Agile - The Xtreme Labs Way
At Xtreme Labs, Agile is not an engineering process, it's a way of life. Not only do they practice agile engineering - an iterative process that uses pair programming - they also have a flat management hierarchy and employ a 'Do-ocracy' mantra. Beginning as a start-up and growing to a 200+ employee company in under five years, Xtreme Labs owes its success in part to their ability to move quickly and deliver products in an efficient manner. In his talk, Farhan will address how Xtreme's development processes, company structure and policies have enabled them to grow rapidly and produce quality products in tandem. Farhan has been named one of “Toronto’s Top 25 Most Powerful People In 2010”, and is a well-known and respected figure in Toronto’s tech community. Before joining the Xtreme team, Farhan held the positions of Chief Software Architect at I Love Rewards, Head of Search & MSN Platform for Microsoft Canada and Technical Lead at Trilogy Software. In addition to being a programming and engineering guru, Farhan also uses his wealth of industry and mobile expertise to mentor aspiring mobile and tech startups.
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Agile - The Xtreme Labs Way
- 2. Achievers Farhan Thawar, VP Engineering January 23rd, 2013 @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 3. 300 -> 436 Members meetup.com/achieverstech achievers.com/tech
- 4. The world’s top brands partner with us to prototype and develop outstanding mobile, tablet and smart TV experiences@fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 10. Background • Waterloo Comp Sci/Elec Eng • U of T MBA – Financial Engineering • Trilogy • Celestica • Microsoft • Achievers (!) @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 11. Agenda • Freedom vs. Frameworks • How to work • Career advice @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 12. Disclaimer Source: The Black Swan @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 13. Freedom vs. Frameworks • But first, a story….. @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 15. Multitasking is a fail @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 17. • Daily standups (company, platform, team) • Pivotal tracker • DL Agile @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 19. Map • Mastery –pairing • Autonomy –No micro managing • Purpose –Working on stuff being used by millions of people @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 20. Physical Space • In-office vs. WFH –Breakfast hacks • Sit close together vs. offices (Joel and 37Signals) • Great machines + fast internet • Location @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 21. 4a) Means as: Formulation vs. Implementation Rank & File •Implement decisions •Arms and legs •Work in hierarchy •Get “bought-in” •Get controlled Leaders •Formulate decisions •Brain •Head up hierarchy •Sell to get “buy-in” •Create control procedures Lower-order Choices Higher-order Choices @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 22. Freedom vs. Frameworks • Flat hierarchy –Well not that flat now…..but, few approvals • Responsibility not accountability –“Accountability is what’s left once responsibility has been subtracted” – Pasi Sahlberg –“Tight controls cause blowups” – Nasim Taleb @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 23. Freedom vs. Frameworks • Approvals – “You should feel the dangers and stressors” – Nasim Taleb @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 25. At a high level • “Managers create work for each other” – Tim Burns • No Policies (rework) • 1:1’s • Faster to talk to someone than email/phone/IM @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 26. Socials • Wed social • 3:3 lunches • Friday social • Team events –Batman! • Interns @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 27. Pairing (2:1 Ratio) • Agile everything • Pairing all the time @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 28. • “Being busy is a form of laziness” @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 29. 1. Consider options and make decision, informing other party subsequently 2. Provide options to other party along with own recommendation on choice 3. Generate options for other party and ask other party to make choice 4. Describe a problem to other party and ask for specific help in structuring it 5. Ask other party to solve problem, but make it clear you will watch and learn for next time 6. Drop problem on other party’s desk and signal helplessness @fnthawar @xtremelabs Responsibility Ladder
- 30. • Democracy vs. dooacracy or decisions over deliberation @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 31. How to Work • Remove processes –“Let process be implemented by those who practice it” – Yishan Wong, first Facebook Eng Manager • The great decider! • Fight fires/sales calls/unblock engineers (or anyone else) @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 33. Career Imprinting • “Where you work early in your career shapes the kind of leader you become later on” - HBR @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 37. Low-information diet • Stop reading temporal information (HBR still relevant) • Reading hierarchy @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 38. Air traffic control • I know less than you do @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 39. Does it work? @fnthawar @xtremelabs 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Full Time Employees
- 40. Span of control • Average is 8 • 150 engineers @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 41. Stats • Can hire 60+ coops from Waterloo in first round (get more resumes than FB, MSFT, Twitter, Apple, Square, Yelp, Foursquare) • Low attrition • Always outrun other teams • Less hero syndrome • More female engineers (17%) • Happy people @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 42. Quotes • “You guys are doing something amazing” – Fred Wilson • “I’ve never seen this before in the valley” – Yogen Dalal • “Uh… wow?” – Brad Feld @fnthawar @xtremelabs
- 43. Ask me anything: @fnthwar / farhan@xtremelabs.com @fnthawar @xtremelabs Thank you and we’re hiring