What is the Disciplined Agile toolkit? And how to use it.

Disciplined Agile incorporates various best practices of project management, including Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Lean, etc. Disciplined Agile is a combined approach to these practices that helps professionals quickly respond to challenges and contexts accordingly. DA toolkit lets you figure out the best way to work with the appropriate tools.

In this blog, you are taken through the different elements of the DA toolkit and how to use it. You will also learn the four layers of the DA toolkit and the different views it has. But first, we will see what the Disciplined Agile Toolkit is really about!

What is the Disciplined Agile toolkit?

The DA toolkit offers a flexible and straightforward practice towards Agile and Lean methods, helping organisations improve their processes by following a context-sensitive approach. It combines and applies Agile and Lean strategies to help find the best way of working for professionals and organisations. It has a greater vision of Agile practices and offers a pragmatic approach until the project is delivered. All the best practices are combined and put together with this toolkit for ease of application. 

The DA toolkit is popular because of its blended approach of combining Agile and Lean principles along with traditional approaches. This toolkit can be used in organisations of any size, from small-sized organisations to larger ones. Organisations have to adapt to change and customise their action according to the context and situations. They can opt for the appropriate approach that fits with their project environment. 

Professionals and organisations utilise this toolkit to access and follow the appropriate practice that delivers better outcomes in a particular situation. It also outlines whether all team members are working for the same outcome and are aligned with the overall objectives of organisations. It is also important to be aware of the goals and objectives of this toolkit and how it delivers value. The DA toolkit has great support from a large network of practitioners. They share their personal experiences, benefits, and usability of this tool to help others also.

Four Layers of the DA Toolkit

The Four Layers of the DA Toolkit breaks down all major practices and elements in Disciplined Agile. The four layers are: 

• Foundation
• Disciplined DevOps
• Value Streams
• Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE)

Each layer is a continuation of the preceding layer; organisations can use it one after another according to the context. The foundation layer describes the major principles and practices, whereas all other layers are customised to suit particular circumstances. Let's discuss each layer further:

Foundation

The Foundation layer is the very basic layer in the Disciplined Agile toolkit. This layer describes the concepts like the DA Mindset, principles, and ways of working (WoW). This layer is the entry point for organisations to adopt and execute principles of Disciplined Agile.

Disciplined DevOps

The Disciplined DevOps layer is targeted to deliver better outcomes and to ensure smooth delivery of IT projects by integrating IT solution development and operations. This layer supports IT activities on an enterprise level, minimising delivery time, encouraging collaboration, and increasing service quality.

Value Streams

The value stream layer focuses on delivering value to the customer. It describes various functionalities that provide value from the ideation phase till the delivery stage. This layer helps organisations monitor and improve their value delivery to align with their objectives. The value stream continues through all stages of the delivery cycle and within one or different development teams till the final delivery.

Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE)

The Disciplined Agile Enterprise targets customising DA frameworks for quickly responding to market changes and fulfilling the needs of large organisations. This layer helps organisations to follow a disciplined agile approach towards the development and delivery process.

Different Views In The Disciplined Agile Toolkit

There are four different views in the DA toolkit. These views provide a streamlined way of overseeing different strategies and elements in Disciplined Agile. The four different views are:

• Mindset
• People
• Flow
• Practices

Let's look at each view:

Mindset: This view focuses on how your mind works. This view can be represented in the form of promises and guidelines. Disciplined agile practitioners will make sure to follow these guidelines while working.

People: The People view represents the arrangement of teams, different roles and responsibilities, and the organisational framework.

Flow: This view demonstrates workflows, lifecycles, and the flow of processes. 

Practices: The practice view describes the potential best practices that organisations can adopt. Disciplined agile practitioners have to choose the appropriate practice method according to their context.

Principles of disciplined agile

• Please customers

This is the basic principle to meet the customer’s expectation and deliver quality customer service regardless of whether it is internal or external customers.

• Be awesome

The principle is about continuous improvement and performing better to deliver better outputs. It is developing a better working environment with competent personnel. 

• Context is crucial

This principle details the distinctive nature of processes and professionals. The concept is about acting according to context.

• Be pragmatic

Pragmatic, in this scenario, means using the strategy that is most effective and helpful to the team without considering whether it is a traditional method, agile, or lean.

• Choice Matters

Identifying the right choice according to different projects is very important. DA includes various principles and strategies, so identifying the right choice that suits the context of the project and its success is crucial.

• Optimise the flow

This principle deals with how the flow of processes can be optimised in order to meet customer requirements. 

• Organise around products and services

In this principle, the products and services are positioned at the centre of the strategies to uplift the customer experience. Teams focus on delivering the best services and are involved in using Agile methodologies for project portfolio management.

• Enterprise awareness

This principle makes professionals work in a way that follows enterprise awareness. All the team members work together and opt for the best method that is beneficial for the entire firm.

How to use the Disciplined Agile toolkit?

While talking about how to use the Disciplined Agile toolkit, it is also important to mention GCI (Guided Continuous Improvement), the Disciplined Agile technique. GCI is a continuous approach to improving the way of working. It revolves around lean principles like Gemba Kaizen and PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act). To use this toolkit, a few key points have to be considered:

• Understand the Requirement: First, one should identify the needs of the organisation. The toolkit will help recognise the best way to work for a specific requirement.
• Know different layers: The DA toolkit has four different layers. Foundation, Disciplined DevOps, Value Streams, and Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE). Knowing these four layers and their practices in Disciplined Agile is important.  
• Choose Tools and Approaches: Make use of the right tools and strategies. This toolkit will help you pick the right tool for your project.
• Select the right practices: The DA toolkit helps you opt for the best practices. The DA is a combined framework of Scrum, Kanban, and Agile methods. You can use it to replace existing Agile practices.

Conclusion

This blog covered the key components of the disciplined agile toolkit. We have discussed what the DA toolkit is, the four layers of the DA toolkit, the different views, and how to use it. It is clearly clarified how the toolkit contributes to boosting enterprise agility. The DA team promises to adopt the guidelines that are put forward by this toolkit. One major highlight of the disciplined agile toolkit is its simple-to-grasp diagrams on process goals. Professionals make use of this diagram to choose the right way of working and processes that align with their context to improve the delivery of solutions.

Those who wish to become disciplined agile practitioners and want to manage the agile team can enrol in the DASM Certification Training offered by Simpliaxis.