Keystone Habits of Organizational Agility

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"Keystone Habits of Organizational Agility"

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Presented by:

Ahmed Sidky Sidky Consulting Group

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Ahmed Sidky SCG Inc.

Ahmed Sidky, aka Dr. Agile, combines more than fifteen years of software development experience with research from his Ph.D. in agile transformation and agility assessment to guide enterprise agile transformations in Fortune 100 companies. Ahmed helps small to medium companies worldwide realize sustainable organizational agility and educates people—CEOs to developers—on the agile mindset and creating lean high-performing teams. The principal consultant at SCG Inc. and co-author of Becoming Agile in an Imperfect World, Ahmed consults, teaches, and writes. He co-founded the International Consortium for Agile, sat on the steering committee for the creation of the PMI-ACP® certification, and is a frequent speaker at agile conferences worldwide.

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Keystone Habits of Organizational Agility

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An Interactive Tutorial lead by

Ahmed Sidky, Ph.D.

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Tutorial Contents 01! Ahmed Sidky, Ph.D. .......................................................................................................... 3!02! What is Organizational Agility ............................................................................. 4!03! How we build Stuff? ................................................................................................... 6!04! Knowledge Work ....................................................................................................... 10!05! The Agile Mindset ..................................................................................................... 13!06! Definition of Agile ..................................................................................................... 19!07! How do we learn to be Agile? .......................................................................... 23!08! The Organizational Ecosystem ............................................................................ 26!09! Cultural Alignment: the Key to Sustainable Transformations ........ 32!10! Common Transformational Approaches ......................................................... 36!11! Culture-Led Transformation ................................................................................ 41!12! Habits ................................................................................................................................ 46!13! Learning and Education .......................................................................................... 50!14! An Agile Transformation Roadmap .................................................................. 55!15! Measurements ................................................................................................................. 61!16! The Agile Tree Analogy ........................................................................................... 64!17! Good Reads ...................................................................................................................... 66!

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01 Ahmed Sidky, Ph.D.

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Dr.$Ahmed$Sidky,!also!known!as!Doctor!Agile,!is!a!well2known!thought2leader!in!the!Agile!community.!Ahmed!combines!over!fifteen!years!of!software!development!experience,!with!research!from!his!Ph.D.!in!Agile!transformation!and!agility!assessment!to!help!leaders!and!knowledge!workers!achieve!measurable!and!sustainable!organizational!agility!by!being!Agile!not!just!doing!Agile.!Dr.!Sidky!guides!enterprise!agile!transformations!in!Fortune!100!companies!as!well!as!small!to!medium!companies,!and!educates!people!on!the!agile!mindset!and!how!to!create!lean!high!performing!teams,!starting!from!CEOs!to!junior!developers!in!companies!around!the!world!such!as:!Microsoft,!Yahoo,!IBM,!Siemens,!Blackboard,!Verizon!Wireless,!Caterpillar,!ITWorx,!Oracle,!Nationwide!Insurance,!ConAgra,!Riot!Games,!Cisco,!Raytheon,!Booz!Allen!Hamilton,!Vodafone,!and!several!agencies!in!the!US!Government.!As!the!principal!Consultant!at!SCG!Inc.,!he!divides!his!time!between!consulting,!teaching,!and!writing.!Ahmed!is!the!co2author!of!a!top2rated!Agile!adoption!book;!“Becoming!Agile!in!an!Imperfect!World.”!Ahmed!co2founded!the!International!Consortium!for!Agile!and!sat!on!the!steering!committee!for!the!creation!of!the!PMI2ACP®!certification!and!was!the!program!chair!for!the!Agile!2009!conference.!He!has!been!an!invited!speaker!at!numerous!Agile!Conferences!around!the!world.!!

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[email protected]!

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02 What is Organizational Agility

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Many!leaders!are!increasingly!feeling!overwhelmed!by!the!pace!of!change!and!are!being!constantly!challenged!to!understand!the!causes!of!major!disruptions!in!the!marketplace!and!in!their!organizations.!The!rate!of!change!will!only!increase!as!their!organizations!and!their!marketplaces!become!more!networked!and!technology!continues!to!advance.!In!light!of!this!organizational!agility!is!the!ability!of!the!organization!and!its!leaders!to!respond!in!a!healthy!and!disciplined!manner!to!the!constant!change!on!disruptions.!

For!purposes!of!this!tutorial!we!would!like!to!define!organizational!agility!as:!

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At!the!heart!of!the!concept!and!definition!of!organizational!agility!is!the!idea!that!agility!is!a!culture.!That!understanding!is!critical!to!truly!understanding!the!motivation!or!“Why”!behind!having!organizational!agility.!The!first!section!of!the!tutorial!will!focus!on!the!idea!of!agility!being!a!culture!not!a!process.!The!second!component!is!how!this!culture!of!agility!can!be!supported!and!realized.!In!that!section!we!will!discuss!in!detail!the!idea!of!the!Organizational!Ecosystem!and!how!the!transformation!process!to!agility!occurs.!The!last!component!of!the!definition!is!the!way!by!which!agility!is!manifested!in!organizations!and!there!we!will!discuss!in!greater!detail!the!concept!of!organizational!habits!and!especially!keystone!habits.!!

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Organizational! Agility! is! a! culture!based!on!the!values'and'principles'of! Agile,! supported! by! the!organizational' ecosystem'(Leadership,! Strategy,! Structure,!Processes! and! People)' and!manifested! through! personal' and'organizational' habits' (how% work%really%gets%done%in%the%organization).'

Why$ How$ What$Habits$Ecosystem$Culture$

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03 How we build Stuff?

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PART 1: AGILITY AS A CULTURE – THE “WHY”

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!Without!diving!into!specific!agile!or!traditional!processes,!we!would!like!to!take!an!even!larger!look!at!the!thought*process-of!how!we,!as!people,!think!about!building!“stuff.”!!!

1 . An Idea Building!anything!usually!starts!with!someone!that!has!an!idea!or!a!need!that!they!are!trying!to!fulfill.!

2. Design / Explore Usually!the!idea!the!person!has!is!not!complete!or!needs!to!be!refined!before!it!is!formulated!into!a!final!outcome.!So!we!usually!enter!into!a!phase!of!designing!and!exploring.!In!this!phase!we!start!to!explore!what!are!the!possibilities!for!this!idea,!we!start!to!look!at!variations!and!we!start!to!decide!what!it!is!exactly!that!we!are!trying!to!build!

3. Define Outcome The!output!of!this!designing!and!exploring!phase!is!usually!to!define!exactly!what!the!outcome!is!that!we!will!be!building.!The!hope!is!that!we!engaged!the!customer!during!the!design!and!explore!phase!and!that!this!outcome!is!representative!of!what!the!actual!needs!of!the!customer!are.!

Idea% Plan%/%Procure%

Do%Work%(Execute%/%Implement)%%%to%produce%desired%outcome%

Design%/%Explore%

Get%Outcome% Get%Reward%

Define%Outcome%%(what%the%customer%actually%needs)%

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4. Plan/Procure After!the!outcome!has!been!defined!and!decided!on,!next!comes!the!planning.!So!the!big!question!we!are!trying!to!answer!in!this!phase!is!how!do!we!build!the!outcome!we!just!decided!on.!So!we!start!to!identify!all!the!tasks!and!activities!needed!to!build!the!outcome.!We!also!identify!what!are!the!components!that!need!to!be!procured!or!purchased.!We!look!into!estimates!of!time!and!money!and!we!decide!how!many!resources!we!will!have!or!need!to!build!the!product.!!

5. Do the Work Once!we!have!completed!the!planning,!the!next!step!is!to!start!the!real!work.!So!what!ever!needs!to!be!procured!is!procured,!the!resources!needed!for!the!project!are!recruited!and!work!starts!according!to!the!plan!that!was!developed.!Managers!closely!supervise!workers!to!make!sure!that!they!are!doing!the!tasks!assigned!to!them!correctly!and!according!to!the!plan.!!

6. Get Outcome The!assumption!is!that!if!all!the!workers!do!their!jobs!correctly!and!according!to!plan,!then!(assuming!the!planning!phase!was!done!correctly)!everything!will!fall!into!place!and!we!will!have!the!product!on!time!and!within!budget!

7. Get Reward Once!the!outcome!is!received!the!workers!and!managers!get!their!rewards!for!a!job!well!done.!!

Challenges with this thought-process to building “stuff” Keep!in!mind!these!overall!steps!of!building!things.!As!you!can!see!this!is!obviously!an!over!simplification!of!various!processed!for!product!development.!However!what!we!are!trying!to!illustrate!is!the!thought!process.!This!thought!process!is!very!natural!and!what!most!people!are!used!to.!The!challenges!we!are!facing!in!our!jobs!today!also!stem!from!this!thought!process!because!of!the!following!challenges!

1. The!thought!process!is!liner!and!most!of!the!work!we!do!can!no!longer!we!done!in!a!linear!fashion!

2. There!is!a!fundamental!assumption!in!this!thoughtZprocess,!which!is!that!the!outcome!is!“knowable”!in!advance.!The!assumption!is!that!if!we!do!a!good!thorough!job!during!the!design!and!explore!phase,!then!we!can!accurately!identify!the!desired!outcome.!Is!every!outcome!“knowable!in!advance?”!

3. The!planning!and!procurement!phase!usually!focuses!on!creating!work!breakdown!structures!and!identifying!“things!that!need!to!purchased!to!finish!the!job.!However,!in!the!knowledge!era!we!work!in!today,!can!

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everything!be!planned!in!advance,!what!if!there!is!nothing!to!be!purchased?!What!is!all!the!elements!needed!to!finish!the!product!were!knowledge!and!elements?!How!does!that!change!the!planning?!Even!if!you!can!plan!these!tings!upfront,!what!is!the!anticipated!rate!of!change,!if!the!project!doesn’t!require!expensive!tangible!components,!but!it!is!mostly!based!on!“knowledge!work”!–!how!does!that!change!the!planning!and!procurement!activities.!!

4. The!execution!approach!to!most!work!today!is!based!on!a!coordination!and!control!approach.!While!that!approach!works!in!manufacturing!domains,!assembly!lines!and!task!work,!most!of!us!today!work!in!the!“knowledge!work”!space.!How!can!we!coordinate!and!control!the!thinking!process!of!the!developers,!testers,!customers!and!everyone!else!needed!to!complete!the!outcome.!The!nature!of!our!work!has!changed!from!physical!task!work!to!intangible!knowledge!work,!yet!way!we!manage!the!execution!of!work!has!not.!!

The!graphic!below!is!a!summary!of!what!we!believe!of!three!critical!factors!that!are!changing!the!way!we!build!stuff.!The!degree!of!agility!needed!depends!on!where!in!the!spectrum!one!lies!with!regard!to!these!three!factors.!

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Defined&Process&to&realize&outcome&

Empirical&Process&&to&realize&outcome&

Outcome&based&on&tangible&&&physical&components&

Outcome&based&on&intangible,&&thoughts,&and&knowledge&

Exact&outcome&is&&knowable&in&advance&

Exact&outcome&is&&not&knowable&in&advance&

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04 Knowledge Work


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Knowledge!workers!are!employees!who!have!a!deep!background!in!education!and!experience!and!are!considered!people!who!"think!for!a!living."!They!include!doctors,!lawyers,!software!developers,!engineers,!teachers,!nurses,!financial!analysts!and!architects.!As!businesses!increase!their!dependence!on!information!technology,!the!number!of!fields!in!which!knowledge!workers!must!operate!has!expanded!dramatically.!

