The Messy Business of Agile at Scale
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The document discusses the challenges of implementing agile methodologies at scale, particularly in the context of business downturns and the need for downsizing. It emphasizes the importance of observing team behaviors, soliciting qualitative feedback, and managing focus and priorities to improve performance. Additionally, it addresses the need for executives to receive direct answers to their questions to navigate complex organizational dynamics effectively.
The Messy Business of Agile at Scale
- 1. THE MESSY BUSINESS OF AGILE AT SCALE Straight Answers to Important Questions Agilists Don’t Like to Talk About
- 4. WARNING I may tell you things you don’t want to hear.
- 5. THINK
- 6. LISTEN
- 7. DISCUSS
- 8. REVENUES ARE DOWN 4% THIS YEAR. THE BOARD HAS DECIDED WE MUST DOWNSIZE. HOW SHOULD I DECIDE WHICH 60 PEOPLE TO FIRE? What would an Agile coach discuss with this VP?
- 9. Q A Ask the teams. Which teams? A Fix root causes. · We hired when we didn’t need to. · We lost focus and spawned unnecessary initiatives. Revenues are down 4% this year. The board has decided we must downsize. How should I decide which 60 people to fire?
- 10. WE INVESTED 18M LAST YEAR TO LAUNCH AGILE TEAMS. HOW CAN WE KNOW THEY’RE BETTER THAN OUR NON-AGILE TEAMS? What would an Agile coach discuss with this SVP?
- 11. Q A Visit the teams. Observe them while working. · If the observable behaviour isn’t different: your investment is very likely lost. Ask the stakeholders. · And trust their qualitative feedback. Ask the employees who’ve worked in both environments. A What about quantitative analysis? · Only with large sample sizes could quantitative analysis be appropriate. We invested 18M last year to launch Agile teams. How can we know they’re better than our non-Agile teams?
- 12. I HAVE TO MAKE 1.2B IN REVENUE THIS YEAR. I’M PUTTING 4 BOATS IN THE WATER…I DON’T KNOW WHICH ONE IS GOING TO MAKE IT. What would an Agile coach discuss with this EVP?
- 13. Q A Pottery class. A Landing a rocket. I have to make 1.2B in revenue this year. I’m putting 4 boats in the water…I don’t know which one is going to make it.
- 14. BY 2021, 53 TEAMS NEED TO SOLVE FOR 18 NEW REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. WE’LL PAY 1M FINES EACH DAY WE’RE LATE. HOW CAN WE MAKE THE TEAMS GO FASTER? What would an Agile coach discuss with this VP?
- 15. Q A Fully inform the teams of the regulations. Fully inform the team of the fines and business impact. Ask all teams to track and report actionable metrics. Maybe the problem isn’t speed. It’s focus & priority. Eliminate (or coordinate) dependencies. Keep the teams small. Keep quality high. Collocation for the majority of the time. Learn to deploy small batches every day. 100% allocation to the team. “Product Teams” not “Project Teams” By 2021, 53 teams need to solve for 18 new regulatory requirements. we’ll pay 1M fines each day we’re late. How can we make the teams go faster?
- 16. WHAT DOES AN EXECUTIVE NEED?
- 17. EXECUTIVES NEED Direct answers to direct questions. Information about their org. Courageous ideas in the spirit of: “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.” … so, I’ll share with you my experience if I think I can help you. I always tell my clients: “I will never claim to know YOUR job.”
- 23. THE MOST DIFFICULT TOPICS Performance Management & Evaluation of Individuals Planning & Forecasting Staffing & Utilization Comparing Teams
- 24. LET’S ADDRESS YOUR EXAMPLES
- 25. THANK YOU