Disciplined Agile is a comprehensive toolkit that provides guidance to help organizations become more agile in a context-sensitive manner. It encompasses a wide range of areas beyond software delivery, including enterprise architecture, portfolio management, IT operations, and more.
The DA toolkit is organized into four layers:
Foundational Layer: Includes the DA Mindset (principles, promises, and guidelines) and fundamental concepts.
Disciplined DevOps Layer: Focuses on streamlining the flow from development to operations.
Value Streams Layer: Addresses the broader flow of value across the organization.
Disciplined Agile Enterprise Layer: Encompasses the entire organization, aiming for true business agility.
Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) is a key part of the DA toolkit, residing primarily within the Disciplined DevOps Layer. It is specifically focused on the delivery aspect of solutions and provides a foundation for teams to apply agile and lean strategies in a pragmatic, context-sensitive way.
How DAD Is Involved:
Implementation of the DA Mindset: DAD operationalizes the principles, promises, and guidelines of the DA Mindset within the context of solution delivery.
Roles and Responsibilities: It defines primary and secondary roles that are crucial for delivering high-quality solutions, as previously discussed.
Lifecycle Guidance: DAD offers guidance on various lifecycles (Agile, Lean, Continuous Delivery) to suit different project contexts.
Process Goals and Decision Points: It provides process goal diagrams to help teams make informed choices tailored to their situation.
Principles and Promises: DAD embodies these by providing practical ways to delight customers, optimize flow, collaborate proactively, and improve continuously within delivery teams.
Roles: The primary and secondary roles we've outlined are part of DAD, defining how teams organize and function during delivery.
Mindset Application: DAD is a means through which the DA Mindset is applied to the delivery of solutions, ensuring that teams not only understand the principles but also have concrete methods to implement them.
While DAD is a component of the broader DA framework, there are distinctions:
Scope:
DAD: Focuses on the delivery of IT solutions, covering the full lifecycle from inception to transition.
DA: Encompasses the entire organization, aiming for business agility beyond just IT, including areas like enterprise architecture, portfolio management, and organizational culture.
Application:
DAD: Provides specific guidance, roles, and practices for delivery teams to build and deploy solutions effectively.
DA: Offers a more extensive toolkit that helps organizations tailor their agile transformation across all departments and functions.
Layers:
DAD: Fits within the Disciplined DevOps Layer of the DA toolkit.
DA Mindset and Principles: Form the Foundational Layer, applicable to all aspects of the organization.
Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) is an integral part of the Disciplined Agile framework and is already involved in the concepts we've discussed. It serves as the practical application of the DA Mindset's principles and promises in the context of solution delivery.
DAD operationalizes the mindset by providing concrete practices, roles, and lifecycle options tailored for delivery teams.
The DA Mindset offers the overarching philosophy and guiding principles that inform how DAD and other aspects of the DA toolkit are implemented across the organization.
Understanding the Relationship:
DA Mindset: Sets the foundation with principles like Customer Delight, Be Pragmatic, and Optimize Flow, and promises such as Create Psychological Safety and Improve Continuously.
DAD: Implements these principles and promises within delivery teams, providing guidance on how to apply them in real-world projects.
By recognizing how DAD evolves from and aligns with the DA Mindset, organizations can effectively apply agile practices to deliver value while also aligning with broader enterprise goals.