What!differentiates!knowledge!work!from!other!forms!of!work!is!its!primary!task!of!"nonZroutine"!problem!solving!that!requires!a!combination!of!convergent,!divergent,!and!creative!thinking.!On!average,!knowledge!workers!spend!38%!of!their!time!searching!for!information.!!

Even!though!they!sometimes!are!called!"gold!collars,"!because!of!their!high!salaries,!as!well!as!because!of!their!relative!independence!in!controlling!the!process!of!their!own!work,!current!research!shows!that!they!are!also!more!prone!to!burnout.!!

To what degree can you coordinate and control all the “players” needed to develop the outcome? The!traditional!planZbased!approach!isn’t!flawed!in!and!of!itself;!it!just!isn’t!suitable!for!today’s!software!industry.!In!the!construction!industry,!the!planZbased!approach!is!suitable:!the!blueprints,!which!are!the!requirements,!are!fixed!and!probably!won’t!change!while!the!building!is!being!built.!You!can!estimate!how!long!it!will!take!to!build!the!steel!pillars,!pour!the!concrete,!and!so!forth.!The!reason!why!the!traditional!planZbased!approach!is!suitable!for!the!construction!industry!but!not!for!the!software!industry!comes!back!to!the!difference!in!the!way!we!control!empirical!systems!(like!software!development)!and!the!way!we!control!defined!systems!(like!construction!or!manufacturing).$There!are!two!major!approaches!to!controlling!any!process:!

• The!defined!process!control!model.!• The!empirical!process!control!model.!

The!defined!process!control!model!requires!that!every!piece!of!work!be!completely!understood.!Given!a!wellZdefined!set!of!inputs,!the!same!outputs!are!generated!every!time.!A!defined!process!can!be!started!and!allowed!to!run!until!completion,!with!the!same!results!every!time.!The-defined-process-control-model-provides-and-exercises-control-through-planning,'coordination'and'control.--The!defined!process!control!model!is!usually!suitable!when!

• No!creativity!or!“new!thought”!is!needed!during!execution!

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• Mostly!“predictable”!actors!that!you!can!coordinate!and!control!• It!is!possible!to!identify,!define,!schedule,!and!order!all!the!detailed!activities.!

The!empirical!process!control!model!is!suitable!for!processes!that!are!imperfectly%defined!and!generate!unpredictable%and%unrepeatable%outputs.%An!empirical!process!can!not!be!rehearsed!but!will!provide!a!great!deal!of!learning,!experience!and!discovery!which!may!or!may!not!be!relevant!to!the!next!time!the!process!is!executed.!The-empirical-process-control-model-provides-and-exercises-control-through-frequent'inspection'and'adaptation.-The!empirical!process!control!model!is!suitable!when!

• Creativity!and!“new!thought”!is!needed!during!execution.!!• Mostly!of!“unpredictable”!actors!that!you!can!not!coordinate!or!control!• Execution!can!not!be!planned!in!detailed!but!rather!by!inspect!and!adapt!!

For!many!years!the!majority!of!people!involved!in!software!development!have!based!the!control!model!on!the!defined!process.!But!software!development!isn’t!a!process!that!generates!the!same!output!every!time!given!a!certain!input.!It!is!a!creative!process.!Agile!software!development!is!based!on!the!empirical!process!control!model!of!inspect-and-adapt.!

The!more!defined,!less!creative!and!less!dynamic!processes!are!conducive!to!the!“Coordination!and!control”!style.!Think!of!construction!or!manufacturing.!This!style!fits!and!works!well!in!those!environments.!

On!the!other!hand,!knowledge!work,!or!inherently!creative!empirical!processes!work!much!better!with!an!“Inspect!and!Adapt”!management!approach.!Encourage!learning!and!shorter!cycle!time!to!incorporate!feedback!quickly!for!continuous!improvement!and!delivery!of!value.!!

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05 The Agile Mindset


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Dr.!Carol!Dweck!is!a!worldZrenowned!professor!and!researcher!about!how!people!think.!Her!book!“Mindset:%The%New%Psychology%of%Success”%highlights!the!two!different!mindsets!people!have!–!the!fixed!mindset!and!the!growth!mindset.!!!

The!fixed!mindset!believes!that!their![Intelligence,-Personality,-Character]-is!lockedZdown!or!fixed.!Their!potential!is!determined!at!birth.!It!doesn’t!change.!

The!growth!mindset!believes!that!their![Intelligence,-Personality,-Character]!can!be!continuously!developed.!Their!true!potential!is!unknown!and!unknowable.!

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Growth'Mindset'Ability can grow!Develop Ability!

Leads to a desire to learn!

Fixed'Mindset'Ability is inherent and static!

Demonstrate Ability!

Leads to a desire to look

good/smart!

Looking!good!and!avoiding!challenges!and!obstacles!because!it!is!a!risk!for!failure!and!will!make!

them!look!bad.!!

Desire!to!avoid!failure!and!look!smart!in!every!situation!and!prove!

myself.!

Stick!to!what!they!know!and!can!do!and!as!a!result!achieve!less!than!

their!full!potential.!!

Feedback!and!criticism!is!personal!as!it!impacts!selfZimage.!

They!don’t!change!or!improve!much!with!time,!if!at!all,!and!so!to!them!this!confirms!that!“they!are!

as!they!are”.!!

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Embracing!challenges!because!they!will!learn!something!new!or!they!will!fail!and!that!is!an!opportunity!to!learn!also.!

Desire!continuous!learning.!Confront!uncertainties.!!

Not!afraid!to!put!lots!of!effort!to!learn!and!master!something!new!!

Feedback!and!criticism!is!not!about!them!but!about!current!capabilities!!!

View!feedback!as!a!source!of!new!information!that!encourages!them!to!keep!learning!and!improving.!

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People!can!have!a!fixed!mindset!about!their!intelligence!and!a!growth!mindset!about!their!character.!So!they!believe!that!their!intelligence!is!fixed!and!can’t!change!regardless!of!the!effort!they!may!put!into!improving!their!intelligence!but!they!also!believe!that!their!character!can!change!if!they!put!effort!into!changing!it.!So!relating!this!back!to!the!world!of!work.!!

We!see!that!some!people!have!a!fixed!mindset!(an!assembly!line!way!of!thinking)!when!it!comes!to!work.!They!believe!that!their!work!should!be!defined!upfront!or!fixed!so!that!they!can!do!the!work!and!succeed.!They!believe!that!requirements!are!determined!at!the!start!and!that!they!shouldn’t-change.!They!are!threatened!when!the!requirements!change!because!it!put!them!in!risk!that!they!may!not!succeed.!As!we!know!a!fixed!mindset!person!wants!to!always!look!good!and!avoid!failure!therefore!they!strive!to!fix!things!upfront!and!resists!any!changes!that!come!about!during!the!work.!The!usually!stick!to!what!they!know!and!don’t!welcome!new!things!because!it!puts!them!at!risk.!Also!any!feedback!and!criticism!about!them!or!their!team!is!not!welcomed.!Since!feedback!impacts!selfZimage,!it!is!commonly!met!with!defensiveness!or!blame!for!other!people,!teams!or!circumstances!beyond!the!team’s!control.!!

On!the!other!hand,!the!growth!mindset!looks!at!work!in!a!nonZlinear!manner!(knowledge!worker!rather!than!assembly!line!worker).!They!believe!that!we!continuously!learn!about!the!work!that!we!do!as-we-do-it!not!only!upfront.!The!understand!that!work!can!be!continuously!developed!and!that!true!detailed!requirements!are!unknown!and!unknowable!upfront.!While!customers!have!an!idea!of!what!they!want!they!can’t!know!everything!about!what!they!want!upfront.!!They!understand!that!knowledge!work!evolves!as!people!see!the!output.!New!ideas!and!discoveries!are!integral!to!work!and!that!there!is!no!way!to!determine!those!discoveries!upfront!before!any!work!is!done.!They!believe!that!customer!have!a!highZlevel!idea!of!what!they!want!at!the!start!and!they!will!continue!to!evolve!what!they!want!as!they!see!it!being!developed.!!

People!that!have!the!growth!mindset!related!to!work!is!what!we!call!the!Agile-Mindset.!The!Agile!mindset!approaches!work!with!an!attitude!of!continuous!learning!and!discovery.!They!acknowledge!that!there!is!a!lot!of!uncertainty!at!the!beginning!of!a!project!and!they!understand!that!the!uncertainty!cannot!be!addressed!by!fixing!things!upfront!but!rather!by!rapid!cycles!of!building!something!and!getting!feedback!on!it.!!Because!they!understand!there!is!continuous!learning!they!expect!and!welcome!change!because!change!is!an!indication!that!something!new!has!been!learnt!or!discovered.!The!welcome!change!and!feedback!and!seek!it.!The!are!not!afraid!of!how!they!look!if!they!don’t!get!something!right!from!the!first!time!because!they!believe!that!they!will!learn!with!mistakes!and!failures!and!they!also!understand!that!regardless!of!how!much!effort!you!put!upfront,!the!customer!will!know!what!they!want!when!they!see!it!so!there!is!no!fear!to!make!mistakes.!The!embrace!the!collaboration!and!learning!that!is!happening!on!their!side!as!well!as!the!customer’s!side.!!

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In!summary,!whether!people!have!a!fixed!mindset!or!an!agile!mindset,!they!both!want!to!reduce!the!level!of!uncertainty!in!their!projects;!the!difference!is!how!they!reduce!the!uncertainty.!The!fixed!mindset!will!reduce!uncertainty!by!“fixing”!things!and!freezing!it.!The!Agile!mindset!(or!growth!mindset)!reduces!uncertainty!by!learning!quickly!and!inspecting!and!adapting.!!

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Growth'Mindset'Ability can grow!Develop Ability!

Leads to a desire to learn!

Fixed'Mindset'Ability is inherent and static!

Demonstrate Ability!

Leads to a desire to look

good/smart!

Reducing!uncertainty!by!“nailing!things!down.”!and!“fixing”!them!

Looking!to!fix!and!confirm!things.!!

Aims!to!be!successful!by!looking'good'and'delivering'planned'

results'as'defined'upfront!

Wants!to!reduce!uncertainty!by!asking!the!“customer”!to!confirm!exactly!what!they!want!(change!is!

not!desired)!

Wants!to!reduce!uncertainty!by!confirming-that!“developers”!

know!exactly!how!to!build!it!(and!learning!is!not!encouraged)!

Assumes!and!hopes!that!nothing!will!change!along!the!way!

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Reducing!uncertainty!by!discovering!and!learning.!

Looking!to!learn!and!discover!in!the!most!efficient!way!possible.!!

Aims!to!be!successful!by!learning'and'delivering'desired'results'as'the'evolve!

Wants!to!reduce!uncertainty!by!allowing!the!“customer”!to!learn!and!discover!what!they!want!when!they!see!it!and!experience!it.!(Change!is!welcome)!

Wants!to!reduce!uncertainty!by!allowing!the!“developers”!to!discover!how!to!build!it!when!they!build!it!(learning!is!encouraged)!

Fixed-Mindset-

Assembly!Line!Mentality!!

Work!is!defined!upfront!and!shouldn’t!change!

Agile-Mindset-

Knowledge!Work!Mentality!!Work!evolves!as!work!is!executed!

