Process Blades in Disciplined Agile

Process Blades in Disciplined Agile: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction to Process Blades in Disciplined Agile

Process Blades are a fundamental concept in the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework that play a crucial role in understanding how organizations operate. This guide will explore what Process Blades are, why they're important, how they work, and provide exam tips for answering questions about them correctly.

What are Process Blades?

Process Blades represent functional areas or aspects of an organization that must work together to deliver value. They are modular process components that address specific business functions within an enterprise. Each Process Blade focuses on a particular area of concern and includes its own process goals, suggested practices, and potential roles.

The Disciplined Agile framework recognizes that organizations are complex adaptive systems with many moving parts that must work together cohesively. Process Blades provide a way to understand and organize these different functional areas.

Why Process Blades are Important

Process Blades are important for several key reasons:

1. Holistic View: They provide a comprehensive view of the entire enterprise, not just software development.

2. Modularity: They allow organizations to focus on specific functional areas while understanding how they connect to others.

3. Context-Sensitivity: Each Process Blade offers a range of options, acknowledging that different approaches work in different situations.

4. Process Tailoring: They support the DA principle of choosing your way of working (WoW) by offering options rather than prescribing a single approach.

5. Enterprise Awareness: They promote understanding of how various parts of the organization interact and depend on each other.

Core Process Blades in Disciplined Agile

DA organizes Process Blades into several categories. The key Process Blades include:

Foundational Process Blades:
- Disciplined DevOps
- Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
- Disciplined Agile IT (DAIT)
- Disciplined Agile Enterprise (DAE)

Organizational Process Blades:
- Finance
- People Management (HR)
- Portfolio Management
- Vendor Management
- Legal
- Marketing
- Architecture
- Reuse Engineering
- Data Management
- Enterprise Architecture
- IT Operations

How Process Blades Work

Each Process Blade:

1. Defines a set of process goals relevant to that functional area

2. For each goal, offers a range of potential strategies or practices to achieve it

3. Suggests potential roles that might be involved in that area

4. Shows interfaces with other Process Blades, highlighting dependencies and interactions

5. Follows the DA principle of "Context Counts" by recognizing that different approaches work better in different situations

Process Blades enable teams to choose the right approach for their specific context rather than following a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all methodology.

Examples of Process Blades in Action

Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) - This blade focuses on how teams deliver solutions from beginning to end. It includes process goals like forming the team, exploring scope, and producing a potentially consumable solution.

IT Operations - This blade addresses how to run IT services effectively. It includes goals related to monitoring, support, disaster recovery, and managing the IT infrastructure.

Data Management - This blade focuses on how organizations manage their data assets. It includes goals for data quality, governance, and analytics.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Process Blades in Disciplined Agile

1. Understand the Purpose: Remember that Process Blades represent functional areas with specific goals and strategies. They are modular components of the overall DA framework.

2. Know the Key Process Blades: Memorize the main Process Blades and their focus areas. Be familiar with how they are categorized (DAD, DAIT, DAE, etc.).

3. Focus on Goals Over Practices: Process Blades define goals first, then suggest various practices to achieve those goals. Exam questions often test whether you understand this goal-oriented approach.

4. Emphasize Context-Sensitivity: If asked about which practice to apply in a specific situation, remember that DA emphasizes choosing the right approach for your context rather than following a single prescriptive method.

5. Understand Interactions: Be ready to answer questions about how different Process Blades interact with each other. Know which Process Blades have dependencies on others.

6. Apply the DA Mindset: When answering questions, apply the overall DA principles of pragmatism, context-sensitivity, choice, enterprise awareness, and focusing on outcomes over output.

7. Watch for Distractors: Exam questions may include options that sound plausible but contradict DA principles—for example, options that suggest rigid, prescriptive approaches rather than contextual choices.

8. Connect to the DA Toolkit: Understand how Process Blades fit into the overall DA toolkit, which includes principles, guidelines, and the concept of choosing your Way of Working (WoW).

Sample Exam Question Analysis

Question: What is the primary purpose of Process Blades in Disciplined Agile?

Best answer would emphasize how Process Blades provide modular views of functional areas with goals and strategy options, enabling teams to tailor their approach based on their specific context.

Incorrect answers might suggest Process Blades are prescriptive procedures or rigid methodologies (counter to DA principles).

Conclusion

Process Blades are a key concept in Disciplined Agile that help organizations understand different functional areas and how they work together. By providing goals and strategy options rather than prescriptive processes, they support DA's focus on context-sensitivity and choosing your Way of Working. For exam success, understand the purpose, structure, and principles behind Process Blades, and be prepared to apply DA thinking when answering questions about them.