The Agile Stimulus Package

Why go agile? Specifically, what is incenting your organization to embrace agile? What is the impetus for change? As you consider this, additional questions will emerge: For example, do you need to be all-in on agility, or can it be selectively applied? And if agile can be selectively applied, what are the conditions or circumstances where it makes the most sense?

The following diagram is an adaptation of the Stacey Matrix (from Strategic Management and Organisational Dynamics by Ralph.D. Stacey) that I’ll gradually annotate to address these questions, building up to a key conversation that you need to have:

This diagram denotes three types of work, two of which are characterized by the levels of uncertainty that are present:

Predictive: Work where the path to success is clear. There is a shared understanding and agreement on what is valuable and how to go about delivering that value.

Emergent: This is complex work where the path to success lacks clarity, at least at the outset. Typically, there are multiple options available, both in terms of what is considered valuable and how to go about delivering it. Experimentation and frequent feedback are required to learn what is truly valued as well as triangulating on the correct path for your team or organization to use to deliver that value.

Finally, there is chaotic work, which are urgent problems or issues that arise that demand immediate attention. You can’t predict exactly when or what problems or issues will arise, but if you haven’t budgeted peoples’ time to address these issues (which can be done to varying degrees, according to your needs) you will disrupt planned work.

Many organizations have traditionally recognized and used approaches to deal with predictive and chaotic work, but they are now increasingly contending with emergent work because the rates of business and technological change have increased. Today’s hyper-competitive business climate is driving organizations to reliably deliver faster than ever before, at less cost.

Consider the implication of that last sentence for a moment. Are you facing these demands? If so, does this indicate that competitive demands and goals of your organization are disrupting your status quo, demanding significant improvement?

If your answer is yes, then you need to consider what agile has to offer. It helps you to tackle the drivers and influencers that are increasingly transforming work to be emergent in nature:

The key conversation that you need to have with respect to agility is how much, if any, of your work is emergent in nature. Agility is all about increasing your ability to rapidly validate your hypothesis about what is deemed valuable while simultaneously determining the best path to deliver that value. This is done by delivering smaller changes with greater frequency. It’s all about being responsive and adaptive, where teams and organizations are continuously learning and improving in an increasing complex, competitive world.

I’ll continue to explore this topic in future posts, continually annotating this diagram in different ways.

Don’t Just Do Agile

The Agile Manifesto can create challenges when it comes to agile transformations, particularly in the early stages. This isn’t a fault with the Agile Manifesto; I regard it as a brilliant piece of work. The issue begins when teams or organizations limit their attention to agile practices, using appealing logic such as, “At this point in time, we’re establishing a baseline.”

This point of view can be inadvertently supported by the Agile Manifesto itself. What happens when those who are new to agile read the Agile Manifesto? Without additional information and guidance, they can come away feeling that the values and principles are nebulous or too theoretical. This can lead them back to that, “We’re just trying to get the basics down” line of thinking.

On the face of it, this feels like a perfectly reasonable approach. Focus on agile practices and framework(s) – which are more concrete because they tell you what you need to do – and you’ll be agile, right?

Caution! The Agile Manifesto is an articulation of what was found to be common among the various approaches to software development championed by the crafters of the manifesto. Don’t get me wrong, I fully support the concept of understanding the difference between doing agile (the practices) and being agile (the values and principles) as being both insightful and useful. It helps categorize aspects of agility, enabling you analyze where you are strong and where you need improvement.

However, if you aren’t embracing and incorporating the underlying values and principles into your day-to-day work, then you have distanced yourself from the very things that distinguish agility from other approaches. Never view any agile framework or practices and the Agile Manifesto in isolation. They are intrinsically linked.

Can you have a peanut butter cup without the peanut butter? No. Practicing “agile” in a way that is removed from the values and principles is nothing more than an application of new vocabulary to existing ways of working, an implementation of cargo cult practices that aren’t actually achieving the desired results. Simply stated, don’t leave out what is truly valuable with respect to transforming to agile in the first place!

And just for fun, here’s this guidance expressed in a user story format:

As an agile practitioner, I need to apply agile values and principles to any agile practice I perform, so that I – and my team and organization – can experientially learn and realize the benefits of being truly agile.

Guiding Agility

I’m an Agile Coach, but I’m branding myself as an Agile Guide. So, what exactly does that mean? And what about my Transforming work. Transforming life. tagline?

Let’s say I’m working with your team or organization. As an Agile Guide, it's up to me to lead you through territory that is unfamiliar to you. If you are in a startup mode, for example, I'm likely to advise the use of Lean Startup principles because they are designed to reveal the correct path forward, informing you about what product or service customers value and how to build a sustainable business.

For established companies transitioning to agile, the dynamic is different. I’m not taking you through completely unfamiliar territory; you know much more about your customer base and your work than I do. The first step in these engagements is all about me acquiring a solid understanding and appreciation of your current state. Generally, I find people to be very helpful and enthusiastic about getting me up to speed on both business and technical fronts. The tricky part usually comes after we’re aligned on what the existing terrain looks like.

It comes when I ask you, metaphorically speaking, to use a different path. Suddenly, things start to look different, less familiar. Your old map doesn’t have the same value it once did, and feelings of uncertainty and apprehension begin to creep in. You might assert that, “We’re unique…” or that, “We need to stay on our old path for a while, then we can cut over and be agile…” – you’re seeking permission from me to stay on that old, familiar path.

I get it. There aren’t any big surprises on that old path. You know what is coming because you’ve walked it many times before. However, you prepared me by educating me about your terrain, now let me return the favor by preparing you with new information and insights. And we’ll walk down that new path together.

That’s why I’m there! Maximize what you can get from me. The objective is for you to have a new experience, covering your terrain from a new angle, working together to address any unforeseen issues as we encounter them. The payoff from all of this is captured in my tagline: Transforming work. Transforming life.

This tagline is the result of my reflecting on my first agile experience. I was a manager in an organization that worked very hard at developing into an authentic, agile organization. Once we got it right – and that took a while – it became abundantly clear just how transformational agile can be.

We created raving fans. We introduced a new, successful product. It became obvious that having a fun, collaborative, supportive, productive and sustainable work environment enabled people to not only come to work feeling energized, they left the feeling the same way. As you can imagine, this in turn had a positive effect on their personal lives as well.

That is why I became an agile coach. To help you create the same impact. I can’t do it for you. But if you are willing, I can help you get there!

Welcome!

Thank you for joining me, and I hope that you find the content (future content as I write this) informative, useful, and even a little inspiring.

Given that I'm actively engaged with agile coaching, my intent is to publish monthly. I consider this to be achievable based on prior experience -- barring any unforeseen problems that may come my way. At any rate, consider this my public statement of intent. 

I welcome any comments or insights that you would like to share, so please don't feel shy! And if you have any burning topics that you would like to see me cover (or at least attempt to), I'm all ears!

Again, thanks for joining me, I appreciate it! I look forward to engaging with everyone on this blog.