When organizations say they want to “start doing Agile,” “implement Agile,” or “begin an Agile transformation,” I think about three starting stages: discuss, design, do.
Discuss
“Doing Agile” is not going to solve all of your problems. In fact, it’s likely to make them worse. The very nature of adopting an Agile mindset – and that’s what I would call this above any other term – magnifies what’s not working for your team and brings it to the light so we can improve our ways of working.
That’s why I like to start by talking.
Why is it that you want to “go Agile”? What are you hoping to solve? And what do you want to get out of it?
I ask these questions at a leadership level. And I ask them at a team level. Regardless of where the idea for transformation started, I want all levels of the organization to be heard.
The most important thing you can do is to be clear on why you’re adopting Agile and what you hope to achieve. And to address anything that’s not working for you and how you plan to improve even before you start.
Design
Also known as the strategy stage, this is the tactical plan for what is going to change and how it will look in the organization. This is where you design small, cross-functional teams with all of the skills needed to deliver your desired value to customers. You could even let people choose their own teams.
This is where you identify what roles will be in place.
Regardless of what frameworks and practices you decide to adopt, you will need to cover a role that has authority over priority of work (like a Product Owner in Scrum) and a role that coaches sustained improvement (like a Scrum Master).
This is where you identify what training may be needed.
All levels of the organization – leaders and teams – will need an understanding of the values of Agile and a shared vocabulary for the work we will be doing such as through a CSM class which will ideally be taken together. Specialized roles will need support and understanding of their accountabilities.
You may also need training to form cross-functional teams. As teams are lifting off, you’ll want to have a skills assessment with each team to identify any gaps and how you will address them.
In your team lift-offs, you’ll cover working agreements, tools your team will use, meetings and their cadence, and start to form a backlog of work.
Do
This is where you start to practice.
It is like riding a bike. At the beginning, I encourage you to use your training wheels. Stick as closely to the guide as you can. This will help you understand the fundamentals of the practices you have chosen. Once you have those down, you can start to remove the training wheels and experiment.
I generally give a transformation about 8 Sprints or so to fully settle, with smaller adjustments along the way. Then, as an organization, we come together to evaluate what’s been working and what hasn’t and what we plan to do about it.
Throughout all three stages, you will need a coach or coaches who have done this before.
Agile transformation is awkward and frustrating. Everything is new. Everything is alarming. You will wonder why you decided to try it. You will wonder if it will ever work.
I see many people and organizations who are trying to both fly the plane and be a passenger in it. And these are brand-new pilots who have never seen a cockpit.
It’s overwhelming.
Do yourself a favor and work with someone who can coach you and your teams through the transformation so you can allow yourselves to be fully present in it. Coaches have seen it all and are rarely surprised. We know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and we are here to coach you through it.
And we are here to help you making lasting change in more than just name only.
Photo by Suzanne D. Williams Unsplash