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Iterations with an Agile Mindset verses a Fixed Mindset This!picture!below!shows!how!a!practice!like!iterations!can!be!used!with!a!fixed!mindset!or!an!agile!mindset!and!yields!a!different!approach!to!development.!With!the!fixed!mindset!(top!row),!the!fundamental!premise!is!that!I!need!to!know!what!the!customer!wants!in!order!to!start!on!the!first!iteration.!In!the!topZrow,!the!purpose!of!the!iterations!is!not!to!learn!and!discover!what!the!customer!wants,!its!more!or!less!to!“phase”!the!delivery!and!get!“some!feedback”!about!what!the!customer!“confirmed”!that!they!wanted.!Moreover!the!process!of!discovery!and!learning!is!not!as!efficient!as!it!could!be!because!the!development!team!is!not!getting!the!maximum!amount!of!feedback!they!can!get!from!the!process,!they!are!getting!modular!or!siloed!feedback!(piece!by!piece)!not!feedback!that!is!based!on!the!customer!experiencing!the!product!endZtoZend.!The!top!row!exemplifies!what!liner!thinking!looks!like.!

!The!bottom!row!shows!how!iterations!can!be!used!using!an!Agile!mindset!to!truly!discover!what!the!customer!wants!by!using!a!circular!way!of!thinking!and!by!building!slices!of!the!system!with-the-intent!of!allowing!the!customer!to!learn!and!discover!what!they!want!when!they!see!it!and!experience!it.!The!Agile!mindset!does!not!have!to!“lockZdown”!what!the!customer!wants!before!they!get!started,!on!the!

Fixed&Mindset&approach'to'delivery'(Assembly'Line)'

Growth&Mindset&approach'to'delivery'(Knowledge'Work)'

Must&“nail&down”&the&output&in&order&to&start&delivery&(Liner&Thinking)&

Discover&and&learn&through&valuable&output&and&welcoming&change&(Circular&Thinking&–&IKIWISI)&

! 18!

contrary,!they!recognize!that!the!customer!needs!to!“see!and!experience”!something!to!learn!and!discover!what!they!actually!want.!

!The!aims!of!the!2!approaches!are!different!even!though!both!are!using!iterations.!The!bottom!row!provides!higher!efficiency!during!discovery!since!the!customer!is!seeing!an!endZtoZend!slice!of!the!system!which!would!inZturn!allow!the!customer!to!give!more!feedback.!!

! 19!

06 Definition of Agile


! 20!

!

Many!people!may!think!that!Agile!is!just!another!software!development!process.!Although!that!is!true!to!a!degree,!there!is!a!lot!more!to!Agile!than!just!a!process!or!just!a!set!of!practices.!Agile!(or!agility)!is!more!of!a!mindset—a!way!of!thinking,!not!just!about!software!development,!but!in!general!about!work.!We!like!to!define!Agile!as!the!following:!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

The!above!illustration!is!a!simple!visual!of!how!the!elements!of!our!definition!of!Agile!relate!together.!!It!starts!with!the!mindset.!This!mindset!is!the!Agile!mindset!we!discussed!earlier!and!can!be!summarized!by!the!following!points!

• Welcome!Change!• !Failing!Early!• !Build!and!Feedback!loops!!!• !Continuous!Delivery!!• !ValueZDriven!Development!!

Agile&is&a&mindset&

Established+through+4+values+

[that+in+so4ware+world+is]+

Grounded+by+12+principles,+&+

Manifested+through+many+many+different+pracCces++

! 21!

• !Small!valueZadd!slices!• !Learn!through!Discovery!• !Continuous!Improvement!!

!As!depicted!the!illustration!below,!the!mindset!can!be!applied!to!any!domain!or!industry.!However!since!the!term!Agile!started!in!the!software!industry,!this!mindset!was!defined!through!4!values!and!12!principles!(which!are!the!Agile!Manifesto).!The!interesting!thing!is!that!most!people!think!of!Agile!not!in!terms!of!Mindset,!value!and!principles!but!rather!in!terms!of!practices.!Since!they!are!the!visible!manifestation!of!the!mindset,!values!and!principles.!We!encourage!people!to!make!a!clear!distinction!that!Agile!is!really!just!the!mindset,!values!and!principles!not!a!specific!set!of!practices.!Actually!it!is!important!to!understand!that!teams!and!organization!may!need!to!change!or!create!new!practices!to!make!sure!they!manifest!the!agile!mindset,!values!and!principles!in!their!environment.!!

!Unfortunately,!another!common!misconception!surrounding!Agile!is!that!Scrum!and!Agile!are!the!same!thing;!they!are!not!!Scrum!is!a!set!of!practices!bundled!together!into!a!process!framework.!Scrum!has!roles,!artifacts!and!process!activities!–!agile!does!not.!Agile!is!broader!and!grounded!in!the!mindset,!values!and!principles!not!any!of!the!practices.!eXterme!Programming!is!the!same!as!Scrum!–!a!process!methodology!consisting!of!a!number!of!Agile!practices.!!

So#ware(Development((

Marke2ng(Finance(

Opera2ons(Ed

uca2

on(

4(Values(12(Principles( ?(Values(

?(Principles(?(Values(

?(Principles(

?(Values(?(Principles(?(

Values(

?(Principles(

! 22!

!!

As!you!can!see!from!the!illustration!above,!agile!is!a!mindset!defined!by!its!values!and!principles.!Agile!(as!defined!by!the!signatories!of!the!Agile!Manifesto)!does!not!dictate!any!specific!practices,!but!leaves!it!open!to!any!set!of!practices!that!help!manifest!or!achieve!the!vales!and!principles!in!an!organization.!Scrum,!similar!to!XP,!are!essentially!a!preZbundled!set!of!agile!practices.!Scrum!contains!5!basic!practices!that!focus!mostly!on!the!management!side!of!a!project;!many!consider!it!a!lightweight!agile!project!management!framework.!XP!has!12!practices!that!focus!on!the!management!side!as!well!as!the!technical!side.!!

Scrum!and!Extreme!Programming!(XP)!are!not!the!same!thing!as!Agile,!but!rather!Scrum!and!XP!are!processes!and!frameworks!and!Agile!is!the!Mindset!upon!which!these!process!frameworks!were!built.!!!

Agile&is&a&mindset&

Established+through+4+values+

[that+in+so4ware+world+is]+

Grounded+by+12+principles,+&+

Manifested+through+many+many+different+pracCces++

Scrum+

eXtreme+Programming+

Your+own+Agile+process+

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07 How do we learn to be Agile?


! 24!

There!are!many!learning!models!however!we!found!that!ShuZHaZRi!is!the!best!model!used!to!describe!the!learning!journey!of!Agile.!ShuZHaZRi!is!a!learning!model!that!comes!from!the!martial!art!of!Aikido,!and!Alistair!Cockburn!(coZauthor!of!Agile!manifesto)!introduced!it!as!a!way!of!thinking!about!learning!techniques!and!methodologies!for!software!development.!

First Stage of Learning – Shu In!this!beginning!stage!the!student!follows!the!teachings!precisely.!S/he!concentrates!on!how!to!do!the!task,!without!worrying!too!much!about!the!underlying!theory.!If!there!are!multiple!variations!on!how!to!do!the!task,!s/he!concentrates!on!just!the!one!way!being!taught.!

Second Stage of Learning – Ha At!this!point!the!student!begins!to!branch!out.!With!the!basic!practices!working!s/he!now!starts!to!learn!the!underlying!principles!and!theory!behind!the!technique.!S/he!also!starts!learning!from!others!and!integrates!that!learning!into!his!practice.!

! 25!

Third Stage of Learning – Ri Now!the!student!isn't!learning!from!other!people,!but!from!his/her!own!practice.!S/he!creates!her/his!own!approaches!and!adapts!what!has!been!learned!to!the!particular!circumstances.!

So!progression!moves!from!obeying!the!rules!(Shu!–!to!Obey),!consciously!moving!away!from!the!rules!(Ha!–!to!Break),!and!finally!unconsciously!finding!an!individual!path!(Ri!–!to!Separate).!

A!good!practical!illustration!to!use!is!the!concept!of!driving.!Think!about!when!you!are!learning!to!drive!a!car.!You!follow!the!rules!by!the!letter!to!pass!the!driving!test.!You!have!to!think!through!each!operation!(moving!from!drive!to!reverse,!turning!on!the!lights,!signaling,!etc.)!That!was!Shu.!Contrast!this!with!a!Ri!level,!where!driving!has!become!second!nature,!and!you!are!making!changes!to!routes!unconsciously!based!on!the!conditions!you!encounter!on!the!road.!

Any!introductory!class!has!many!elements!that!are!taught!at!a!Shu!level.!HOWEVER,!the!reason!it!is!necessary!to!spend!time!talking!about!the!mindset!and!underlying!principles!behind!Agile!is!to!avoid!getting!stuck!in!the!“Shu!box.”!That!is,!understanding!the!theory!and!what!an!organization!is!trying!to!achieve!makes!it!possible!to!get!to!Ri!more!quickly.!That!is,!the!organization!gets!to!a!point!where!it!can!invent!new!practices!“on!the!fly.”!

More%Information%can%be%found%at:%http://alistair.cockburn.us/Shu+Ha+Ri%

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08 The Organizational Ecosystem

PART 2: THE ORGANIZATIONAL ECOSYSTEM – THE “HOW”

! 27!

In!Part!1!of!this!tutorial!we!explained!that!Agile!is!not!a!process,!framework!nor!methodology;!it!is!a!mindset,!a!culture,!a!way!of!thinking.!This!understanding!is!foundational!to!discussing!the!transformational!effort!needed!to!achieve!organizational!agility.!When!organizations!view!Agile!as!just!another!process!(even!if!it!is!viewed!as!an!efficient!process!that!enables!a!team!to!embrace!change)!then!the!transformation!journey!is!simply!about!adopting!a!new!process.!But!when!agile!is!correctly!viewed!as!a!set!of!cultural!habits,!then!the!agile!transformation!now!entails!the!change!of!the!entire!organizational!culture.!Even!those!who!view!Agile!as!a!process!(which!is!unfortunately!a!majority!of!teams!and!organizations)!try!to!scale!agile!across!the!organization,!but!typically!encounter!challenges!associated!with!the!existing!organizational!culture.!!The!table!below!shows!a!quick!comparison!between!the!elements!that!go!into!a!process!change!verses!those!that!go!into!a!cultural!change.!

Process Change Culture Transformation

Focus on Process and Technology Focus on People

Cascading Decisions Shared Vision

Training Educating

Communication Buy-in

Compliance Commitment !

For!the!past!six!years!the!State!of!the!Agile!Dev.!Survey!by!VersionOne,!shows!that!the!greatest!barrier!to!adopting!agile!is!the!ability!of!an!organization!to!change!its!culture!(See!diagram!below).!!

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Changing a culture: Creating Strawberry Jam The!analogy!we!use!to!better!explain!an!agile!transformation!is!that!of!creating!strawberry!jam.!If!we!think!of!one!team!doing!agile!as!!a!strawberry,!where!it!is!sweet!and!it!has!benefits!(just!like!an!agile!team),!!it!is!not!yet!strawberry!jam!(where!jam!represents!organizational!agility).!When!an!organizations!sees!success!with!the!one!strawberry!(one!agile!team)!it!develops!a!desire!to!!startZup!more!agile!teams!in!the!hope!of!achieving!organizational!agility.!That!is!like!adding!more!strawberries!to!a!bowl!and!hoping!that!the!result!will!be!strawberry!jam.!The!reality!is!that!by!starting!more!agile!teams,!you!end!up!with!an!agile!team!in!a!nonZagile!organization.!There!is!a!transformation!process!that!needs!to!occur!to!change!the!strawberries!to!jam.!There!is!a!chasm!between!teamZlevel!agile!(strawberries)!and!enterpriseZlevel!agile!–!that!is,!!organizational!agility!(the!jam).!The!chasm!exists!because!usually!teamZlevel!agile!is!achieved!by!a!change!of!process!and!roles,!and!perhaps!in!some!cases!the!“culture”!and!behaviors!of!the!team!members,!but!that!is!very!different!from!talking!about!a!change!in!organizational!culture.!For!organizational!agility!to!happen!and!be-sustainable!it!must!entail!a!transformation!of!culture.!!!

