Agile transformations, that is organisations that have been “Waterfall” and are now “Going Agile”, are not being as successful as they would like. It’s either taking longer, costing more, or impacting the ability to retain key staff.
First, why should organisations consider “Going Agile”? The first myth to dispel is “Going Agile” is NOT about doing things faster. “Going Agile” is about creating Competitive Advantage through:
- Faster time to market
- Realising early ROI
- Identifying risk earlier and mitigating the risks
- Getting feedback from real customers
- Building the right products – that the real customers told you about!
- Real customers are happier with what is delivered to them
- Reducing waste – in terms of both time and effort
- Innovation and “learning while doing”.
However, in order to achieve this, we need more than Process and Methodology Transformation. We need Culture, Mindset and People Transformation – across the organisation. And this needs to happen first.
There is no point in IT “Going Agile”, if they don’t have partners and customers – business and “real” customers – that understand what “Going Agile” is about and have adopted an Agile Mindset.
Lets take a look at the parties that need to have an Agile Mindset for successful and effective Agile Transformation.
Starting with IT, of course we need the Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Scrum Teams, Change Management and Operations. But we also need parts of the business, especially those parts that can play a significant part in the success of “Going Agile”. We need Executive, Line Management and Marketing to “BE Agile”, we need Finance and HR and Business Units to have Agile Mindsets, and we need Product Managers from Business to be integral parts of Scrum Teams.
Going outside the organisation, we need to include the “real customers” in parts of the Agile journey, we need good data, and we need consultants. Not just consultants who assist with Agile Processes and Methodology, but also consultants and coaches that can ensure Culture, Mindset and People Transformation.
If we really want our Agile Transformation to go as smoothly as possible, focus first on Culture, Mindset and People Transformation. If this is done effectively, the rest of the transformation can flow more seamlessly and you are more likely to achieve the returns that you anticipate.
For more information contact the BeyondAgile team:
- Gail Sturgess – or go to TalentAlign for more information
- Shirley Pool – or go to Coaching Maestros for more information
- Kim Ikel – or go to Neuro Coaching Institute for more information
We would love to be part of your success.