Applying first principles to Agile initiatives can help large organizations overcome some of the challenges they face when trying to adopt Agile methodologies. By understanding the underlying philosophy of Agile, establishing the 'why' before the 'how', valuing interactions over processes, empowering teams, and embracing change, organizations can set the stage for a successful Agile transformation. This approach fosters an environment that is more receptive to Agile methodologies and enables teams to adapt and innovate in the face of complexity and change.
Applying first principles to Agile initiatives can help large organizations overcome some of the challenges they face when trying to adopt Agile methodologies. By understanding the underlying philosophy of Agile, establishing the 'why' before the 'how', valuing interactions over processes, empowering teams, and embracing change, organizations can set the stage for a successful Agile transformation. This approach fosters an environment that is more receptive to Agile methodologies and enables teams to adapt and innovate in the face of complexity and change.
Three of the Scrum teams needed a replacement Scrum Master due to unforeseen medical circumstances. These teams were in the middle of a SAFe transformation with a culture of job-loss related fear. The client was also utilizing testing component type teams even further demoralizing the mindset of the developers on all three teams.
The telecom company had recently acquired a cable TV service provider. The methodology was waterfall with silos and very formal communication. The project had ambitious goals for time to market and product features. Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) was chosen.
Shortly after completing their Agile transition, a large project with impacts to every business-critical application was initiated. This meant they had to scale adopting the SAFe framework but were struggling to implement such a large amount of change. Teams were change-saturated and struggling with mixed messages, leading to under-performance. Business executives were excited about the flexibility Agile development promised, but were not ready to give up certainty they felt they had with Waterfall metrics.
Ascension Health was breaking into the Robotics Processing Automation (RPA) world with six teams. They were using a traditional planning method to implement the changes. The technology and processes were changing so fast that it caused a delay in overall delivery. The challenge was to introduce Agile, increase delivery, initiate the transformation, continually coach, and adjust to RPA processes at the same time.
New Management Services (NMS), a financial services company located in Jacksonville, was struggling with slow delivery speed and a lack of clear direction on what should be delivered and why. Their teams and leadership were experiencing a high number of dependencies across specialized teams, a lack of vision, unclear team responsibilities, and poor communication channels.
South State Bank, South Carolina’s largest bank with over $15.7 billion in assets, was experiencing issues with prioritizing changes, allocating resources and utilizing their internal IT teams which led to slow delivery times and significant communication gaps with respect to organizational and project changes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way we work and live, and its potential applications are vast. In the Lean Agile domain, AI can be particularly powerful, helping organizations to streamline their processes, improve their efficiency, and make data-driven decisions.
Business Agility is today a term that is fast becoming the need of the hour to survive in the disruptions caused by technology like broadband or natural like pandemic!
Now we all know a lot about why we need Business Agility but what is not well understood is the success of agility goes beyond strategy and is heavily dependent on execution at all levels.
