Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day London 2019
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An agile transformation is a crucial cultural shift that enables organizations to deliver customer value more rapidly and adapt to changing circumstances. Common challenges include a lack of clear purpose for becoming agile, understanding of agile principles, and the need for a cultural shift. Successful transformations require both top-down and bottom-up approaches, shared goals, and cross-functional teams focused on evolving products rather than completing projects.
Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation - Anikh Subhan - Scrum Day London 2019
- 1. © AND Digital 2018© AND Digital 2018 Five Common Challenges With Agile Transformation Scrum Day London 2019
- 2. Anikh Subhan Head of Agile Coaching AND Dessert Connoisseur Anikh Subhan has over 10 years of Agile software delivery experience. He’s coached, trained and mentored people across multiple organisations, including startups and multinationals. Through coaching and leadership, Anikh has helped teams and individuals deliver value in exceptionally effective ways, whilst continuously improving their use of Agile techniques. Prior to AND Digital, Anikh held multiple Scrum Master roles, Agile analysts positions, and successfully managed multiple Agile teams at Sky. anikhsubhan
- 3. 1. The state of Agile transformation today 2. The challenges to focus on 3. The outlook Contents
- 4. So, What Is An Agile Transformation? Let’s do Scrum! Actually let’s go Kanban!! No more Project Managers? Unlimited funding for all teams! Plans with deadlines are now forbidden. (Especially Gantt charts!) Stop documenting things in safe places. Lots of chatting to people.
- 5. Teams Going Through Agile Transformations Today Can do Scrum Meet their Sprint Forecast and Goals Can predict their Velocity and Sprint Forecast Can continuously improve their ways of working Can break big Products down into smaller chunks Can collaborate and communicate pretty well Can’t deliver end-to-end Can’t deploy continuously Can’t obtain regular feedback from users Can’t quickly respond and adapt to the feedback Are not involved at the ideation stage of a Product
- 6. Individual teams can create good internal ways of delivering software. However, this is only a small part of the Product Lifecycle. Build the Product right, and build the right Product!
- 7. The Agile Product Lifecycle Ideation Discovery DeliveryOperation
- 8. ● Because they focus on the less important aspects, such as “Quick wins” or “Low hanging fruit”. ● Some people think there should be a deadline on the changes, instead of seeing it as a long-term evolution. ● They’re uncomfortable with change, uncertainty and delegating responsibility. Why Do So Many Businesses Fail At Becoming Agile?
- 9. McKinsey & Company, Jan 2018 The 5 Trademarks of Agile Organisations North Star embodied across the Organisation Network of empowered teams Rapid decision and learning cycles Dynamic people model that ignites passion Next-generation enabling Technology
- 10. An Agile Transformation is a shift in mindset, behaviours and culture, which enables a business to deliver value to customers, faster, whilst being able to quickly validate and adapt to changing circumstances.
- 11. 1. Not defining why they want to become Agile. 2. Lack of understanding of what Agile really means. 3. Either Top-Down or Bottom-Up driven transformation, rather than both. 4. Ignoring the required culture shift. 5. Continuing to work on projects rather than products. Five Challenges To Focus On
- 12. 1. People may not find their purpose on this journey. 2. What does success mean for this transformation? 3. A vision will help to motivate and empower people. The ownership of the goals and the work to get there, become shared across everyone involved. 4. Goal-setting unlocks innovation and creativity. Not Defining Why They Want To Become Agile “Start with Why” Simon Sinek
- 13. Lack of Understanding Of What Agile, The Manifesto And The Principles Really Mean. Individuals and interactions over Process and tools Working software Comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration Contract negotiation over over over Responding to change Following a plan Too much focus on the practices instead of the principles.
- 14. ● Directive from above ● Occasionally seen as Management telling others to change ● Does not win the hearts and minds of people Top-Down Directed Transformation
- 15. ● Buy-in at team level Delivery processes working well - within team bubbles ● Rest of organisation may be left behind, or even worse, alienated ● There’s a limit as to how Agile the business can be ● Potential for conflicting behaviours across the business ● Resulting in inefficient and ineffective delivery methods. Bottom-Up Driven Transformation
- 16. ● A change in behaviours, assumptions, shared values and styles of leadership is required ● Role modelling and leading by example is key ● Learning, feedback, decision-making, measurement and communication ● Regular check-ins ● People’s motivation or de-motivation is the make or break of a transformation. Ignoring The Required Culture Shift
- 17. Continuing To Work On Projects, Rather Than Products sometimes decades! Think about modern operating systems! Products Whereas products evolve over time... Customer problems are persistent and can change in nature Projects Projects have fixed scope... Could be an increment of a product or set of features Businessvalue Time and fixed deadlines They need to be delivered by certain times Creation Growth Maturity Decline Investment Projects launch… then what? Businessvalue Time Creation Growth Maturity Decline Investment
- 18. To unlock full-scale agility, Products need to be owned, built and evolved by a single (or a small, collaborative group of) team(s). This allows for fast feedback loops, changes and pivots to be made efficiently.
- 19. Incremental delivery makes it more adaptable to change or new learnings. Speed To Market Project approach Set goals Approve work Delivery Assess value Product approach Set goals Approve work Discovery Deliver & assess value Deliver & assess value Deliver & assess value Deliver & assess value Traditional approach relies on up-front estimates of time, cost and effort - often wrong Agile approach sets goals and evolves toward goal in increments over time
- 20. We need: ● Cross-functional, end-to-end teams. ● A team owning the Product through the lifecycle. ● Ideas and requirements to be validated, prioritised and kept in a Backlog. ● Changes to be measured and evaluated. This will give us: ● The ability to move from an idea to a released feature in the minimum time possible. ● Reduced cycle time through reducing dependencies. ● Technical health and excellence. ● Team motivation, accountability and pride! ● Better chance of investing in changes likely to succeed. ● Knowledge retention. ● The opportunity to evolve products using real feedback and metrics.
- 21. Organisations with a clear direction and goal to aim for, which provides a sense of purpose and motivation. The Outlook
- 22. The opportunity for people’s creativity to evolve new, more successful ways of working for your Organisation. The Outlook
- 23. Aligned and complementary leadership styles at all levels of the Business, enabling company-wide collaboration. The Outlook
- 24. The most valuable products and features being continuously delivered to your customers! The Outlook
- 25. 1. Have a shared, coherent purpose and vision for both the Product(s) and for the transformation. 2. Focus on and prioritise the Agile principles more than the practices. 3. Build trust and buy-in at both leadership level and at team level. Help them to drive from their perspectives. 4. Keep people at the centre of everything. 5. Constantly evolve your products and propositions through feedback loops. My Top Five Tips For Agile Transformation Summary
- 26. © AND Digital 2018 Out Over