How do we become
agile?
Question # 1 What does agility mean?
Being agile means being able to respond to changes in a timely, effective, and sustainable way.
Adapted from http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/want-to-become-agile-learn-from-your-it-team http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00188?pg=all
Agile companies have 1. high strategic responsiveness and 2. high organizational flexibility.
http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00316
Strategic responsiveness is the ability to sense new risks and new opportunities in the business environment and to respond quickly. An example Respond to the Internet’s impact on publishing by using new channels such as social media to deliver content to users. Adapted from http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00316
Organizational flexibility is the ability to quickly change execution. Example To what extent can supply chain workers quickly find new / different content materials when products / services change? http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00316
What are great agile conditions? It is easy to get quick feedback from users. The problem is complex. Product requirements will change. Solutions are unknown. Work can be modularized. Creative teams will outperform command-and-control groups.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
What are examples of work with great agile conditions? Product development work. Marketing project work. Strategic planning work. Supply-chain challenges. Resource allocation decisions. What are examples of work with bad agile conditions? Routine operations such as plant maintenance, purchasing, sales calls, and accounting. https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Question # 2 What values do agile workers have?
Simplicity
Complexity is the enemy of agility. Keep things as simple as possible as long as possible. Example: To increase IT agility, reduce the number of systems.
Sources http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html http://www.extremeprogramming.org/rules/simple.html http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Business_Technology/The_do-or-die_questions_boards_should_ask_about_technology http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/want-to-become-agile-learn-from-your-it-team
Simplicity
An important part of agile is to reduce waste. Waste is anything that does not bring clearly defined and immediate value.
http://www.cio.com/article/2433819/agile-development/7-agile-leadership-lessons-for-the-suits.html
Efficiency
Example Role clarity is a highly ranked practice among agile organizations. When everyone understands who does what, people can move faster.
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/agility-it-rhymes-with-stability http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-agility-pays
Openness
People agility means the degree to which one is open-minded toward others and enjoys interacting with a diversity of people, understands their unique strengths, interests, and limitations, and uses them effectively to accomplish organizational goals.
http://www.kornferry.com/institute/488-the-federal-agility-fix-developing-the-next-generation-of-leaders
Openness
For an agile team to be able to adapt, information must be open and free flowing. When people share what they do in an open / transparent way, everyone can see results of the work quickly and solve problems quickly.
https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/04/understanding-agile-management http://www.propernet.com/extranet/mcgill/CLASS%203/3.1%20-%20AgileProjectManagement.pdf
Creativity
Learning-agile individuals think creatively. Example They generate new ideas through their ability to view issues from multiple angles.
http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/4-qualities-every-leader-needs-to-take-risks-conquer-stress.html
Learning
Agile individuals are motivated by learning / expanding their knowledge.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2012/06/12/agility-the-ingredient-that-will-define-next-generation-leadership/#6c6c8e30208f
Learning
For success, companies will need to develop a mindset that accepts failures. Without it, developers will hesitate to make changes.
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/software-development-handbook-transforming-for-the-digital-age
Learning https://vimeo.com/94950270 Minute 1.
Learning
Self awareness means the degree to which an individual seeks personal insight, clearly understands his or her strengths and weaknesses, and uses this knowledge to improve performance.
http://www.kornferry.com/institute/488-the-federal-agility-fix-developing-the-next-generation-of-leaders
Improvement
They’re the skeptical members of the team. The ones always pushing back on the status quo and forcing the business to rethink the way it presents itself to its customers.
https://hbr.org/2014/11/bring-agile-to-the-whole-organization
Imrpovement
In an agile environment, change is acknowledged and accepted.
http://agilitrix.com/2015/02/agile-culture-self-managing-people http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/technology/software-engineering/development-practices/article/art20131213120917060
Adaptability
Adaptability is a highly regarded agile value.
Example People meet at regular intervals to find out how we can do things better, for example work more efficiently and creatively.
https://www.agileconnection.com/article/what-improv-can-teach-you-about-agile-success http://agilitrix.com/2015/02/agile-culture-self-managing-people
Helping
At the core of agile are values of flexibility, individual interaction, focus on outputs, and collaboration over more rigid planning-driven approaches.
https://hbr.org/2013/08/it-on-steroids-the-benefits-an
Helping
Workers in agile workplaces must be passionate, adaptive, innovative, and collaborative.
The way to begin is to become autonomous.
http://jarche.com/2010/04/agility-and-autonomy/
Freedom
Agile workers have autonomy. Instead of a controlling ideology, the approach is one of enabling self-organization.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/26/why-do-managers-hate-agile/#54a318556018 http://www.allaboutagile.com/how-to-create-the-fastest-teams/
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Questions-to-discover-your-values-1329394 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reasons-why-people-resist-change-1453736
Question # 3 What is the purpose of the company?
