Vice President Development, Platform, "Whether you're just starting out or have some Scrum experience under your belt, in Succeeding with Agile , Mike Cohn provides a wealth of information to guide you in your quest toward continuous improvement. Throughout the book, concepts are reinforced with practical everyday advice, including how to handle objections and thought-provoking 'things to try now.' An extensive list of recommended readings round this out to be a must have book." - Nikki Rohm , Studio Director Project and Resource Management, Electronic Arts "The first steps along the path of improving your software process with Scrum are hard, and every step reveals new challenges. In Succeeding with Agile , Mike Cohn shows how other organizations have followed this path, how you can learn from them to have a successful implementation of Scrum, and put your organization on the path of constant improvement and

Review Quote

Praise forSucceeding with Agile

Feature

Agile guru Mike Cohn delivers the most practical guide to starting fast with Agile, and succeeding for the long haul Presents detailed, step-by-step guidance for 60+ tasks that can help software organizations become more agile Thoroughly covers people, process, and product: everything from scaling Agile and using it in outsourced/offshored environments to overcoming resistance Helps organizations improve Agile processes they've already implemented, to build better software and drive more value

Description for Sales People

Stephen Leather has sold hundreds of thousands of books and is one of the top-selling writers in ebook - there is a bigger market for his fiction than ever before.

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