At!this!point!we!have!laid!out!our!reasons!for!asserting!that!transforming!an!organization!to!become!more!agile!requires!more!than!just!process!change.!Rather,!it!requires!a!complete!culture!shift.!Moreover,!we!assert!that!an!effective!agile!transformations!is!only!sustainable!when!it!impacts!the!entire!culture!of!an!organization!–!which!means!transforming!all!the!elements!of!the!culture!such!as,!leadership!style,!leadership!values,!work!structures,!reward!systems,!processes,!and!of!course!the!work!habits!of!people.!!

Individual)Mindsets)and))Team)(Sub))Cultures)need)to))be)aligned)with)Agile)

Organiza=onal))Culture)needs)to)be))Aligned)with)Agile)

Chasm)between)Transforma=on)and)Adop=on)

Single)Team)Agile)

Mul=ple)Team)Agile)

Enterprise)Agile)

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The Ecosystem: The Elements of Culture The!following!diagram!attempts!to!illustrate!how!we!view!culture!and!the!relationship!between!culture!and!the!elements!of!the!organizational!ecosystem!(Leadership,!People,!Strategy,!Processes,!and!Structures).!Note!that!we!picked!the!shape!of!a!triangle!to!represent!an!organization!for!the!sake!of!simplicity,!not!to!imply!that!there!is!a!notion!of!a!hierarchy.!Furthermore,!!we!see!this!representation!as!a!working!model!that!we!continue!to!evolve.!The!culture!of!an!organization!is!represented!as!the!red!“bungeeZcord”!or!“rubberZband”!that!is!shaped!by!all!these!elements!and!at!same!time!holds!all!these!elements!in!alignment!with!each!other.!!

Leadership In!the!diagram!above,!when!we!refer!to!leadership,!we!are!interested!in!various!elements!of!leadership,!starting!with!the!overall!style!of!leadership.!Is!it!collaborative,!or!commandZandZcontrol,!or!something!else!like!consensusZdriven?!We!are!also!looking!at!the!values!that!leadership!holds.!What!are!the!things!that!leadership!truly!aspires!towards!every!day!in!practice,!not!what!is!published!in!some!brochure!as!the!“values?”!Do!leaders!really!aspire!towards!transparency,!creativity,!sustainability,!or!do!they!aspire!towards!perfection,!compliance!and!protection?!Do!they!value!effort!or!do!they!only!value!getting!it!right!the!first!time?!What!are!their!habits!when!it!comes!to!dealing!with!challenges!or!constraints?!How!do!leaders!react!naturally!(and!automatically)!when!problems!start!to!surface?!Do!

People (Values,)Beliefs,)A.tudes,)Norms,)Habits))

Process (Value)Chain,)Policies,)Opera?ons,)Business)Processes))

Structure (Roles)and)Responsibili?es,)Decisions,)Organiza?on))

)

Strategy (Goals,)Measures)of)Success,)Rewards))

Leadership (Style,)Values,)Habits))

Culture' Culture'

Culture'

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they!automatically!coach!and!mentor!or!direct!and!command?!All!these!elements!of!leadership!play!a!critical!role!in!shaping!the!culture!of!an!organization.!!

Strategy The!second!element!we!believe!is!important!is!the!strategy!of!the!organization.!With!strategy!we!are!looking!at!how-(not!what)!an!organization!sets!it!goals!and!how!they!achieve!alignment!to!work!together!!towards!meeting!those!goals.!What!are!their!measures!of!success!and!do!they!ultimately!drive!behaviors!that!achieve!those!goals?!What!do!people!get!rewarded!for;!do!they!get!rewarded!for!successes!only,!or!also!for!learning?!Again!all!of!these!strategicZlevel!elements!have!a!substantial!impact!on!the!organization’s!culture!and!also!are!greatly!influenced!by!the!culture.!

Structure Once!the!values!of!leadership!become!apparent,!along!with!the!manifestation!of!those!values!in!terms!of!how!the!strategy!is!laid!out,!another!element!that!shapes!the!culture!of!an!organization!is!the!organizational!structures!that!exist.!How!are!people!organized!to!achieve!the!strategies!that!are!laid!out?!Are!they!structured!into!isolated!silos!or!overlapping!teams?!Are!people!working!in!silos!encouraged!to!compete!with!each!other?!Are!teams!only!concerned!with!their!own!objectives!or!are!they!really!concerned!with!the!success!of!the!entire!organization?!Is!the!organization!keen!on!building!networks!or!hierarchies?!How!are!roles!and!responsibilities!determined!in!the!organization;!taskZbased,!outcomeZbased,!or!seniorityZbased?!Are!people!given!large!spans!of!control!to!promote!empowerment!or!narrow!spans!of!control!to!ensure!control?!What!is!the!decision!making!process!in!the!organization?!Are!decisions!made!to!be!inclusive!of!all!stakeholders,!or!are!only!specific!stakeholders!allowed!to!be!part!of!decision!making?!All!of!these!elements!related!to!how!the!organization!is!structured!shape!(and!are!shaped!by)!the!culture!of!the!organization.!

Process The!next!element!that!shapes!the!culture!is!the!established!business!processes!of!the!organization.!A!business!process!is!a!collection!of!related,!structured!activities!or!tasks!that!are!performed!by!one!or!more!roles!to!produce!a!specific!service!or!product!(ultimately!serve!a!particular!goal!that!is!in!line!with!the!strategy).!Within!processes!we!are!interested!in!the!policies!and!procedures!(written!or!implicit)!that!govern!the!operation!of!the!organization.!We!look!at!the!operational!processes!that!constitute!the!core!business!and!create!the!primary!value!stream.!This!element!includes!the!processes!that!define!how!requirements!are!gathered,!how!design!is!created!and!reviewed,!how!software!is!developed,!testing,!and!deployed.!How!are!things!procured!and!purchased!when!needed?!How!are!customers!engaged!and!how!often?!We!are!also!looking!at!the!supporting!processes,!like!account!management,!

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technical!support,!and!even!reimbursement!processes.!Are!they!built!on!an!assumption!of!trust!or!mistrust!and!abuse?!The!way!processes!are!designed!and!implemented!and!governed!shape!(and!are!shaped)!by!the!culture!of!the!organization.!

People The!remaining!item!in!the!organizational!ecosystem!is!perhaps!the!most!foundational,!and!that!is!the!people!themselves.!People!have!beliefs,!values,!norms!and!habits!that!are!all!influenced!by!the!culture!of!the!organization!and!ultimately!contribute!to!the!culture!of!the!organization!as!well.!What!do!people!believe!their!impact!and!contribution!is!to!the!company?!Do!they!feel!like!assemblyZline!workers!that!are!told!what!to!do?!If!so!then!sayings!like!“Just!tell!me!what!I!need!to!do.”!will!be!heard!frequently,!and!asking!that!like!of!question!will!not!be!odd.!Does!the!culture!fear!failure!and!therefore!doesn’t!attempt!new!creative!and!innovative!approaches?!Do!people!value!collaboration!or!competition?!That!value!will!have!an!impact!of!how!people!approach!success!in!the!organization.!Even!beyond!the!values!and!beliefs!people!hold,!there!are!habits!that!people!have!developed!over!the!years!that!kickZin!automatically!when!they!want!to!succeed!and!get!things!done.!Those!habits!are!manifested!in!terms!of!how!work!really!gets!done!in!the!organization.!The!power!and!danger!of!these!habits!is!that!habits!are!what!people!do!“automatically”!usually!without-much-thought.!People!fall!back!on!habits!and!do!what!they!have!tried!before!and!succeeded!“automatically”!to!get!work!done!in!the!company.!In!other!words,!it!is!what!they!do!to!succeed!WITHOUT!thinking!because!it!has!proven!to!work!time!and!time!again.!For!example,!some!people!may!have!a!habit!of!circumventing!the!process!when!they!want!to!get!things!done.!Why?!Because!they!have!done!it!repeatedly,!or!they!have!seen!others!do!it,!and!!it!has!worked,!so!it!becomes!an!organizational!habit!to!circumvent!processes.!Even!people!that!are!just!joining!the!organization!will!look!at!what!other!people!do!to!succeed!and!they!start!to!develop!those!habits.!Habits!become!an!integral!part!of!the!“culture”!of!how!things!get!done.!Other!organizations!may!have!habits!of!collaboration.!People!have!developed!an!organizational!habit!that!makes!them!automatically!and!without!thinking!reach!out!to!others!and!work!with!them!(even!across!organizational!boundaries)!because!!they!have!seen!that!work!before.!An!effective!agile!transformation!aims!to!change!these!“default”!ways!people!work;!essentially!changing!the!personal!and!organizational!habits,!and!changing!the!way!people!think!about!work!and!their!norms.!

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09 Cultural Alignment: the Key to

Sustainable Transformations

!


! 33!

The!sum!total!of!all!the!five!elements!presented!in!the!previous!section!(Leadership,!Strategy,!Structure,!Process!and!People)!creates!the!culture!of!the!organization!and!the!culture!keeps!these!five!elements!in!alignment!and!harmony.!

When!we!look!at!a!large!sample!of!organizations!trying!to!adopt!agile,!we!see!that!due!to!their!understanding!of!agile!as!a!process,!the!change!efforts!focus!on!changing!the!process!element!of!the!model!(as!depicted!in!the!diagram!above).!As!teams!adopt!agile!they!introduce!more!collaborative!processes!and!practices!(for!instance,!!daily!standZups,!group!estimation,!collaborative!planning,!and!team!rooms).!However!by!only!changing!the!“process”!element!of!the!diagram!they!have!thrown!the!organizational!culture!into!a!state!of!misalignment!and!unsustainability.!The!misalignment!comes!from!the!fact!that!now!the!processes!are!pushing!towards!a!collaborative!culture!but!the!remaining!elements!of!the!culture!are!not!in!sync.!For!example,!it!is!common!to!see!that!leaders’!values!and!habits!have!not!changed!to!be!more!collaborative,!nor!have!the!reward!systems!changed!to!encourage!the!new!collaborative!processes.!The!misalignment!then!leads!to!lack!of!sustainability!of!the!change!because!the!culture!will!eventually!“push!back”!on!the!processes!element!and!try!to!align!it!with!the!rest!of!the!elements!makingZup!the!culture.!!

Causing the Culture to be Misaligned It’s!not!just!about!the!process!element.!But!if!you!change!any!one!or!even!two!elements!but!keep!the!rest!the!same,!the!same!results!can!be!expected.!For!example,!Scrum!teams!change!the!process!element!to!introduce!collaborative!practices!and!also!change!the!roles!and!responsibilities!of!a!typical!team!by!introducing!two!roles;!the!ScrumMaster!and!Product!Owner.!However,!those!changes!may!still!be!at!odds!with!the!rest!of!the!organization!if!none!of!the!other!elements!change.!You!can!see!this!misalignment!manifested!in!behaviors!such!as!teams!constantly!complaining!that!they!can’t!get!“buyZin”!from!leadership!to!dedicate!people!to!certain!roles!and!

People (Values,)Beliefs,)A.tudes,)Norms,)Habits))

Process (Value)Chain,)Policies,)Opera?ons,)Business)Processes))

Structure (Roles)and)Responsibili?es,)Decisions,)Organiza?on))

)

Strategy (Goals,)Measures)of)Success,)Rewards))

Leadership (Style,)Values,)Habits))

Culture'

Culture'

Culture'

Change'

! 34!

even!the!people!in!those!roles!may!have!habits!and!beliefs!that!don’t!enable!them!to!be!effective!in!their!role,!and!!don’t!help!them!facilitate!collaboration!between!the!team.!!

