An Agile Scaling Model

Figure 11-1 shows the major components of a scaling model: business goals, agile values, organization, product (product backlog), and process. Organization, product backlog, and process are shown at three levels (the actual number of levels in practice depends on overall team size)—levels that are needed to manage larger projects. This model illustrates that agile development reflects a product lifecycle approach (continuous delivery of value), rather than a project approach (begin-end). While an individual release of a product can be managed as a project, an agile approach views a release as a single stage in a product’s ongoing evolution. Whether you are working on a commercial software product or an IT application, the software has a much longer life than individual projects. When we look at the agile principle of delivering continuous value, now and in the future, delivering a releasable product is important, but equally important is delivering a product that is high quality and can therefore be enhanced easily over time (adaptability).

Figure 11-1. An Agile Scaling Model

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