A purpose helps people, who work for a company, understand why they do what they do.
Adapted from https://dzone.com/articles/bringing-agile-to-the-next-level https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/25180871/posts/93
Strong purpose
Agile work
https://vimeo.com/85490944
Strong autonomy
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Examples-of-purpose-2350843
Question # 4 How do agile workers work with users?
Agile is neither top-down nor bottom-up: it is outside-in. The focus is on delivering value to customers. The customer is the boss, not the manager.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/07/22/how-to-make-the-whole-organization-agile/#396f85ed135b
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/28/more-on-why-managers-hate-agile/#168b8c853a58
A key feature of being agile is to involve the user in the development process and use the customer feedback to improve. http://www.economist.com/node/779429 http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/04/29/scrum-is-a-major-management-discovery/ https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/04/understanding-agile-management https://medium.com/@eric_jansen/five-steps-to-business-agility-71c42856958a#.bayhaksj4
Instead of asking “How can I get customers to take what we make?”, we have to ask, “What are the unmet needs of the customer that I can find ways to satisfy?” http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/28/more-on-why-managers-hate-agile/#168b8c853a58
User story As a user, I need [goal], so that I [receive benefits]. Example of user story As a user, I need access to quality content, so that I know how to handle changes in my life.
Adapted from https://www.atlassian.com/agile/delivery-vehicles
Some ways to find information to write the user story Experiment when developing product / service. Use analytics to find out what users do and do not do with the product / service. Ask users what they need / want. Watch / observe users as they use the product / service. Adapted from https://www.atlassian.com/agile/product-analytics-product-management https://www.atlassian.com/agile/product-management
Using blogs, polls, and other social media, customers can be involved in the development process.
Adapted from http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/software-development-handbook-transforming-for-the-digital-age
Regular customer collaboration creates transparency about the work and enables a high degree of flexibility.
https://medium.com/@timrayner01/say-agile-one-more-time-making-space-for-collaborative-innovation-de4834a096a0#.uglb51y9l
More customer collaboration. Less contract negotation. http://agilemanifesto.org/
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Needs-that-people-have-1530997
Question # 5 How do agile workers communicate and learn?
Openness / transparency is a key agile value. Open communication can happen through, for example, blogs, Twitter, and other social media. Adapted from http://strikinggroup.com.au/why-agile-works/
When people share what they do in an open / transparent way, everyone can see results of the work quickly and solve problems quickly.
Explanation by Jeff Sutherland about the importance of openness / transparency towards the end of the conversation. https://hbr.org/ideacast/2016/04/understanding-agile-management
All communication within the agile team must be addressed to the complete team, including sharing any documents, release plans or schedules, review requests and feedback, risks or concerns, and even leave updates. This builds a complete sense of oneness within the team and maintains complete transparency at all times. https://www.agileconnection.com/article/real-key-agile-success-communication
A major aspect of being learning agile is to continuously seek feedback from users.
https://hbr.org/2014/11/bring-agile-to-the-whole-organization https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/mindful-agility-5f5acb450f5#.4s5d7nmkh http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/4-qualities-every-leader-needs-to-take-risks-conquer-stress.html
Agile workers give and receive feedback to each other.
https://www.agileconnection.com/article/strategies-encouraging-and-facilitating-team-feedback-sessions
People in the team pass information to each other as they move towards the goal. Like people who play for FC Barcelona pass the ball to each other as they move up the field. Adapted from http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/26/why-do-managers-hate-agile/#54a318556018
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-do-we-give-feedback-1761017
Question # 6 How do agile workers organize?
People who work for agile companies, move out of company boundaries and engage, for example with people from other companies as well as freelancers, students, and independent workers in open-source collaborations using hackathons, working events, various competitions, social media, and other platforms. Adapted from http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/agility-lessons-from-utilities
LSG Webinars
Sources http://agilityhackathon.com/ https://www.atizo.com/ https://www.e-teaching.org/ https://www.jovoto.com/ http://learningandskillsgroup.ning.com/forum/categories/lsg-webinars/listForCategory http://www.meetup.com/
Many organizations perceive social networks as a fragile system, and capture reduced returns as a consequence. Social networks are anti-fragile, demanding organizations to take risks in order to build a more robust system, expanding their range of opportunities. Examples include NestlĂŠ and Comcast, that after experiencing social media crisis learned to reinvent their organizations, using social platforms to change the way they communicate. https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/agility-and-fragility-2ca9e1c1df43#.g6rw1wvma
Internet companies like www.wikipedia.org have harnessed enormous collective power with new models of collaboration.