Even!beyond!collaboration,!agile!adoption!efforts!change!process!elements!and!introduce!new!processes!and!practices!that!encourage!learning!and!discovery!(e.g.!early!feedback!and!retrospectives)!but!again,!are!the!rest!of!the!organizational!elements!in!alignment?!Do!the!people!value!learning!and!discovery!or!do!they!see!learning!as!indicator!for!the!lack!of!competency.!!Does!leadership!encourage!learning!and!reward!!it,!or!is!there!a!culture!of!“get!it!right!the!first!time”!and!learning!is!viewed!as!a!lack!of!proper!planning?!Is!learning!and!discovery!included!as!part!of!!goals,!!strategies!and!rewards?!

These!are!the!real!challenges!that!confront!!agile!“transformation”!efforts!that!only!(or!primarily)!focus!on!changing!!one!or!two!of!!elements!without!truly!!changing!the!culture.!The!other!interesting!phenomenon!is!that!once!the!change!agent!or!sponsor!exerting!the!pressure!to!change!the!process!element!(thereby!going!against!the!culture)!goes!away,!the!culture!(represented!in!the!bungee!cord!or!rubber!band!around!the!triangle)!pushes!the!process!element!back!into!alignment!with!the!rest!of!the!organization!and!all!that!investment!in!“change”!turns!out!to!be!not!sustainable.!!!

For!transformations!to!be!successful!they!must!be!sustainable!and!live!on!to!become!the!new!culture!of!the!organization.!For!that!to!happen!successfully!the!culture!as!a!whole!needs!to!transform!by!evolving!and!changing!all!of!its!elements!together!as!part!of!a!shared!journey.!Cultural!alignment!is!the!key!to!a!successful,!sustainable,!transformation.!

Importance of Cultural Alignment Research!conducted!by!Jim!Collins!and!Jerry!Poras!(in!their!book!Built%to%Last:%Successful%Habits%of%Visionary%Companies)!shows!that!the!key!distinguishing!factor!for!high!performing!organization!is!the!existence!of!a!strong%aligned!culture.!An!aligned!culture!is!where!all!elements!of!the!organization!work!in!concert!together.!!

For!example,!if!the!leadership!style!is!commandZandZcontrol!and!that!is!aligned!with!the!strategy!and!measures!of!success,!then!the!structures!are!designed!to!promote!command!and!control.!Additionally,!the!policies,!procedures!and!processes!are!all!in!alignment!with!promoting!and!supporting!the!command!and!control!culture.!It!is!therefore!not!surprising!that!the!people!in!the!organization!believe!that!command!and!control!culture!is!best!for!the!organization.!At!that!point,!when!all!the!elements!are!in!harmony!together,!then!we!have!an!aligned%culture.!!

Aligned!cultures!are!the!most!critical!differentiating!factor!for!highZperforming!organizations.!Whether!the!culture!is!command!and!control!or!collaborative!does!not!matter!as!much!as!whether!all!the!elements!in!the!organization!are!aligned!and!

! 35!

consistent!with!the!culture.!!A!strained!or!unaligned!culture!occurs!when!one!or!more!elements!are!not!in!harmony!!with!the!others.!!

Keeping the Culture Aligned during the Transformation Many!people!that!“deploy”!a!new!agile!process!or!“rollout”!a!new!agile!tool!deem!themselves!agile.!However,!it!doesn’t!matter!if!we!say!the!organization!is!now!an!agile!organization!or!not,!the!reality!is!that!the!culture!will!always!!bring!things!back!toward!an!equilibrium.!So!we!want!to!find!a!way!to!transform!to!agile!that!will!not!misalign!the!organization’s!culture!during!the!transformation!journey!so!that!we!can!sustain!the!transformational!journey!and!actual!transform!the!organization!and!all!it!elements.!!If!we!don’t!ensure!that!the!culture!is!aligned!throughout!the!transformational!journey,!the!culture!(the!bungee–cord)!will!be!constantly!pushing!back!against!the!changes!and!therefore!jeopardizing!the!possibility!of!any!true!transformation!from!happening.!!

Organizational!cultures!that!are!misaligned!(as!shown!in!the!illustration!above)!need!to!be!avoided!at!all!cost,!but!how!is!the!key!question!here.!

! 36!

10 Common Transformational

Approaches

!


! 37!

In!the!this!section!we!will!illustrate!two!common!transform!approaches!(processZled!and!organizationZled)!that!cause!the!organizational!culture!to!be!misaligned!throughout!the!period!of!the!transformation,!thereby!putting!the!transformation!effort!at!risk,!and!more!importantly!usually!resulting!in!unsustainable!agile!transformation.!!

As!we!present!these!two!approaches,!the!diagram!we!use!will!show!the!different!stages!of!the!transformation!from!the!current!state!(represented!by!the!blue!triangle)!to!the!end!state!(represented!by!the!green!triangle).!The!color!red!will!be!used!to!show!how!the!culture!becomes!misaligned.!After!presenting!the!two!common!approaches!for!transformation,!we!will!present!a!third!approach!(cultureZled)!that!transforms!the!culture!in!a!manner!that!keeps!the!alignment!of!culture!intact!(not!red)!as!much!as!possible!during!the!transformation.!!

Approach #1: Process-led Transformations !The!term!agile!was!coined!and!made!popular!though!the!software!industry!and,!unfortunately,!many!people!have!boiled!agile!down!to!a!set!of!practices!and!processes!for!developing!software.!Some!have!extended!it!beyond!the!software!world!and!even!then!limited!it!to!a!management%process%or!methodology.!Therefore!naturally!the!agile!transformation!will!start!with!changing!the!process!element!of!an!organization.!

! 38!

As!you!can!see!from!the!above!diagram,!once!you!change!the!process!element!to!support!agility,!and!no!other!elements!change!(Stage!1),!the!organization’s!culture!becomes!misaligned.!As!soon!as!the!change!agent!“pushing”!the!change!goes!away,!the!culture!(the!red!bungee!cord!around!the!triangle)!will!push!the!process!back!into!alignment!with!the!structures,!strategy,!leadership!style,!and!the!people’s!beliefs.!However!the!change!agent!may!persist!and!push!harder,!thereby!changing!some!of!the!peoples’!beliefs!as!well!as!some!aspects!of!the!structure!and!strategy!(Stage!2).!It!will!take!a%lot%of%effort%to!keep!pushing!the!change!forward!(as!shown!in!Stages!3!and!4)!until!gradually!the!remaining!elements!of!the!organization!transform.!While!this!approach!is!not!impossible,!it!is!risky!because!throughout!the!entire!transformation!the!organizational!elements!are!not!in!alignment!(the!triangle!is!red)!and!the!culture!will!keep!trying!to!“push!back”!all!the!changing!elements!to!their!original!state!of!equilibrium.!Organizations!need!to!have!strong!change!champions!and!lots!of!patience!and!perseverance!to!achieve!sustainable!organizational!agility!through!this!approach.!!

!!!!

Leadership!(Style,(Values,((

Habits)!(

Strategy(((Goals,(Measures(of(Success,(Rewards)(

Structure((Roles(and(Responsibili<es,(Decisions,(

Organiza<ons)(

Processes!(Value(Chain,(Policies,(Opera<ons(and(Business(

Processes)(

People!(Values,(Beliefs,(AFtudes,(Norms,(Habits)(

!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


Current'State'Culture'Aligned'

Stage'1'Culture'Not'Aligned'




Transformed'State'Culture'Aligned'

! 39!

Approach #2: Organizational-led Transformations Another!view!for!organizational!transformation!is!what!we!call!the!organizationalZled!transformation.!In!this!approach!we!look!at!the!entire!organization!as!a!bunch!of!smaller!nested!organizations!as!indicated!in!the!diagram!below.!!!!

Since!agile!started!in!the!software!industry,!we!usually!see!the!IT!organization!as!the!only!part!of!the!organization!that!adopts!the!new!way!of!thinking!(Stage!1).!This!is!assuming!that!they!(the!IT!organization)!embark!upon!a!proper!transformation,!which!includes!moving!all!the!elements!of!its!triangle!(leadership,!strategy,!structure,!process!and!people).!However,!when!we!look!at!the!big!picture,!which!is!the!agility!of!the!entire!organization!or!enterprise,!the!question!arises,!how!sustainable!can!the!IT!organization!be!with!a!culture!that!is!not!in!alignment!with!the!rest!of!the!enterprise?!Can!they!sustain!the!cultural!tension!between!them!and!rest!of!the!entities!in!the!enterprise!(represented!in!the!red!bungee!cord)!that!are!trying!to!pull!them!back)?!!As!much!as!we!tend!to!believe!that!parts!of!organizations!operate!in!silos!and!can!act!as!separate!entities,!the!reality!is!for!the!enterprise!as!a!whole!to!be!high!performing,!its!entire!culture!needs!to!be!aligned.!Sometimes!the!organization!(whether!IT!or!some!other!part!component)!pioneering!the!transformation!is!successful!enough!(and!influential!enough)!that!it!becomes!a!beacon!attracting!other!parts!of!the!organization!to!transform!(Stage2).!While!it!may!promote!transformations!to!happen!across!other!parts!of!the!organization,!all!those!entities!are!still!subject!to!the!“pressure”!of!conforming!with!the!rest!of!the!organization!(Stage2).!The!overall!organization!will!remain!misaligned!until!we!reach!a!critical!mass,!such!that!enough!entities!in!the!organization!!start!to!transform!to!the!new!way!of!working!and!that!becomes!the!new!dominant!culture!(Stage!4).!!

! 40!

!

Current'State'all'orgs'aligned''with'culture'

Stage'1'1'org'not'aligned''

with'the'old'org'culture'

Stage'2'3'orgs'not'aligned''

with'the'old'org'culture'

Stage'3'all'orgs'are'not'aligned''with'each'other'6'chaos'

Stage'4'3'orgs'not'aligned''

with'the'new'org'culture'

Transformed'State'all'orgs'aligned'with''

new'culture'

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

Org$1$

Org$2$

Org$3$

Org$4$

Org$5$

Org$6$

Org$7$

Org$8$

Org$9$

! 41!

11 Culture-Led Transformation

!

!


! 42!

After!looking!at!the!two!common!approaches!to!transformation!(ProcessZled!and!OrganizationalZled),!it!becomes!apparent!that!sustainable!transformations!may!need!to!find!a!different!approach!to!increase!the!probability!of!success!for!the!transformation.!This!is!how!we!combined!the!best!of!both!approaches!in!what!we!are!labeling!“CultureZled!transformation.”!

Before!we!proceed!it!is!important!to!note!that!either!the!processZled!approach!or!the!organizationalZled!approach!are!common!approaches!to!transformation,!even!when!an!organization!realizes!that!the!journey!to!agile!is!more!than!just!process!change!or!just!changing!one!of!its!business!units.!The!reason!they!pick!a!processZled!approach!or!an!organizationalZled!approach!is!that!the!organization!is!worried!about!changing!too!much!too!quickly!–!they!are!worried!about!the!high!risk!of!change!and!its!impact!on!its!performance.!So!they!decide!to!change!just!the!process!aspect!of!the!organization,!or!decide!to!change!one!subZcomponent!within!the!larger!organization!or!enterprise.!!

In!a!cultureZled!transformation!we!assume!that!the!organization!understands!the!reality!of!the!transformation!being!about!mindset!and!culture,!and!that!they!realize!that!to!reap!all!of!the!benefits!of!organizational!agility,!the!transformation!needs!to!go!!beyond!one!part!of!the!organization!(usually!IT)!and!span!the!entire!organization.!At!the!same!time,!the!organization!wants!to!reduce!the!risk!of!the!transformation!and!minimize!the!impact!on!dayZtoZday!operations.!It!is!based!on!that!mindset!(reducing!risk!while!striving!for!complete!transformation)!that!we!present!the!cultureZled!approach.!

