Moss Drake, Dentist Management Corporation
Philip Lew, XBOSoft
Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and pattern recognition combined with loosely coupled software components have made software unpredictable and complex. This has happened not only in a systemic sense, where it is opaque to those building it but also in the way it will behave under unforeseen and uncertain conditions as components interact together. In chasing velocity, we often ignore or don’t understand the uncertainties and associated risks in our process and the results.
Agile is designed to handle uncertainty in requirements as new features are requested and priorities shift, but what about the other uncertainties that we should be thinking about and mitigating? Risk Management (RM) practices are critical to ensure a smooth agile process, from user stories to final software release. Understanding those risks even before the project gets started, and those that can possibly derail the project after delivery are critical.
The problem is that sometimes we carry assumptions with us that either cause us to spend too much effort on things we can’t control, or give us comfort and reassurance that is unfounded. And as systems become more complex, if we can’t understand the uncertainties, how can we have confidence in it? As Mark Twain said “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
Classic RM identifies risks and prioritizes them to determine impact to the project, but what do you do beyond that? How and when do you apply classic techniques to Agile? When do uncertainties become risks?
Philip Lew presents non-conventional thinking on risk and uncertainty, including those black swan events that you can’t control, but can acknowledge and prepare for. Which uncertainties matter and which ones don’t? Which ones can you reduce, and what can you not control (reduce) yet can still take action? Rather than saying “Stuff Happens”, get a handle on risk and uncertainty and maintain rhythm in your software processes. Come prepared for hands-on identification of risks and what you can do or not do about them.
Moss Drake has decades of insight into the uncertainties and risks involved in software projects. Learn how pragmatic practices and Agile techniques can use uncertainty to focus development teams and produce software that is more effective.
Target Audience: Intermediate
Moss Drake and Philip Lew, 2016 Workshop, Paper, Slides, Notes, Video.
