Iteration advocate/iteration transition meeting: small sampling of new agile techniques used at a major telecommunications firm

Abstract

We document a successful implementation of agile at a major telecommunications firm. Critical aspects to mention about this particular software endeavor include: a) this could be one of the largest implementations of agile documented thus far (approximately 275 immediate and over 3,000 supportive contributors involved), b) the team practicing agile did so under the constraints of a waterfall-gated (both milestone and financial) environment, c) a 'practice tapestry' approach was used to 'weave' together elements of agile that would work for this organization, and finally, d) new practices, not previously documented to the agile community were applied in addition to those well known thus far. We focus on these new practices in an effort to share them with the agile community. The weaving together of existing and new practices, enabled this major telecommunications firm to deliver a major software release to its large customer base.