!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


Org(4(

Org(5(

!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


Org(4(

Org(5( Org(7(

!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


Org(4(

Org(5( Org(7(

!!!!


Habits)!(



Organiza<ons)(


Processes)(


Org(4(

Org(5( Org(7(

Org(3(

Current'State'all'orgs'and'elements''

aligned'with'current'culture'

Stage'1'2'anchor'orgs'and'all'elements'

aligned'with'new'culture'mini6shi7''



Transformed'State'all'orgs'and'elements''

aligned'with'new'culture'





! 43!

In!cultureZled!transformation!the!organization!designs!a!valueZbased!roadmap!that!aims!at!transforming!the!entire!organization,!together,!in!small!increments.!These!increments!focus!on!instilling!specific!agile!behaviors,!values!and!habits!across!the!entire!organization.!These!small!increments!of!change!span!all!the!elements!of!the!organization!(its!leadership,!strategy,!structure,!process!and!people).!!

For!example,!think!of!a!case!where!just!transforming!the!organization!means!embracing!the!agile!value!of!true!collaboration!and!effective!communication!(Stage!1).!We!will!not!think!about!iterations!or!!WIP!limits.!We!will!not!think!about!TestZDriven!Development!or!Continuous!Delivery!for!now.!We!will!simply!try!to!create!a!new!organizational!culture!that!embraces!and!manifests!higher!levels!of!communication!and!collaboration.!So!part!of!the!roadmap!for!change!is!to!highlight!the!changes!that!need!to!happen!to!each!element!in!the!organization!to!promote!and!support!this!new!habit!and!culture.!!

What!needs!to!change!within!the!leadership!to!help!them!build!new!habits!themselves!and!promote!this!new!culture!across!the!enterprise?!What!needs!to!change!with!regards!to!strategy!and!measures!of!success!and!rewards!to!support!this!new!culture!of!communication!and!collaboration?!What!changes!to!roles!and!responsibilities!and!structures!need!to!be!made!to!promote!better!collaboration?!Do!we!need!to!train!managers!so!that!they!have!facilitation!skills,!!!or!do!we!need!to!introduce!news!roles!like!team!facilitators?!Every!organization!needs!to!consider!what!changes!need!to!happen!within!every!element!of!the!organization!to!promote!the!new!culture!and!turn!it!into!an!organizational!culture!that!people!causes!people!to!do!something!automatically!because!it!has!proven!to!help!them!succeed!at!work.!To!keep!going!with!this!example,!what!needs!to!change!about!processes!to!promote!communication!and!collaboration?!What!polices,!and!activities!need!to!be!changed!or!introduced!to!guarantee!more!communication!and!collaboration!and!engrain!that!habit!into!the!culture?!What!needs!to!change!with!regard!to!peoples’!beliefs,!values!and!personal!habits!to!support!the!new!behavior!of!communication!and!collaboration?!All!these!questions!need!to!be!answered!by!the!organization!to!successfully!shift!the!organization!to!the!next!step!towards!organizational!agility.!!!

As!you!can!see!in!the!above!example,!and!as!seen!in!Stage!1!in!the!previous!diagram,!the!entire!“triangle”!moves!(transforms)!together.!You!create!a!shared!vision!for!the!entire!organization.!You!create!a!common!journey.!The!transformation!is!not!for!some!people!and!not!others.!You!are!enforcing!an!important!concept;!this!affects!all!of!us,!and!we!are!all!in!this!together.!Contrast!this!approach!with!what!we!commonly!observe!in!organizations!transforming!to!agile.!They!change!the!process!to!be!more!collaborative!but!the!rewards!systems!still!promotes!individual!heroics.!How!sustainable!it!that?!How!long!will!it!take!before!teams!go!back!to!their!old!habits!–!which!are!supported!and!enforced!by!the!rest!of!the!organizational!elements?!!

! 44!

Anchors Another!key!element!of!the!CultureZled!transformation!is!to!establish!what!we!call!“anchors.”!Anchors!(The!green!triangles!–!Org!4!and!Org!5!in!Stage!1!in!the!previous!diagram)!can!be!teams,!projects!or!organizations,!but!the!key!is!that!they!go!“all!the!way”.!They!show!the!organization!what!the!end!result!looks!like.!They!are!the!motivation!for!the!organization!to!keep!going!through!the!long!transformation!journey.!!

Because!transformation!journeys!are!long!in!duration,!organizations!try!to!“accelerate”!them!to!see!instant!(or!very!quick)!results.!While!we!support!the!idea!of!quick!wins!and!showing!success!early,!we!also!want!to!emphasize!that!sustainable-organizational-transformation-is!not!something!that!can!be!achieved!overnight!(because!we!are!changing!mindsets,!habits!and!culture!of!the!organization!to!make!sure!its!sustainable).!Therefore!to!balance!between!the!need!for!quick!wins!that!motivate!us!and!show!us!the!end!result!in!a!tangible!way!we!can!relate!to!and!to!give!the!organization!the!time!and!space!it!needs!to!truly!transform,!we!see!it!as!necessary!to!have!anchors!during!what!can!seem!like!a!rather!slow!organization!transformation!journey!of!the!rest!of!the!organization.!!

A!key!difference!between!these!anchors!and!what!we!saw!in!the!organizationalZled!transformation!approach!is!that!the!rest!of!the!organization!is!also!transforming.!Everyone!is!changing!but!the!anchors!are!modeling!what!the!change!will!look!like.!We!are!also!using!the!anchors!to!experiment!and!learn!what!will!work!and!not!in!our!organization.!It!is!important!to!keep!in!mind!that!anchors!are!not!pilot!projects!or!organizations!that!will!start!the!journey!first!while!the!rest!of!the!organization!is!“waiting”!to!see!if!they!will!work.!It!is!also!important!to!choose!these!anchors!wisely!so!that!they!provide!motivation!and!visibility!to!the!end!result!across!the!entire!enterprise,!not!just!one!part!of!the!organization.!!

Executive Support As!you!can!see,!the!CultureZled!approach!requires!a!high!degree!of!executive!buy,Zin!commitment!and!support!since!they!(the!leadership!element!of!the!triangle)!are!involved!in!the!transformation!and!they!need!to!enable!change!that!will!span!the!entire!organization.!!

While!we!recognize!that!getting!executive!support!may!be!a!constraint,!our!experience!has!been!that!is!something!that!cannot!be!skipped!or!wateredZdown.!If!an!organization!wants!sustainable!organizational!transformation,!they!!need!to!recognize!that!they!are!changing!all!the!elements!of!the!organization!and!impacting!the!culture!and!mindset,!and!that!is!not!something!that!can!be!done!(from!our!experience)!without!a!high!degree!of!executive!support.!Without!that!degree!of!

! 45!

executive!support!teams!can!adopt!agile!on!a!team!level,!but!!that!team!or!subZsystem!exists!within!a!broader!organization!that!has!a!different!culture!and!that!will!continue!to!“pull!them!back”!to!the!old!culture!and!current!way!of!doing!things!(the!organizational!habits).!!

We!are!not!saying!this!to!demotivate!or!discourage!people!from!adopting!agile!on!a!team!or!subZorganizational!level,!we!just!want!you!to!have!realistic!expectations.!TeamZlevel!agile!can!be!achieved!with!and!without!a!high!level!of!executive!support,!and!while!it!may!be!hard!to!sustain,!it!is!not!impossible.!However,!the!journey!for!sustainable!organizational!agility!and!the!transformation!needed!for!that,!based!on!our!experience,!cannot!be!achieved!without!a!very!high!degree!of!ownership!from!the!executives!of!the!company.!!

!

!

! 46!

12 Habits

!

PART 3: CHANGING HABITS– THE “WHAT”

! 47!

Charles!Duhigg!in!his!book,!The%Power%of%Habit,!suggests!that!habits!are!not!conscious!decisions,!but!instead!are!routines.!Once!we!start!the!routine,!we!go!on!autopilot!and!simply!go!through!the!steps!of!the!routine–we!don’t!even!think!about!it.!!!

In!his!book,!Charles!Duhigg,!illustrates!the!basic!elements!of!a!habit!as!Cue,!Routine!and!Reward.!The!Cue!triggers!the!routine!–!which!is!executed!automatically!–!and!then!a!reward!is!realized!that!reinforces!the!habit!and!makes!the!routine!trigger!again!when!the!cue!happens!again.!

!For!example,!take!the!habit!of!brushing!your!teeth!in!the!morning.!The!cue!is!waking!up!in!the!morning.!The!routine!is!brushing!your!teeth.!The!reward!is!the!feeling!of!a!clean!mouth!and!fresh!breath.!

Just!like!people!have!personal!habits!that!they!do!as!“automatic!routines”!without!much!thought!(e.g.!brushing!teeth,!exercising,!smoking,!etc.)!there!are!organizational!habits.!Organizational!habits!are!what!people!do!in!their!dayZtoZday!work!life!“automatically”!(without!much!thought)!to!get!work!done!in!the!organization.!These!may!be!very!different!than!the!policies,!procedures!or!established!processes!of!the!organization!–!organizational!habits!are!how!work!“really!gets!done”!in!the!organization.!!

For!any!change!to!be!sustainable,!the!organizational!habits!need!to!change!to!empower!and!manifest!agility.!Habits!are!powerful,!whether!they!are!good!habits!or!bad!ones.!Today,!organizations!may!have!disZempowering!habits!that!inhibit!the!organization’s!agility.!A!successful!transformation!changes!the!personal!and!organizational!habits!to!enable!and!empower!agility.!

Keystone Habits While!the!ultimate!goal!is!to!change!the!personal!and!organizational!habits,!it!is!overwhelming!to!think!of!which!habits!to!change;!there!are!so!many!habits.!This!is!where!the!concept!of!keystone!habits!started.!Keystone!habits!are!the!answer!to!the!question,!which!habit!should!we!start!changing?!!

Cue$

Rou'ne$

Reward$

! 48!

Keystone!habits!are!habits!that!have!the!power!to!start!a!chain!reaction!changing!other!habits!across!the!organization.!Keystone!habits!start!a!process!that,!over!time,!transforms!everything.!!

For!example,!a!nonZkeystone!habit!is!turning!the!water!off!while!you!brush!your!teeth.!While!this!is!a!great!habit,!there!is!little!probability!that!this!habit!will!change!the!rest!of!your!life.!On!the!other!hand,!Regular!physical!activity,!is!a!keystone!habit,!because!for!many!people!it!starts!other!habits!like!eating!healthy,!proper!sleeping!and!so!on.!!They!key!to!a!keystone!habit!is!that!it!commonly!has!ripple!effect!beyond!the!original!habit.!!The!healthy!eating!and!proper!sleeping!are!not!part!of!the!original!goal!(the!exercise);!instead,!these!healthy!changes!are!part!of!a!chain!reaction!that!happens!when!you!incorporate!the!keystone!habit.!

Big Change in Small Slices Any!major!transformation!goes!through!phases!of!change.!One!of!the!change!models!that!illustrate!the!different!phases!of!change!is!the!VirginiaZSatir!change!model.!!

!!