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/agility-it-rhymes-with-stability
To keep all employees focused on the external environment, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. abandoned the organization chart. http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00188?pg=all
Instead of a controlling ideology, the agile approach is about enabling self-organization.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/26/why-do-managers-hate-agile/#54a318556018 http://www.allaboutagile.com/how-to-create-the-fastest-teams/
Break an organization into small, self-organizing / autonomous teams of less than 8 people.
https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2016/03/29/scaling-agile-without-killing-agility/ https://vimeo.com/85490944
At Spotify, each team manages a piece of the product that is completely theirs. That way, they’re able to deploy, change, and upgrade that constantly without breaking anything else.
http://labs.openviewpartners.com/spotify-great-agile-example-scrum-done-right/
Ericsson has divided 2,300 enterprise software engineers, co-ordinated from Ireland, into more than 100 small autonomous teams, developing products in 3-week “sprints�.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aa284852-0096-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html?siteedition=intl#axzz45xZkitBP
A self-organizing team / group decides themselves 1. what problem they want to solve – and why. 2. how they want to work together when creating / building a solution to the problem.
https://vimeo.com/85490944
To be agile, we need to try out things, for example new methods / tools / platforms / ideas.
That helps us to continuously learn and adapt. https://neilkillick.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/8-signs-of-an-agile-organisation/
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-organize-better-2307825
Question # 7 What do agile leaders do?
An agile leadership team often authorizes a senior executive to 1. identify the critical issues, 2. design processes for addressing them, and 3. appoint a single owner for each innovation initiative.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
A leader’s job is, for example, to find out and communicate 2 things: 1. What problems need to be solved? 2. Why do these problems need to be solved?
https://vimeo.com/85490944 Minute 4.
Learning-agile leaders take calculated risks that lead to opportunity.
http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/4-qualities-every-leader-needs-to-take-risks-conquer-stress.html
Find experts with skills required to solve the problem and complement what other people in the team do.
https://www.agileconnection.com/article/do-cross-functional-teams-mean-cross-functional-people
Build agile projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
It’s better to involve passionate volunteers than to coerce resisters.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Define work goals before each cycle starts. Steve Denning http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/04/29/scrum-is-a-major-management-discovery/
Give people time to complete each sprint. Make sure that the work proceeds at a mutually agreeable pace.
https://medium.com/@timrayner01/say-agile-one-more-time-making-space-for-collaborative-innovation-de4834a096a0#.uglb51y9l
Transparency is a key agile value.
Share plan and results with everyone.
https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/product-managers
Agile managers are enablers, not controllers.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/01/28/more-on-why-managers-hate-agile/#792de2123a58
Create flexibility -  in time, place, resources, and processes.
https://medium.com/@nickyleijtens/agile-and-agility-not-just-for-hipsters-a315e0d94d9f#.nq41gdrtk
Agile leaders spot and stop behaviors that impede agile teams.
Adapted from https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
As agile methods spread to all of Systematic’s software development teams, Michael Holm began to worry that his leadership team was hindering progress. The agile development teams were doing things differently, while the management team was stuck doing things the same oldfashioned way - moving too slowly and relying on too many written reports that always seemed out-of-date.
So Holm decided to run his leadership team as an agile team. The team eliminated more than half of recurring reports, converted other reports to real-time systems, increased attention to business-critical items such as sales proposals and customer satisfaction, began having daily 20-minute stand-up meetings at 8.40 to discuss what members had done the day before, what they would do that day, and where they needed help. began to use physical boards to track its own actions and the improvements coming from the business units. Other functions, including HR, legal, finance, and sales, now operate in much the same way. https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Freedom / autonomy is a key agile value. Enable people to decide things themselves and serve needs people have. https://medium.com/@timrayner01/say-agile-one-more-time-making-space-for-collaborative-innovation-de4834a096a0#.uglb51y9l https://www.frontrowagile.com/learn-agile/agile-project-management
Agile teams use process facilitators to continually improve their collective intelligence, for example by clarifying roles, teaching conflict resolution techniques, and ensuring that team members contribute equally.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-is-good-leadership-1489536
Question # 8 What do people do during work cycles / sprints?
People work to produce something new, for example a new product / service.
They test it with users every 1 to 2 weeks. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/business-technology/our-insights/want-to-become-agile-learn-from-your-it-team
Efficiency is a key agile value. To work effectively, people clarify roles they have. 3 examples: 1. What does person A do? 2. What does person A decide by herself / himself? 3. What does person A and person B decide together? http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/going-from-fragile-to-agile
Agile is about delivering value to stakeholders early and often through simple steps: 1. Plan. 2. Develop. 3. Complete. 4. Test. 5. Launch / release. 6. Repeat steps 1 – 5. http://www.cio.com/article/2971822/agile-development/6-agile-principles-that-apply-to-everything.html
Quality should be part of every step of any agile development process.
