Last week, I talked about rolling out Agile to other departments within an organization or to other industries altogether. This week I will be talking about how this can be done, and I will use time-tested approaches that have worked and are guaranteed to give you the right results, if implemented correctly.
As I said earlier, organizations adopt Agile because it enables them to be more adaptable, customer-focused, efficient, and responsive to changing market dynamics. In addition, it promotes collaboration, quality, and employee engagement while reducing risks and enhancing transparency. Ultimately, Agile helps organizations deliver value to customers more effectively and to gain a competitive edge in their respective industries. Although Agile started out in the IT industry, today it is being rolled out to other departments in organizations and to other industries entirely.
Rolling out an Agile transformation to different departments in an organization is a complex process that requires careful planning, clear communication, and a commitment to change. Ideally, the most effective and proven way to achieve this is to employ the Scaled Agile Framework; it gives the best results, from my experience and the stories of thousands of enterprises that did it right. But besides SAFe, here are some steps and strategies to help you navigate this transformation successfully if you choose to go your own route:
Executive Buy-In:
My greatest challenge in the Agile space has been executives who do not understand Agile, are resistant to change or are afraid that Agile’s power-sharing design will be a threat to the power they wield. For this reason, it is very important to start by providing enough education to executives on Agile, to enable you gain the support and commitment of top executives and leaders within the organization. Because without their buy-in, it will be near-impossible to implement Agile practices across departments.
Assessment and Readiness:
At the beginning of my Agile career, I went into an organization and started with very basic Agile introductory workshops across the enterprise, but I quickly learned that trying to give basic Agile training and workshops might appear condescending to some staff who already have some knowledge of Agile. So for this reason, it is important for the next step to be assessing the degree of knowledge and the readiness of each department to embrace Agile principles and practices. You should customize your training to fit their needs; some departments may be more ready than others. Identify the low-hanging fruit to start with.
Create a Vision:
If you don’t have a vision you wouldn’t know what you hope to achieve or how to tell if you are on track. So start by developing a clear vision and goals for the Agile transformation. Make sure everyone understands why the organization is adopting Agile and what benefits it will bring. In a new organization, I usually start by having a workshop on “The Many Whys of Agile” where I do a deepdive into the numerous benefits of Agile. From the feedback I have gotten after such workshops, those have been some of the strongest tools I have employed and they have managed to convert many Agile skeptics into advocates.
Collaboration and Cross-Functional Teams:
Encourage collaboration and the formation of cross-functional teams. Agile works best when team members are self-sufficient; the team has all the skills to complete their own part of the deliverable. I dare say that you can’t even be Agile if your teams are not cross-functional. It is also important that there is effective collaboration between teams, and between teams and departments because ultimately, the different units in the enterprise are all working together towards a common goal.
Training and Education:
This is mandatory; in order to establish a comprehensive understanding of Agile, it is important that you provide Agile training and education to employees in all departments. This may include Agile workshops, coaching, and certification programs.
Identify and Partner with Champions:
It is easy to identify Agile champions from the results of surveys you should carry out early on or from interviews with different individuals. If you already have Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters within the enterprise, all the better, these will be some of your greatest supporters in this endeavour. These individuals will help guide the transformation process and provide ongoing support to their colleagues.
Pilot Projects:
It is not a good idea to try an enterprise-wide rollout without testing it in small units first. There is usually some learning you will get from the first test that you should apply to your subsequent rollouts. Also, from my experience, a transformation that worked out one way for one enterprise might not work out in the exact same way in a different enterprise; people are different, cultures are different, each enterprise has its unique set of strengths and weaknesses. After using a pilot team or department for your rollout, once you expand, you should also start with small pilot projects within each department to demonstrate the effectiveness of Agile practices. Use these projects as learning experiences to refine processes.
Customize Agile Practices:
Similar to the point above, always tailor Agile practices to the specific needs and culture of each enterprise and each department. What works in one department may not work in another, so flexibility is key.
Clear Communication:
A very important Agile value; continuous communication with stakeholders helps to keep them interested as well as to manage their expectations, the same obtains in a transformation initiative. You have to communicate regularly and transparently about the progress of the Agile transformation. Address concerns and questions from employees at all levels.
Iterate and Adapt:
Agile is all about continuous improvement. Train the different departments and teams to regularly review and adapt Agile processes and practices based on feedback and results. Don’t be afraid to make changes as needed. You can employ the skills of your Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters or Agile advocates to achieve this. One thing I find helpful is to present to them data on improvements that resulted from taking the time to think, reflect and adjust.
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
This right here is tricky; I have experienced, and also discussed with Agile practitioners who tell me that someone from management wants the Agile Coach or Scrum Master to always send the results of performance measurements to them. This is not an Agile practice and is in fact, counter-productive; when this happens, team members begin to operate in fear, this eliminates psychological safety, and contrary to popular opinion, fear reduces productivity. Measurement in the Agile space is meant for identifying areas of improvement, hence it’s by the team and for the team; the team holds itself accountable. SAFe does however have a collective Inspect and Adapt workshop where an exercise called a Quantitative and qualitative measurement takes place. Though all stakeholders are present at this event, it still works because the exercise is done as a collective; the results discussed are done collectively for the different teams in the Agile Release Train, so there’s no opportunity for identifying specific teams. Since the Release Train is a collective, it also helps for everyone to know how everyone else is doing because the performance of one team impacts the others. This is the one chance they have to discuss their performance.
Scale Gradually:
It is an inconvenient truth that good things take a while to produce desirable results, even “Rome was not built in a day.” Hence, be patient with your Agile transformation effort. As the Agile transformation gains momentum and success in one team/department, gradually expand it to other teams/departments. Ensure that lessons learned from the initial rollout are applied to subsequent phases.
Provide Support and Resources:
To ensure a successful transformation that can stick, please allocate resources and provide support for Agile teams and initiatives. This may include the right tools, coaching, teaching, facilitation, mentoring, FAQs, webinars, manuals, guidelines, and dedicated time for Agile-related activities.
Celebrate Successes:
Always remember to celebrate achievements and milestones in the Agile transformation, no matter how small, the focus is on continuous improvement, this will help to boost the morale and motivation across teams/departments.
Cultural Shift:
Culture is one of the greatest hindrances to Business Agility, so please treat this with utmost importance. You need to recognize that Agile is not just a set of practices but a cultural shift; a new way of thinking and being. You should encourage a culture of trust, openness, and experimentation.
Feedback Loops:
In order to succeed in the transformation initiative, you will need to establish regular feedback loops with teams and stakeholders to ensure that the initiative is meeting its goals and addressing pain points.
Keep the Agile transformation initiative alive by regularly revisiting and reinforcing Agile principles, even after initial adoption. This could be by way of monthly or quarterly reviews, assessments, workshops, retrospectives etc.
In conclusion, please remember that an Agile transformation is an ongoing process, and it may take time for the entire organization to fully embrace Agile principles. You would need to be patient, flexible, and adaptive as you roll out Agile across the different teams/departments, and be prepared to learn and adjust along the way.
Feedback and contributions are welcome. Thank you.