Important roadmap and consultancy tips for a Successful Agile Transformation
Challenges in Agile transformation and implementation
Throughout my several years of experience in transforming global companies to Agile, I can now argument why there´s no one-fit framework or approach when it comes to Agile transformation and implementation, and why the instructions given in this article are crucial for a successful Agile Transformation. Although some Agile Frameworks offer implementation guidelines and roadmaps (i.e. SAFe Framework) nonetheless, a lot of preparations need to be done before even adopting any framework. Those preparations represent prerequisites for successful adoption and implementation.
Additionally, I ‘ve seen and experienced a couple of Fortune top 100 companies adopting frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban without (1) being aware of the framework essential rules including their capabilities and limitations, and (2) without having enough and effective analysis for identifying the right needs in order to select the best fit approach. Those companies while pretending to be agile, they failed and are failing in being agile. Thus, the argumentations of those companies are either that Agile doesn’t work for them, or is that Agile is not an effective approach/methodology.
An Agile team won’t succeed within a non-Agile environment!
For that, I highly recommend following the roadmap below which would assist in building a successful transitional approach regardless of the framework being adopted.
Step #1 – Analyse business needs
So the first step should start by analyzing the company needs before adopting any framework or approach. Start by looking at the current issues and challenges, look at how results (products, projects, services) are being produced and delivered (when, how, why, what), analyse the agility level of different stakeholders, and the skills you need for a successful transition and for a successful cross-functional team, analyse the current company agility level and the company objective, setup a three-dimensional analysis table by answering the following points: (1) identify each major delivery issue/challenge (2) will Agile fix it? (3) what’s the value added (short- and long-term)?
After having a three-dimensional analysis, present and discuss it with the top management and different stakeholders, get their alignment and commitment, and move to the next step.
Step #2 – Select the best-fit Agile framework
After understanding the company needs, it’s time to select the best-fit framework (Scrum, SAFe, LeSS, SoS, Nexus, etc.). The best scientific approach is to start by checking at least three well-known frameworks. Simply go through their guidelines, and make a list of their capabilities and limitations (look at successful companies in the same industry/business). Check on how each framework will fulfil the company needs. Make a matrix table by matching each framework features with the problems it is going to solve, rank them, and select the best fit. Afterwards, and based on enough justifications, present and discuss the matrix with the top management and different stakeholders, get their alignment and commitment and move to the next step.
Step #3 – Coach teams to be Agile
Adopting a new approach without understanding it would lead to a counter effect. Therefore, after analysing the company needs and finding the best-fit Agile framework, start directly coaching all stakeholders. Follow the framework guidelines. Setup the recommended timeboxed events and stick to their objectives.
Therefore, Identify the different roles you need to succeed, coach them (either internally or externally), hire any missing role (i.e. Product Owner, SAFe Release Train Engineer RTE), identify and minimize team dependencies, and ensure that each team has the right and enough skills to be cross-functional in order to deliver a final functional outcome/result.
Step #4 – Change mindset
Changing approach requires changes in mindset. Start by changing the mindset and the way the company used to deliver results. Start by clarifying the scope of any project, product, or service. Decouple the backlog into small measurable attainable deliverables (i.e. User Stories). Keep your backlog simple, transparent, refined, and ensure priority is visible and understandable by every stakeholder.
Empower the teams and find tools to increase collaboration among them. Facilitate and encourage communications, reduce impediments and obstacles, minimize dependencies in order to increase productivity, leave a space for planning optimizations and improvements, be results driven, engage stakeholders, and most importantly, shorten your planning in order to measure results, improve processes and approach, and adapt to the ongoing changes (i.e. market needs, user experiences, technology, etc.).
Step #5 – Set stakeholders expectations gradually
If since the beginning the expectations are too high, then the transformation won’t succeed. It’s known that not every implemented step of the framework would be perfectly respected according to the guidelines. That’s why it’s highly important to set the expectations properly and realistically. It takes almost two to three months to start noticing good results. Leverage stakeholders expectations slowly after each maturity phase. If you’re using Sprints, then all stakeholders should be aligned that the first couple of Sprints won’t be necessarily hitting their goals. Timeboxed events might not be as disciplined as required. Overlapping in responsibilities might slow down the communications, increase impediments, and thus reduce collaborations. Things won’t work as expected until a certain maturity level. This maturity level depends on how fast an environment can adapt. Some companies take them several years while others several months.
An Agile transformational #strategy should be crafted by external advisors experienced in the field rather than by the internal management! (Adam M. Skafi)
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