Successes and Challenges When Managing Large Scale Drupal Projects

1 ©2016 Acquia Inc. — Confidential and Proprietary

Chris UrbanManager, Professional Services

Large Scale Drupal ProjectsSuccesses & Challenges


– Introduction and Background– Walkthrough notes from many large-scale

projects– Compare challenges and solutions– Review of Lessons learned

Agenda


General Assumptions– Agile Workflow

– Iterative development

– Scrum or standup– Boards and tickets– Grooming– Planning

– Process Management– Scrum Master– Project Manager

– Project Evolution– Updates to

documentation– Evolving process


– Multiple initiatives– Multiple partners and/or globally distributed

teams

What makes a project “large scale”?


Multiple Product Owners


Multiple Stakeholders


Getting to be more Agile– Consider Agile workshops – Practice writing user stories– Use sub-tasks and tasks for reminders and non-

development based tasks

8 ©2016 Acquia Inc. — Confidential and Proprietary8 ©2016 Acquia Inc. — Confidential and Proprietary

Regular communication is a key for a successful project


Communication/Process– Start with an Agile Workflow and

Process– How much is too much?

– Additional ceremonies– Release Planning (Product

Backlog Refinement)– Backlog Pruning


Development Workflow– Clear roles and ownership of states are defined– Changes accounting for BBD testing– Additional states/transitions for larger clients

needed


Daily Scrum– Worked on, Working on next– Blockers, requests for Discussions– Work/life balance or Temperature score– Larger groups = longer standup calls– Automate and focus on what’s important


Sprint Planning– Serves as marker in time and common starting

point– Sprint Priorities– Key Feature Summaries– Measure Results absolutely


Good Team Management is a key for a successful project


Working with delivery teams– central ticketing if possible is ideal– creation of tickets in JIRA via email– creation of tickets in JIRA in Slack or HipChat


Working with Continuous Delivery teams– use a Maintenance backlog team– use a UX bugs and issues team– have developers contribute to a developer

backlog and groom and pull in tickets


Working with Support teams– Use as infrastructure resource – Accommodate Server upgrades and 404

mitigation


Documentation: takes emotion out of the equation


Documentation– Team Contacts and Developers Roster– Sprint ceremonies– RACI– Top level process workflow & expectations

– JIRA Workflow and transitions– Spikes vs Tracer Bullets– Hotfixes

– Developer documentation


Documentation and Process Tips– Confluence– Google Drive– JIRA


If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.


Project Level Tools– Google Docs– Confluence– JIRA– GitHub Wiki, Other wikis– Excel, Powerpoint– Email, VOIP– Chat:

– Skype– Slack

– HipChat– Others: Ryver, Fleep

– screenshare/conf call software: – join.me– GoToMeeting– Webex– Zoom


Development & Sprint Tools– Planning:

– Aha!– Asana/Instagantt

– Pointing poker– pointingpoker.com– play.planningpoker.c

om

– Charting - Visio, Omnigraffle, draw.io

– Whiteboard - awwapp.com

– Acquia Dev Desktop


Different tools for different teams?– How are tools used differently with multiple

teams/groups/multiple partners?– scheduling– language


Worst case scenarios– Sudden client staff changes– Key personnel staff get sick/hit

by bus at same time– Client apathy– Client not able to make timely

decisions


– Successful teams communicate regularly– Successful teams know who is responsible for

what– Successful teams know where to look for answers

What did we learn?


Thank You

Technology

Successes and Challenges When Managing Large Scale Drupal Projects