Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) is an agile and lean framework that provides a process decision framework for delivering solutions. It allows organizations to make informed choices about their way of working, helping them tailor and scale their agile and lean practices to meet specific needs. Here’s a summary of DAD, a brief history, and an example of a success story:

Summary of Disciplined Agile Delivery: DAD is a process decision framework that integrates a variety of agile and lean approaches, including Scrum, Lean, and Kanban. It offers a more comprehensive and flexible approach to agile delivery, emphasizing choices over prescriptions. DAD provides a full lifecycle approach to solution delivery, from initiation and architecture to construction and transition.

History of Disciplined Agile Delivery: DAD was developed by Scott W. Ambler and Mark Lines and introduced in their 2012 book, “Disciplined Agile Delivery: A Practitioner’s Guide to Agile Software Delivery in the Enterprise.” It builds upon the authors’ extensive experience in the agile and lean space and combines principles from various sources. Over the years, DAD has evolved to address the changing needs of agile practitioners and organizations.

Example of Success Story: One example of a success story with DAD is the transformation of a large financial services organization. The company had multiple teams working on various projects, each following a different agile methodology. This lack of consistency led to challenges in coordination, reporting, and overall visibility into project status.

The organization decided to implement DAD as a process decision framework. They began by conducting a comprehensive assessment of their existing practices and processes. With the help of DAD’s principles, they tailored a framework that accommodated their unique requirements.

Key elements of their DAD implementation included:

1. Process Consistency: By adopting DAD, the organization achieved process consistency across various teams and projects. This consistency enabled more straightforward coordination and communication.
2. Team Empowerment: DAD’s focus on team empowerment allowed teams to make choices about their way of working, leading to increased ownership and motivation.
3. End-to-End Visibility: DAD’s full lifecycle approach helped the organization gain better visibility into the entire software delivery process, from project initiation to deployment.
4. Flexibility and Adaptability: DAD’s flexibility allowed teams to adapt their processes as needed, supporting their specific project requirements.

As a result of their DAD implementation, the organization experienced several benefits:

• Improved project delivery times: By streamlining processes and fostering better collaboration, projects were completed more efficiently.
• Reduced defects: DAD’s emphasis on quality and testing contributed to a reduction in defects, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
• Enhanced reporting: With a standardized approach, the organization could generate more accurate and insightful project reports, aiding in decision-making.
• Higher team morale: DAD’s team-centric approach and empowerment led to improved team morale and motivation.

This success story demonstrates how DAD’s flexibility and comprehensive approach can help organizations tailor agile practices to their unique needs, improving collaboration, efficiency, and overall project success.