We’ve talked about how to introduce Agile concepts to a Waterfall organization in the past. Sprints, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives are all part of your team’s lexicon, and you’ve seen the benefits of Agile firsthand. You and your colleagues now want more, and you’re ready to take the plunge.
I’ll address your query in this blog if you’re wondering, “How can we become a totally Agile company?” But first, let’s define Transformation and determine whether Transformation is what you’re looking for.
Transformation vs Adoption
When you adopt a change, you gradually expose it to the many teams that make up an organization. You progressively create momentum as more teams embrace Agile techniques by introducing them to one or a few teams at a time. The entire organization gradually becomes Agile, incorporating structural modifications along the way.
Agile Adoption usually takes a significant amount of time
The length of time is proportional to the size of your company. The larger your company, the longer it will take to enlist everyone’s support. Adoption is sometimes the greatest initial step for a large corporation. You’ve already adopted Agile methods if you’ve gradually introduced Agile methodologies to your organization.
Agile Transformation is a different beast
The Big Bang Theory of how the cosmos came to be is the finest analogy. Transformation, like the Big Bang Theory, affects the entire business in a big way. This sweep ushers in major structural changes that open up a slew of new possibilities while also forcing everyone out of their comfort zones (which is a very good thing).
The term “agile transformation” refers to a situation in which a company switches from waterfall to Agile overnight. Every team in the organization, from the lowest to the highest levels, is affected by the shift. Teams and procedures must quickly learn to function in the new context. This type of change can be surprising and shocking: some teams will find an immediate gain in productivity and wonder why they didn’t embrace Agile sooner, while others will experience initial setbacks as the change causes them more grief than they expected.
Transformation needs to be carefully planned
Despite the negative connotation that the word “planning” carries, it’s critical to recognize that any company, large or small, must prepare for the impact that significant changes will have. It is difficult to anticipate everything that could go wrong when undergoing transformation; nonetheless, appropriate preparation is possible.
Why is preparation necessary?
Of course, we’ll go about our business as usual. Your clients don’t care if Transformation provides them with more benefits sooner than in the past. They want to be able to go into your app and go about their business as usual. Your regulators expect you to follow rules and regulations to the letter and spirit at all times. If you want to stay in business, you must pay your suppliers.
As a result, transformation must be a well-considered decision. You’ll need to start preparing and mitigating the risks associated as soon as possible, with enough redundancy built in. It is possible to achieve Agile Transformation if all key stakeholders in your organization are on board and working together.
The advantages of Agile transformation are incalculable.
- You guessed it: your company will become more agile.
- Productivity and delivery will improve immediately, and items and services will be delivered to clients in significantly less time.
- It will be substantially easier and faster to introduce new goods or transform existing ones.
- You’ll be able to provide more product cycles every year, allowing you to stay relevant in the minds of your customers.
I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea.
It’s excellent for you, your team, and your organization, whether you pick Agile Adoption or Agile Transformation. However, transformation will enable the organization to realize the benefits of Agile more quickly and thoroughly.
Whatever path you choose – transformation or adoption – you must first analyze five key factors that influence the level of success you can accomplish.
#1 Training
Any change necessitates some training for those who are affected. Training familiarizes everyone with the change on a conceptual level, allowing them to put it into action. Agile is no exception.
As a result, Agile Transformation requires training. What’s the best way to go about it?
Agile training, according to conventional opinion, should be just that: agile. Let’s take a closer look at the science behind it.
Classroom Training
It’s tempting to dismiss classroom training as being out of step with agile. The classroom, on the other hand, has its place. Internalization of learning will be accelerated and results will be greatly improved with a training strategy that ensures everyone receives enough classroom training and intersperses classroom sessions with real-life project work and hands-on coaching.
Begin with Train the Trainer sessions, which will discover Agile champions inside each organization. Make sure they’re up to speed on the fundamentals of Agile.
Examine the numbers: is it more cost-effective to outsource training or to train Agile champions/coaches in-house? Training is a significant investment for larger companies, so pick a solution that works for you.
Members of a project team should ideally attend training together, launching new projects at the same time. This is an example of a training calendar:
Day 1:
- Agile practices are introduced (3 hours)
- Project Initiation in the Real World, facilitated by Agile Coaches and Mentors (4 hours)
Day 2:
- Concepts of Product Backlog and Agile Requirements are introduced (3 hours)
- On the first day of the project, the Product Backlog was defined (4 hours)
Day 3:
- Overview of the Release and Sprint Backlogs, as well as Planning (2 hours)
- The project’s release and sprint planning began on Day 1. (5 hours)
It’s important to note that the goal is to present crucial concepts while also providing enough real-world project work to assist students internalize them.
#2 Continuous Learning and Improvement
Period. Recruit Agile Coaches.
Okay, it’s not that straightforward. Agile Coaches have extensive expertise and experience in Agile processes and can provide day-to-day mentoring to teams.
