For those of you considering an Agile transformation, here is my advice on your #1 consideration. Ask yourself this question: “Is my organization willing to align to value with cross-functional teams?” The question is about your willingness to realign your organization to value. In my opinion, all other considerations are secondary and pale in comparison to this one. Let’s unpack the question a bit. Alignment [...]
When it comes to seeking help for an Agile transformation, there are Agile Coaches and there are Framework Implementors. If you are considering launching an Agile transformation, you need to understand the difference. Start by asking a potential Agile Coach this question: “How would you engage with us to kick off our Agile transformation?” Real Agile Coach A real Agile Coach will answer the above [...]
As an IT or business leader starting an Agile transformation, the enormity of it can appear quite daunting. The cost can be significant. The risks are real. What if it goes on forever with no real impact to the bottom line? How do I ensure it sticks? These are all valid questions and concerns for a leader about to kick off their Agile transformation. Lead [...]
Due to their centralized nature, Shared Service teams have special considerations and needs that Agile coaches should be aware of. This article discusses four focus areas for when coaching Shared Services. Shared Services teams are typically inundated with a large amount of requests. It is not uncommon to see the service demand much higher than the available capacity of the team. To make matters worse, [...]
A significant revision of the official Scrum Guide 2020 was released this month (here). Here are my thoughts when comparing it to the previous 2017 version. Overall Thoughts The Scrum Guide is even more streamlined now. The length of the artifact has been reduced from 19 to 14 pages. Kudos to the authors, Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber, for their consistent emphasis on short [...]
Considering taking on an Agile transformation for your enterprise? Warning – it is not for the cautious! There is an easy way – just rename your existing process to “Agile Waterfall”. Then enjoy many subsequent years of … (wait for it) … slow-to-market unimpressive products with poor business results, as your team’s esprit de corps nosedives amidst continuous frustration. Credit: codesqueeze.com “101 Ways to Know [...]
As a portfolio or organizational leader, you may have wondered “How will SAFe change what we do?” One way of looking at this is to consider the constructs recommended by the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for the Portfolio level. For reference, here is a view of the SAFe 5.0 Portfolio configuration: Let’s briefly step through some of the important constructs that may cause [...]
As an experienced Agile leader and coach, I often run into the following situation. In my opinion, it represents the largest Agile anti-pattern in the product development world. Many teams focus on progress over the product increment. Progress and Component Teams Team A says, “We are agile. We are making good PROGRESS on our system.” Upon further investigation, Team A is comprised of team [...]
“Going Agile” should never be the goal of any enterprise transformation. There, I said it. Some Agile transformations are analogous to someone telling you that everyone here in the US needs to start driving on the left side of the road. Why? We will get to our destination 16 seconds faster on average (time to market improvement). We will have less wrecks (better quality). Traffic [...]
Agile Documentation - Just Shoot Me Now The year was 2007. A longtime friend of mine called and said she wanted to do lunch. She had some “exciting news”. At lunch, she sat down and immediately let me know that her company had finally decided to “go Agile”. My response: “Great! What do you think that means?” She contemplated my open question for 20 [...]