To identify risks, each sprint should be composed of 1. development, and 2. testing. https://www.capgemini.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/From_Agile_Development_to_Agile_Delivery__Excerpt_from_2010-2011_World_Quality_Report_.pdf
Effective testing and innovation activities range from gathering further intelligence, to trying out new ideas on a small scale, to implementing full-scale product development programs. http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00188?pg=all
People, who work for www.spotify.com, do gradual rollouts to make sure that when a team makes a mistake, it will only have a small negative impact, i.e. an impact on a small part of the system. on few users. for a short period of time. https://vimeo.com/94950270
Project Loon began with a pilot test in June 2013, when thirty balloons were launched from New Zealand’s South Island and beamed Internet to a small group of pilot testers.
https://www.google.com/loon/where/
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-make-better-decisions-2058027
Question # 9 How long are work cycles / sprints?
Agile methods are a reaction to the bureaucracy, planning, and inflexibility of the waterfall approach. Large projects are chopped into a series of shorter cycles. Sources http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a988cd86-9759-11dc-9e08-0000779fd2ac.html http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/08/16/how-do-you-explain-radical-management-or-agile-to-a-cfo/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/04/29/scrum-is-a-major-management-discovery/
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/software-development-handbook-transforming-for-the-digital-age
Agile has several advantages
A sprint – or iteration – is a predefined, timeboxed, and recurring block of time, for example 2-4 weeks, in which the product, for example software, is created.
https://resources.sei.cmu.edu/asset_files/TechnicalNote/2013_004_001_62918.pdf p. 42.
As a rule of thumb, an agile sprint should be as short as possible and as long as necessary.
https://medium.com/@timrayner01/say-agile-one-more-time-making-space-for-collaborative-innovation-de4834a096a0#.uglb51y9l
Question # 10 How are agile meetings done?
What to say during the weekly agile meeting: 1.What do I think worked well this week? 2.What do I think did not work well this week? 3.What do I think we should do better next week? For question # 3, everyone first makes suggestions. Then 2 suggestions are picked out to focus on next week. https://youtu.be/J6oMG7u9HGE Minute 7.
2 questions for a meeting after a mistake 1. What did we learn from this mistake? 2. In what other ways can we do this?
https://medium.com/@eric_jansen/five-steps-to-business-agility-71c42856958a#.bayhaksj4 https://vimeo.com/94950270 Minute 2.
https://vimeo.com/94950270 Minute 2.
The team brainstorms ways to improve future cycles and prepares to attack the next top priority.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-disney-method-1449101 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-SCAMPER-method-1452356
Question # 11 How do we measure agile success?
VersionOne State of Agile report 2016.
https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2015/06/16/measuring-what-counts-introducing-the-better-faster-cheaper-happier-measurement-framework/
Examples of numbers to measure if we are doing things
better
1. On-time delivery. Percentage of releases that are released on-time. 2. Customer needs met. Survey of whether the customers think the delivered product / service met their needs. https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2015/06/16/measuring-what-counts-introducing-the-better-faster-cheaper-happier-measurement-framework/
Examples of numbers to measure if we are doing things faster The time it takes to make a decision.
https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2015/06/16/measuring-what-counts-introducing-the-better-faster-cheaper-happier-measurement-framework/
Examples of numbers to measure if we are doing things
cheaper
1. Improved value for money. Ask customers if they think that the product / service is good value for money they spend. 2. Time developers use for administrative work.
https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2015/06/16/measuring-what-counts-introducing-the-better-faster-cheaper-happier-measurement-framework/
Examples of numbers to measure if people are getting happier 1. Customer satisfaction. Ask customers to find out if they are happy with how we work. 2. Team satisfaction. Ask people in the team to find out if we are happy with the way they work.
https://blogs.versionone.com/agile_management/2015/06/16/measuring-what-counts-introducing-the-better-faster-cheaper-happier-measurement-framework/
Question # 12 How do we get started with agile?
Start small. Agile work oftens begin in IT, where software developers are likely to be familiar with the principles. Then agile might spread to another function, with the original practitioners acting as coaches.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Example: John Deere. George Tome, a software engineer who had become a project manager within Deere’s corporate IT group, began applying agile principles in 2004 on a low-key basis. Gradually, over several years, software development units in other parts of Deere began using them as well. This growing interest made it easier to introduce the methodology to the company’s business development and marketing organizations. https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Pull resources from businesses / activities that won’t be relevant / appropriate tomorrow and put them to work in more relevant / promising opportunities.
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Strategic_Thinking/Strategy_through_turbulence_An_interview_with_Don_Sull_2491 http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00188?pg=all
Avoid beginning with part-time assignment to teams or with rotating membership. Stable teams are 60% more productive and 60% more responsive to customer input than teams that rotate members. https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile