I'm working two programs where Agile at Scale is the development paradigm. When we start an engagement using other peoples money, in this case the money of a sovereign, we make sure everyone is on the same page. When Agile at Scale is applied, it is usually applied on programs that have tripped the FAR 34.2/DFARS 234.2 levels for Earned Value Management. This means $20M programs are self assessed and $100M and above are validated by the DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency).
While these programs are applying Agile, usually Scrum, they are also subject to EIA-748-C compliance and a list of other DID's (Data Item Description) and other procurement, development, testing, and operational guidelines . These means there are multiple constraints on how the progress to plan is reported to the customer - the sovereign.
These programs are not 5 guys at the same table as their customer exploring what will be needed for mission success when they're done. These programs are not everyone's cup of tea, but agile is a powerful tool in the right hands of Software Intensive System of Systems for Mission Critical programs. Programs that MUST, deliver the needed Capabilities, at the Needed Time, for the Planned Cost, within the planned Margins for cost, schedule, and technical performance.
One place to start to improve the probability that we're all on the same page is this reading list. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is ever growing. But it's a start. It's hoped this list is the basis of a shared understanding that while Agile is a near universal principle, there are practices that must be tailored to specific domains. And one's experience in one domain may or may not be applicable to other domains.
Like it says in the Scrum Guide.
Scrum (n): A framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.
And since Scrum is an agile software development framework, Scrum is a framework not a methodology. Scrum of Scrums, Agile At Scale, especially Agile at Scale inside EIA-748-C programs has much different needs than 5 people sitting at the same table with their customer with an emerging set of requirements where the needed capabilities are vague until they appear.
One of the classes every aspiring grad student has to take is research methods. This class teaches the PhD hopefuls (I didn't make the cut and got a consolation prize of a MS), all about doing research and preparing to be a real scientist. A topic in this class is literature search. This makes sure that your cleaver idea of a research topic, in case your advisor hasn't gotten around at actually talking to you, has already been taken, researched, and solved. This is one problem in the physics world - you need an original idea. Replicating old ideas doesn't get you very far.
Here's a start of a literature search on merging Agile at Scale with Earned Value Management. I haven't gotten to the European and Far East journals yet. Instead is a list, I'll just type this once and repurpose the resources here. This PDF is the Resources section of a briefing being used with our clients who are integrating Agile into EVM programs. Go to the LinkedIn Slideshare site - the LI logo in lower right, to open the PDF and follow the links.
