Monetical Thinking - March 2020

Agile Transformational Success Factors

Agile transformational success require substantial investment and commitment as they require structural, leadership, working practices and business execution changes.

For over a decade, members of the Monetical team have been involved in the design, adoption and optimisation of Agile organisations and Scrum Teams across a number of industries. During this time we have identified 10 factors that have a significant influence on the success of an Agile transformation program. To encourage best practice and shared learning, we list these 10 success factors below.

1. SET A TRANSFORMATIONAL TARGET

2. LEAD BY EXAMPLE

3. ENCOURAGE CREATIVE DISRUPTION

4. BE A LIGHTHOUSE TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS

5. SHARE EXPERIENCE ACROSS ALL FUNCTIONS

6. THINK AHEAD TO ANTICIPATE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

7. NOMINATE CHANGE AMBASSADORS

8. BE OBSESSED TO EMBED CHANGE

9. BROADCAST CHANGE TO ALL

10. MAKE IT AN AUTONOMOUS PROGRAM

1. SET A TRANSFORMATIONAL TARGET

If the goal of the Agile transformation can’t be articulated then the improved performance of the organisation associated to the transformation can’t be measured. It’s imperative a series of baseline capabilities are established during the design phase of the transformation so they can be constantly measured throughout to help identify Agile transformation adjustments and measure its progress.

2. LEAD BY EXAMPLE

The Agile transformation team should practice what it preaches. The rest of the organisation will look poorly upon the team if it is discovered they have failed to fully embraced the appropriate Agile methodology to manage its owner program. Failure to adopt Agile will also result in them missing a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the transformation participants and wider organisation what Agile best practices look like.

3. ENCOURAGE CREATIVE DISRUPTION

Organisations should approach their Agile transformation as a revolution (a radical change in the way the organisation operates and behaves). Gradually adopting Agile over a long period simply won't cause the disruption necessary to bring about a permanent change (i.e. a jolt) in the way the organisation operates.

4. BE A LIGHTHOUSE TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS

Successful transformation plans start by adopting Agile within a single business unit or product line. These early successes act as a lighthouse for what follows by showing what success looks like and how it must tailor external best practices and techniques to meet the unique characteristics of the organisation prior to scaling out the transformation.

5. SHARE EXPERIENCE ACROSS ALL FUNCTIONS

Membership of the Agile transformation team has representation from the organisation’s core functions. In particular, those that oversee people and culture, operating process and systems, governance and quality assurance; and where transformational ownership resides with the corporate strategy or human resource function as highlighted by the Agile Monetical.Blueprint transformation pillars.

6. THINK AHEAD TO ANTICIPATE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Like a game of chess the Agile transformation team must think three or four steps ahead to deal with any potential resistance to change as the program gathers momentum. In particular, they should work with the human resources function to define individual performance targets that will foster support for the program from individuals and presenting their transformation journey using a Sprint roadmap that is visible to the entire organisation.

7. NOMINATE CHANGE AMBASSADORS

Successful transformations require the support from an organisational army of change ambassadors and agents. Momentum for the change should quickly moves from the organisation’s centre to individual functions and projects across the organisation with an ever-growing community of people communicating the benefits already being gained via a number of different communication channels.

8. BE OBSESSED TO EMBED CHANGE

True Agile transformations bring about a permanent change to the culture of the organisation. We say that a change to the organisation’s DNA has occurred when it is obsessed with delighting the customer and instilling a continuous approach to learning blended with increased risk taking and greater employee empowerment. This is measured through rewarding individuals and teams that can demonstrate they’ve significantly increased customer engagement and release frequency, and are constantly learning from recent failures.

9. BROADCAST CHANGE TO ALL

The drive and determination for transformational success must originate from the top of the organisation. C-suite members must be prepared to become the voice of the program, constantly weaving the purpose and benefits of the program into a clear and repeated message and ensure no single department or individual is overlooked or left behind.

10. MAKE IT AN AUTONOMOUS PROGRAM

Agile transformations require substantial investment and commitment as they require structural, leadership, working practices and business execution changes. Organisations must not attempt to introduce Agile via the backdoor attaching it to a large-scale IT project implementation. Success requires the forming of a dedicated agile transformation team with the autonomy, cross discipline and clear goals to be successful.