The!VirginiaZSatir!change!curve!illustrates!how!change!initiatives!cause!organizations!to!go!through!an!intense!period!of!resistance!and!chaos!and!how!these!periods!cause!a!drop!in!the!performance!of!organizations.!The!VirginiaZSatir!model!also!indicates!that!if!an!organization!can!go!through!this!period!of!chaos!and!resistance!and!embrace!new!transforming!ideas,!then!the!chaos!will!decrease!and!the!performance!will!increase!to!a!new!higher!level!than!the!previous!status!quo.!The!risk,!however,!is!that!some!organizations!may!not!be!able!to!handle!these!

Performance*

Time*

Current**Comfort**Zone*

Short*Term*Gain*/*Excitement**

Introducing*Change*

Resistance*

Chaos*

Transforming*Idea*

Integra<on*

New*Comfort*Zone*

! 49!

periods!of!chaos!and!intense!drop!in!performance.!Consequently,!instead!of!moving!forward!they!just!fallback!to!their!old!status!quo.!

So!to!promote!sustainable!agile!transformation!we!want!to!help!organizations!manage!the!intense!period!of!resistance!and!chaos!using!the!idea!of!Keystone!habits.!We!want!to!introduce!change!in!waves!of!Keystone!Habits!such!as!illustrated!in!the!diagram!below.!!

!!

Performance*

Time*

Habit&2*Habit&1*

Habit&3*

Habit&4&

Habit&5*

! 50!

13 Learning and Education


! 51!

!

!It!is!critical!for!the!organization!to!realize!that!sustainable!cultureZled!transformations!cannot!be!outsourced!or!bought!from!a!consulting!or!coaching!company.!While!agile!consulting!and!coaching!companies!can!assist!with!the!design!of!the!transformation!approach!and!roadmap,!the!major!change!has!to!come!from!within.!!

Usually!transformations!that!rely!on!externally!embedding!coaches!have!a!high!possibility!of!“going!back”!to!their!old!way!of!doing!things!gradually!because!there!was!not!a!true!transformation.!There!were!just!a!lot!of!people!pushing!for!change!of!processes!(processZled!transformation)!or!within!teams!or!subZorganizations!(organizationalZled!transformation),!but!the!reality!is!that!all!the!elements!of!the!culture!didn’t!change!–!so!the!culture!didn’t!change!and!therefore!the!sustainability!of!the!transformation!is!at!risk.!The!key!to!sustainable!cultural!transformation!is!to!take!each!element!of!the!organizational!ecosystem!(the!triangle)!on!the!transformation!journey!in!small!steps.!The!table!below!will!take!each!element!of!the!triangle!and!discuss!the!keys!to!its!transformation.!

The$keys$for$sustainably$transforming$the$leadership$and$people$elements:$$• A!common!education!journey!(not!training)!to!

change!how!people!work!and!illustrate!how!to!live!the!Agile!Mindset!in!their!job!

• Leadership!Coaching!(how!to!inspire!performance!not!mandate!it)!

• Mentoring!and!Coaching!on!an!individual!and!team!level.!

The$keys$for$sustainably$transforming$the$strategy,$structure$and$process$elements:$$• Designing!and!Implementing!a!multi2stage!

roadmap!to!agility!that!changes!all!three!of!these!element!in!synergy!and!harmony!!

• A!combination!of!consulting,!mentoring,!organizational!coaching,!business!process!re2engineering!and!organizational!change!management!to!roll2out!the!changes!across!the!organization!

! 52!

The$keys$for$sustainably$transforming$the$culture$!• Establishing!a!measurement!system!that!is!

consistently!monitoring!the!alignment!of!the!culture!$

• Primary!measure!of!progress!is!the!mindset!shift!and!the!transformation!of!personal!and!organizational!work!habits$

• Reporting!progress,!as!a!function!of!culture!change!not!process!change,!nor!structure!change.!$

Sustainable Transformation through Learning and Education Education!is!a!critical!component!in!a!sustainable!agile!transformation.!Sustainable!agile!is!realized!when!people!have!truly!change!the!way!they!think!–!and!this!requires!education.!If!we!truly!understand!that!we!need!to!change!the!mindset!of!everyone!in!the!organization,!including!its!leaders,!then!we!need!a!combination!of!education!and!coaching!and!mentoring!to!successfully!equip!people!with!the!knowledge!and!skills!they!need!to!develop!and!execute!the!agile!habits!we!talked!about!earlier.!If!we!think!of!agile!as!a!process,!not!a!mindset,!then!we!default!to!training!instead!of!education.!

There!is!a!clear!difference!between!education!and!training!Z!education!is!about!the!changing!of!the!way!people!think!about!their!dayZtoZday!work!–!how!to!govern!an!agile!project,!while!keeping!flexibility,!how!to!build!code!while!reducing!the!cost!of!change,!to!undertake!analysis!by!focusing!on!vertical!slices!of!business!value.!

Training!is!about!the!mechanics!of!how!practices!are!done,!such!as!a!template!for!writing!a!user!story.!Education!will!focus!on!changing!the!thought!process!to!focus!on!value!and!enable!the!educated!to!think!and!decide!what!works!for!them!and!for!their!team.!!

Lots!of!agile!teams!have!gone!through!Scrum!training,!or!even!better,!Agile!training.!While!we!believe!there!is!value!in!these!trainings,!what!we!are!illustrating!here!is!way!beyond!that.!Most!of!these!training!sessions!discuss!the!practices!and!ceremonies!of!the!practices,!like!how!to!do!release!planning,!how!to!write!user!stories!or!how!to!facilitate!a!daily!standZup.!While!this!training!is!needed,!this!is!not!education.!Education!goes!beyond!the!practices!and!into!the!dayZtoZday,!minuteZbyZminute!thought!process!of!people.!Education!will!help!people!BE!agile!not!just!DO!agile.!Education!illuminates!their!hearts!and!minds!and!helps!them!realize!how!an!agilist!acts!and!thinks!inZbetween!and!beyond!the!daily!meetings!and!workZsessions.!It!changes!their!beliefs,!values!and!habits.!That!is!truly!when!agility!becomes!sustainable!–!when!it!is!embodied!in!the!DNA!of!the!people!running!the!organization!(at!both!leadership!and!staff!levels).!!

! 53!

The!illustration!below!lays!out!how!much!of!one’s!time!is!consumed!by!agile!practices!during!a!typical!2Zweek!iteration.!Most!training!focus!on!the!practices!–!how!to!do!them!better,!different!ways!of!doing!them,!etc.!What!we!are!emphasizing!is!that!since!Agile!is!really!a!very!different!way!of!thinking!–!its!not!just!about!the!changing!the!way!people!“do”!the!practices,!people!need!change!the!way!they!think!about!their!work!–!which!includes!all!the!time!they!are!not!doing!practices!as!well.!That!is!the!focus!of!education!and!learning!compared!to!training.!!

The International Consortium for Agile While!we!acknowledge!our!bias!towards!the!learning!roadmap!published!by!the!International!Consortium!of!Agile!(ICAgile.com),!we!truly!believe!that!it!is!the!most!comprehensive!roadmap!in!the!agile!community!that!focuses!on!a!common!education!roadmap!for!agile!and!agility,!which!is!not!limited!to!training!on!a!particular!agile!methodology.!ICAgile!has!gathered!experts!from!around!the!world!and!they!have!collaborated!to!define!an!education!roadmap!for!every!discipline!needed!to!change!how!the!organization!as!a!whole!works,!and!provides!education!as!a!foundation!for!sustainable!organizational!agility.!(Focus!on!people!not!process,!education!not!training)!

We!believe!that!ICAgile!provides!a!set!of!learning!objectives!that!creates!a!clear!learning!roadmap!for!what!people!need!to!learn!within!each!discipline!(such!as!Development,!Testing,!Leadership,!and!Coaching)!to!become!knowledgeable!and!

9"10% 10"11% 11"12% 12"1% 1"2% 2"3% 3"4% 4"5%

Day$1$

Day$2$

Day$3$

Day$4$

Day$5$

Day$6$

Day$7$

Day$8$

Day$9$

Day$10$

Other$

Itera5on$Planning$Stand>up$Demo$Retrospec5ve$Release$Planning$

! 54!

capable!to!work!in!a!way!that!enables,!promotes!and!manifests!the!organizational!agility!towards!which!the!organization!is!transforming.!!

Course!designers!(whether!they!be!in!training!companies,!internal!to!organizations,!or!even!within!academic!institutes)!design!classes!to!align!with!the!ICAgile!roadmap!and!accredit!these!classes!and!modules!against!the!learning!objectives!across!the!disciplines.!Once!a!course!is!accredited!it!guarantees!to!the!organization!that!the!participants!going!through!the!course!are!actually!learning!what!the!experts!have!outlined!in!the!learning!objectives!and!are!being!assessed!accordingly.!!

ICAgile!provides!an!agile!education!transcript!for!every!professional!going!through!their!educational!journey.!That!transcript!shows!all!the!learning!objectives!(defined!by!the!experts)!that!they!need!to!complete!and!their!progress!towards!the!realization!of!competency!in!their!chosen!disciplines.!!

! 55!

14 An Agile Transformation

Roadmap


! 56!

To%summarize,%the%essence%of%the%transformational%roadmap%is%to%introduce%a%series%of%keystone'habits'into%the%organization%(to%change%the%organizational%habits)%while%slowly%aligning%all'the'elements'of'the'organizational'ecosystem'to%establish%the%keystone%habits%truly%as%habit%that%are%done%automatically%by%the%organization%–%it%becomes%the%way%things%are%done%in%the%organization%–%that's%how%it%becomes%sustainable.%

During!this!transformation!journey!we!want!to!maintain!as!much!equilibrium!of!culture!as!possible.!!In!other!words!we!want!to!make!sure!that!all!the!elements!of!the!ecosystem!are!aligned.!We!shouldn’t!be!introducing!collaborative!processes!and!practices!when!people!are!not!education!yet!of!how!to!be!collaborative!or!leaders!don’t!have!the!mindset!and!tools!to!encourage!collaboration.!!

So!as!we!introduce!a!new!keystone!habit!into!the!organization!we!need!to!start!asking!these!questions:!

• What!does!Leadership!need!to!know,!or!do!to!enable,!support!and!promote!this!keystone!habit?!

• What!needs!to!change!for!our!Strategies!to!enable,!support!and!promote!this!keystone!habit?!

• What!needs!to!change!for!our!Structure!to!enable,!support!and!promote!this!keystone!habit?!

• What!needs!to!change!for!our!Processes!to!enable,!support!and!promote!this!keystone!habit?!

• What!do!People!in!the!organization!need!to!know,!or!do!to!enable,!support!and!promote!this!keystone!habit?!

!The!answers!to!these!important!questions!lay!down!the!foundation!for!the!organizational!roadmap.!

! 57!

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! 58!

In!the!previous!section!we!highlighted!an!important!missing!element,!in!most!transformations,!is!the!learning!and!education!component.!!The!journey!for!the!leadership!and!individual!contributors!(people)!is!mostly!an!educational!journey.!People!need!to!understand!why!they!are!doing!the!routine!of!the!habit!and!what!they!are!getting!out!of!it.!!

As!for!the!strategy,!structure,!and!process!components!of!the!roadmap!these!elements!will!need!to!change!to!support!the!Keystone!habits.!This!is!where!a!lot!of!the!agile!practices!can!come!in!and!also!this!the!place!that!can!accommodate!scaling!models!like!the!Scaled!Agile!Framework!and!Disciplined!Agile!Delivery.!

Consider!this!example.!Suppose!we!are!going!to!introduce!the!keystone!habit!of!“Enhancing!Communication!and!Collaboration.”!The!entire!organization!will!embark!on!a!journey!to!change!the!ecosystem!(leadership,!strategy,!structure,!processes!and!people)!to!establish!the!habit!and!realize!the!benefits!associated!with!that!keystone!habit.!!