Incorporate Agile coaches within the delivery teams of the organization, with each coach often facilitating numerous scrum teams. Your training expenditures can be reduced by having coaches oversee various teams and providing professional instruction. This makes it easier to incorporate training into day-to-day operations, allowing for continuous learning and quick real-world application.
Because the Agile Coach industry is mature, finding one for your team should be simple. Consider turning in-house champions into coaches in the long run.
#3 Commitment
Agile has had enough time to amass a collection of success tales. And failures, no matter how difficult they are to acknowledge. It’s not simple to commit to Agile Transformation, especially if you’re not a startup or a tiny business. You’ll also realize that keeping to your promise isn’t always easy.
Transformation entails letting go of long-held habits, routines, and processes, no matter how comfortable, necessary, or important they may appear. There is no process, in my opinion, that cannot be improved. You must eliminate the vestiges of Waterfall processes that still cling to your organization’s windows, corridors, and ceilings. Where it is a requirement.
Slow down delivery (lower targets) for the first several months across the company. This will enable teams to adapt to new methods of working while maintaining high quality standards. Examine each scrum team’s velocity on a scrum-by-scrum basis, allowing them to gradually take on more as they gain experience with Agile delivery.
During the first few months, as everyone gets used to Agile, productivity may suffer. However, at the conclusion of a quarter, your organization’s total velocity should be on the rise — and it will only grow better. After a couple of quarters, Agile Delivery should comfortably overtake Waterfall Performance.
#4 Structural Changes
Positive disruption is generated by good transformation. Disruption implies displacement to some extent.
Consider an IT business that divides its delivery teams into channels (mobile, browser, and telephony), CRM, and core verticals (we’ll disregard other teams for now). Any update to a product necessitates the implementation of three more changes: channels, CRM, and core. Each team has its own set of processes and procedures, as well as diverse approaches to demand and supply management. In this situation, agile transformation could entail reorganizing delivery teams from silos into several self-contained scrum teams capable of delivering all channels, CRM, and core work required, as well as giving each scrum team the capacity to complete a project from start to finish.
The entire organization will benefit from standard processes, procedures, and demand and supply management strategies as a result of this change. It will also mean that people at all levels will find themselves doing things differently, or doing nothing at all. For example, one of my IT coworkers once reported to a boss who only had one direct report — guess who? The boss, of course, represented an unneeded layer that needed to be weeded out when change occurred.
It is not the end of the road for people who have nothing to do; we must find them meaningful roles in the new order. Having nothing to do at the conclusion of a change often means you’re ready for something completely new and interesting — many individuals have found difficult, gratifying, and fulfilling professions at crossroads like these.
#5 Re-draw your planning efforts
Monolithic organizations do their annual planning and prioritization well in advance of the start of the year, leaving little room for unforeseen possibilities or issues. I have yet to see a strategy that has met more than half of its original objectives. Switching to Agile planning processes can save a significant amount of time and money spent on planning.
For example, you may have quarterly high-level planning cycles that define the organization’s top X priorities, with required projects immediately starting scrums. Quarterly cycles, when done correctly, should produce quarterly (or close to quarterly) outcomes. This is especially useful for digital businesses whose industrial landscape is continuously changing. Monthly reviews can be used to supplement quarterly cycles. Reporting and evaluations may be nearly entirely automated with the correct tool set, thus eliminating spreadsheet management as we know it.
#6 Communication and culture
Almost completely eliminate email. I occurred to ask how much time his developers spent actually working when I was assisting a senior leader in an IT organisation with 10000+ people increase his department’s productivity. We installed a program on a group of developers’ computers that monitored where they spent the most time. To everyone’s surprise, we learned that developers spent an average of 80% of their time on email! By simply prohibiting any developer from discussing their project over email, we increased productivity by fourfold. Instead, they started utilizing Agile boards to discuss and log, establishing a collection of important, cross-referenced artefacts in the process.
Encourage open communication among teams — nothing should be off-limits to everyone on the team, and any confidential discussions should be done through alternate channels, such as email, rather than the other way around. Slack is an excellent example of a team communication application that promotes open collaboration.
Build Agile rituals into everyone’s work routines and lexicon, such as the daily stand-up or scrum meeting, sprint planning, and so on. Forget about “townhalls” and “team meetings.”
#7 Choosing the right tools
Always evaluate your company’s culture and tolerance for such a large step change, as well as your line of business, customers, and regulatory environment while making an Agile Transformation decision. To summaries, when transitioning your corporate culture from Waterfall (Plan-driven) to Agile (Results-driven) development, there are five key things to consider:
- Training,
- Commitment,
- Changes in Structure,
- Culture and Communication, and
- Set up the right tools.
Working through these factors will help you determine whether Agile Adoption or Transformation is the best option for your team’s success. Remember, no matter which choice you choose, you will perform better than you already are. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get ready for the winds of change to blow!
For more info: https://www.qaaas.co.uk/testing-services/
Also Read: https://www.guru99.com/software-testing.html