Ever feel like you're doing metrics wrong? Well, you probably are! Join us and up your game by learning the GQM approach to Agile metrics.
In Agile, there is a need to collect data to demonstrate progress and show improvement, but where does one even start? Common Agile metrics approaches do well at measuring team velocity and throughput, but can sometimes overlook the requirements of executive sponsors, product management, and other key stakeholders. This problem is often rooted in a lack of understanding about what business goals are driving decision-making throughout the organization and what questions we should be answering with the metrics we collect.
The “Goal-Question-Metric” (GQM) approach is a proven method for driving goal-oriented measures throughout a software organization. With GQM, we start by defining the goals we are trying to achieve, then ask clarifying questions around those goals, and finally answer our questions through objective metrics. By mapping business outcomes and goals to specific measures, we can form a better picture of the Agile environment and clearly demonstrate how we are doing across the span of the enterprise.
During this session, we will explore the GQM approach and show its effectiveness in identifying the key information your enterprise needs to know at the Executive, Portfolio, Program, and Delivery tiers. We will provide sample metric sets for each tier and explain the goals and questions that drove us to them. At the end of this talk, the audience will understand not only how to ask the right questions, but specifically what metrics can be used to answer them.
3. 3
JOHN
TANNER
20+ years in Software Development
Roles in industry as Consultant,
Engineer, Architect, Product & Project
Manager
Implemented Agile in All the
environments:
Non-profit
Corporate
Government
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We need maximum metrics, because we just don’t know what we don’t know
We need minimal metrics, because they just don’t add value
We need some metrics, because something is better than nothing
THREE VIEWS ON METRICS
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“Metrics are how we measure success. So let’s capture metrics for everything.”
Metrics dashboards become prolific, and someone has to maintain them
Each Team winds up with a unique set of metrics to capture, but with no common
expectation for using them
The organization spends more time creating metrics roll-ups than they do creating
product
There is no cohesive strategy for tying the data together to make targeted improvements
WE NEED ALL OF THE METRICS!
7. 7
“Metrics do not add value, so they are waste. Let’s eliminate them altogether.”
Assumes all teams are currently producing working, tested product at high levels of
efficiency
Only works when the organization doesn’t care if they ever improve the system…
… doesn’t care if they aren’t producing value
… doesn’t get hung up on details like making payroll
WE NEED NONE OF THE METRICS!
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“Metrics might help us improve, so we need measures of some sort.”
Without clarity, we often capture metrics for metrics’ sake
When we gather metrics without clear expectations around their use they can be
wasteful, or even harmful
We focus on metrics in a way that ultimately drives “local optimization” at the expense
of the overall system
We forget that the “why” and the “how” matters
WE NEED SOME METRICS…
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In Agile, we feel pretty confident we know how to measure success because…
OUR APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM
... is Making and Meeting Commitments
... is Producing Quality Software
The Team
... has a Stable Velocity
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OUR APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM
MAKES AND
MEETS
COMMITMENTS
HAS STABLE
VELOCITY
PRODUCES QUALITY
SOFTWARE
METRIC:
Story Point
Completion %
METRIC:
Velocity Variance
METRIC:
Escaped Defect Count
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Yay! We did it team!
No, but seriously, many people think like that…
PROBLEM SOLVED?
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HOW DOES THAT WORK AT SCALE?
PROGRAM
TEAMS
PORTFOLIO
TEAMS
DELIVERY
TEAMS
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The Goal-Question-Metric approach is a simple model where we approach measures
from three distinct levels:
Conceptual level (Goal)
Operational level (Question)
Quantitative level (Metric)
WHAT IS GQM?
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Conceptual level (Goal)
A goal is defined for a team or system, to meet a specific purpose, with a focus on
demonstrating a meaningful outcome for the business.
WHAT IS GQM?
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Operational level (Question)
A set of questions is crafted to define an objective model for assessing the achievement
of our goals.
WHAT IS GQM?
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Quantitative level (Metric)
A set of metrics, based upon the objective model, is associated with every question in
order to answer it in a measurable way.
WHAT IS GQM?
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Identify the right goals for a team or system
Clarify our goals by asking the right questions
Identify measures and metrics that can answer the questions
Find ways to collect the data necessary to realize our measures and metrics
Analyze the data to assess whether we are answering our questions and achieving our
goals
Use what we discover to improve our goals, questions, and metrics
HOW DO WE USE GQM?
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EXAMPLE: MY GOAL FOR TODAY
Goal
My audience doesn't fall
asleep in the next half
hour
Question
Did they even show up in the first place?
Have they been thoroughly caffeinated?
Are they paying attention so far?
Metric
Empty Seat vs Sold Seat
(Actual vs Expected)
Snore to Silence Ratio
(Snore Complete /
Silence Committed)
Eye Contact Variance
Heckling Density
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In Agile, we feel pretty confident we know how to measure success because…
REDEFINING THE PROBLEM
... is meeting Commitments
... is Producing Quality Software
The Team
... has a Stable Velocity
35. R E D E F I N I N G T H E
P R O B L E M ( S O L V E D )
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The Portfolio
... consistently delivers product features & capabilities with a focus on time to market and early
return on investment (Portfolio Health)
... consistently meets its strategic financial objects (Portfolio Financials)
The Program
... can make delivery commitments and successfully manage incoming requests (Program
Health)
... can ensure the organization delivers the most effective experience and product features to
delight our customers and produce the highest business value possible (Product Quality)
The Delivery Teams
... can plan, coordinate, and deliver predictably, in order to meet a release commitments (Team
Health)
... can frequently deliver working tested code of a high level of quality (Technical Quality)
MEASURE SUCCESS-ENTERPRISE LEVEL
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Identify the right goals for a team or system
Clarify our goals by asking the right questions
Identify measures and metrics that can answer the questions
Find ways to collect the data necessary to realize our metrics and measures
Analyze the data to assess whether we are answering our questions and achieving our
goals
Use what we discover to improve our goals, questions, and metrics
NEXT STEPS