What!that!really!means!is!that!there!will!be!actual!changes!to!each!of!those!elements!in!the!form!of!new!roles!(e.g.!facilitators)!or!new!practices!(e.g.!group!estimation)!and!changes!to!rewards!and!goals!(e.g.!favor!team!work!over!individual!heroics).!These!practices!and!tools!will!need!be!tweaked!and!customized!for!each!group!within!the!organization!to!suit!their!needs!–!which!is!fine,!since!we!are!all!focusing!on!!enhancing!Communication!and!collaboration.!To!support!these!changes!the!leadership!will!go!through!a!learning!program!and!possibly!also!some!coaching!and!mentoring!to!learn!what!the!Agile!Mindset!is!about!as!well!as!how!to!manage!Knowledge!Workers!and!how!collaboration!is!not!“touchy!feel!stuff”!but!truly!the!engine!of!an!innovative,!knowledge!work,!organization.!Similarly!the!people!need!learn!also!what!the!Agile!Mindset!is!and!why!they!should!value!collaboration!(even!if!it!takes!longer).!People!need!to!belief!that!collaboration!will!yield!better!results!and!that!it!is!worth!the!investment.!This!is!how!these!new!strategies,!structures!and!processes!can!be!supported.!Then!by!having!all!the!5!elements!of!the!organization!promote!collaboration!it!will!become!a!habit!in!the!organization.!!The!next!diagram!is!an!example!of!how!the!roadmap!may!look!like!when!starting!with!collaboration!as!the!first!Keystone!habit.!!

! 59!

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! 60!

!

Things to Keep in Mind about Your Roadmap Since!each!organization!is!unique,!each!organization!should!have!a!different!roadmap.!The!key!to!making!sure!that!your!roadmap!is!correct!is!to!frequently!inspect!and!adapt!it.!Just!like!in!knowledge!work!you!won’t!know!if!you!got!it!right!till!you!do!it,!similarly,!your!first!roadmap!probably!won’t!be!completely!right!and!it!is!also!probably!the!best!starting!point!you!have.!The!most!important!thing!is!to!inspect!and!adapt!and!discuss!what!changes!need!to!happen!to!the!roadmap!as!execution!begins.!Don’t!try!to!take!a!“checklist!mentality”!or!“linear!approach”!to!agile!transformation!–!that!would!be!pretty!ironic.!

We!can!also!give!you!a!couple!of!important!things!to!key!in!mind!when!building!your!roadmap.!

The!first!thing!to!keep!in!mind!is!that!it's!going!to!be!a!fairly!long!journey,!definitely!not!a!switch!of!a!button.!The!strategy,!structure!and!processes!of!companies!are!established!(and!deeply!rooted)!elements!in!an!organization.!Sudden!change!to!them!may!work!in!some!cases,!but!in!most!cases!it!doesn’t.!So!just!as!the!educational!journey!for!leadership!is!multiZstage!and!probably!multiZyear,!the!transformational!roadmap!for!the!strategy,!structure!and!process!also!will!probably!be!multiZstage!and!multiZyear!–!it!actually!should!go!handZinZhand!with!the!educational!component!of!the!roadmap.!!

The!second!thing!to!be!very!conscious!of!is!that!the!transformational!journey!should!span!the!entire!organization.!The!entire!organization!is!engaged!in!a!common!journey!to!reach!a!shared!vision.!By!having!one!part!of!the!organization!change!and!not!the!other!we!are!creating!misalignment!again!within!the!overall!culture.!Due!to!the!size!of!the!change!it!is!very!tempting!to!“try!it!out”!in!a!“small!contained!group”!within!the!organization!first!to!see!if!the!new!changes!work!first.!Our!advice!in!this!situation!is!to!make!smaller!changes!–!if!needed!Z!but!keep!everyone!in!the!organization!engaged!–!not!just!one!“pilot”!group.!

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15 Measurements

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The!final!component!that!needs!to!be!addressed!in!a!cultureZled!transformation!is!measurement.!One!of!the!main!reasons!we!promote!a!cultureZled!transformation!is!that!we!want!to!ensure!that!the!culture!doesn’t!get!misaligned!and!strained!during!the!transformation.!So!to!do!that!a!strong!measurement!system!needs!to!be!established.!The!measurement!system!is!primarily!established!to:!!

• Validate!quantitatively!the!progress!of!the!transformation!• Validate!quantitatively!the!impact!of!the!transformation!• Validate!quantitatively!the!alignment!of!the!culture!

Progress of the transformation Any!agile!transformation,!especially!multiZyear!transformations!like!the!one!discussed!in!this!paper,!need!to!show,!via!quantitative!evidence,!that!the!transformation!people!are!investing!time,!energy,!money,!and!other!resources!in!is!progressing.!The!team!needs!to!define!what!progress!means!and!establish!a!measurement!system!to!show!evidence!of!!progress.!!While!the!impact!of!the!transformation!(!as!described!in!the!next!section)!is!really!the!more!important!measure!from!our!perspective,!measuring!progress!is!still!important,!because!for!the!impact!to!be!substantial,!it!will!take!time,!and!if!progress!is!not!being!tracked,!funding!for!the!transformation!may!get!cut!before!the!impact!can!be!realized.!!

Impact of the transformation While!measuring!progress!is!important!to!justify!the!investment!put!into!the!transformation,!the!true!measure!of!the!transformation!is!its!impact.!Measures!need!to!be!defined!upfront!for!what!the!anticipated!impact!from!the!transformation!will!be,!and!then!measurement!systems!(how!to!measure)!need!to!be!established!from!day!one!to!show!the!impact!of!the!transformation!–!even!if!it!is!small.!The!challenge!here!is!that!defining!the!measurements!and!establishing!a!system!to!measure!them!is!not!easy,!and!so!many!transformation!efforts!skip!doing!it!and!just!start!the!transformation.!The!power!of!starting!the!measurement!of!impact!from!day!one!is!that!first!of!all!it!forces!the!organization!to!think!about!what!!impact!they!expect!!the!transformation!to!have,!and!more!importantly!how!to!measure!that!impact.!Measures!of!impact!provide!a!sense!of!accomplishment!for!the!team!and!the!organization!along!their!journey,!while!at!the!same!time!they!illustrate!what!the!return!on!investment!realized!from!the!journey!has!been.!!

Alignment of the culture The!last!piece!of!the!measurement!system!needs!to!be!a!mechanism!to!monitor!the!mindset!and!culture!that!are!changing!across!the!organization.!Basically,!the!organization!needs!to!be!aware!when!the!“triangle”!is!not!moving!together!and!when!one!element!is!causing!the!culture!to!be!misaligned!or!strained.!Today!most!

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organization!don’t!“measure”!this!but!rather!experience!its!symptoms!every!day!of!the!transformation.!!

When!organizations!start!to!measure!impediments!associated!with!the!transformation!like!the!lack!of!buyZin!and!lack!of!commitment!to!initiatives,!what!they!are!really!doing!is!subtly!measuring!the!strain!on!the!culture!(the!rubber!band)!and!its!alignment.!If!the!elements!of!the!organization!(leadership,!strategy,!structure,!processes!and!people)!are!all!aligned,!why!would!there!be!lack!of!buyZin!or!lack!of!commitment?!!Lack!of!buyZin!and!commitment!is!an!indicator!that!something!is!not!yet!aligned.!!

For!example,!if!there!is!a!complaint!about!buyZin,!that!could!indicate!that!management!is!trying!to!do!something!and!people!are!not!aligned!or!vice!versa.!If!“management”!is!not!boughtZin!to!something!the!team!is!doing!then!that!is!a!indication!that!the!elements!of!the!“triangle”!are!not!moving!together.!The!lack!of!buyZin!could!be!because!the!staff!had!started!on!the!education!journey!but!not!the!leadership,!or!!vice!versa.!!

The!point!is!that!when!there!is!misalignment!in!the!culture,!all!sorts!of!challenges!appear!during!the!journey.!The!organization!should!identify!how!they!will!measure!the!alignment!of!culture!during!the!transformation!and!put!in!place!the!measurement!system!to!gather!that!quantitative!data.!That!way,!the!organization!will!be!aware!(and!address!issues)!that!come!up!once!the!culture!gets!out!of!alignment.!The!team!should!develop!a!hypersensitivity!to!the!alignment!of!culture,!because!it!is!the!key!to!protecting!the!company!from!a!drop!in!performance!during!the!transformation.!!

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16 The Agile Tree Analogy

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We!find!analogies!very!powerful!in!relaying!complex!concepts.!We!have!looked!at!numerous!analogies!for!Agile!and!have!found!great!similarities!between!a!tree!and!agile.!!If!think!of!Agile!as!a!tree,!then!the!mindset!is!the!seed!or!Acorn!that!was!planted!in!the!first!place!to!grow!the!tree.!The!values!and!principles!are!the!roots!of!the!tree!that!keep!it!firm!and!alive.!The!leaves!are!the!practices.!They!come!and!go!and!should!change.!It!takes!time!for!trees!to!grow!and!it!takes!time!for!organizations!to!become!Agile.!Have!fun!with!this!analogy!and!see!what!new!insights!you!can!get!about!agile!through!this!analogy!!

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Using-the-tree-analogy-think-of-these?-

What!is!Agile?!What!is!Agility?!What!are!the!Values?!What!are!the!Principles?!What!is!Scrum?!What!is!XP?!What!does!Doing!Agile!look!like!verse!Being!Agile?!How!to!you!start!becoming!Agile?!What!does!sunshine!and!rain!represent?!What!do!seasons!mean!to!the!tree?!

What-else?-Get-Creative-….-

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17 Good Reads

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1. The%Principles%of%Product%Development%Flow!by!Donald!Reinerstsen!

2. Management%3.0%by!Jurgen!Appelo!

3. Chasing%the%Rabbit!by!Steven!Spear!

4. The%Lean%Startup:%How%Today's%Entrepreneurs%Use%Continuous%Innovation%to%Create%Radically%Successful%Businesses%by!Eric!Ries!

5. Mindset:%The%New%Psychology%of%Success%by!Carol!Dweck!!

6. The%Power%of%Habit:%Why%We%Do%What%We%Do%in%Life%and%Business%by!Charles!Duhigg!

7. The%Art%of%Explanation:%Making%your%Ideas,%Products,%and%Services%Easier%to%Understand%by!Lee!LeFever!

8. Becoming%Agile%…%in%an%imperfect%world%by!Greg!Smith!and!Ahmed!Sidky!

9. Agile%Retrospectives:%Making%Good%Teams%Great%by!Esther!Derby,!Diana!Larsen!

10. Fearless%Change:%Patterns%for%Introducing%New%Ideas%by!Mary!Lynn!Manns!and!Linda!Rising!

11. Agile%Estimating%and%Planning%!by!Mike!Cohn,!

12. User%Stories%Applied:%For%Agile%Software%Development%by!Mike!Cohn,!!

13. Agile%Project%Management:%Creating%Innovative%Products%by!Jim!Highsmith,!!

14. Organizational%Patterns%of%Agile%Software%Development%by!James!O.!Coplien,!!

15. Coaching%Agile%Teams%by!Lyssa!Adkins!

16. Innovation%Games%by!Luke!Hohmann!!

17. Implementing%Lean%Software%Development:%From%Concept%to%Cash%by!Mary!Poppendieck,!Tom!Poppendieck,!!

18. Collaboration%Explained:%Facilitation%Skills%for%Software%Project%Leaders%by!Jean!Tabaka!,!!

19. Agile%Software%Development:%The%Cooperative%Game%(2nd%Edition)%by!Alistair!Cockburn!

20. The%Art%of%Agile%Development%by!James!Shore!and!Shane!Warden,!

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