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A Different Approach to Agile Transformation Jeff Anderson

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Today’s Technology Delivery Organizations

Face A Host Of Challenges Delivering

Business Value To Their Customers

Why do so many software technology organizations face the same issues and problems, regardless of context, industry, or domain?

Customer demand continually outpaces our ability to deliver, backlog is getting bigger

We are way too expensive, and our costs are constantly being cut

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An environment of constant learning can be enabled by organizing workers

into dedicated teams that constantly adapt as necessary to deliver continuous

value to their customers

Workers are organized according to stable, cross functional teams…

…enabling the team to adapt to a complex, constantly changing environment

Feedback enabling them to handle the complexity of work that is constantly changing

A secondary feedback loop is used to ensure that teams are continually evolving their process to suit a constantly changing environment

Highly regimented control, one standard, and detailed plans are replaced by feedback and data

Agility at scale is achieved by organizing the enterprise as a value network made of mostly cross functional (but sometimes functional) teams

Demand is broken up into small, and well understood units of business value that can be delivered independently of each other

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These are both boats…

…is nothing like a motor boat…But a steamboat…

A legacy organization… …is nothing like an agile organization

Adopting agile methods leads to a profound change in thinking, values, and

capability

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Our team can guide you through the agile journey in a way that will accelerate results, maximize adoption, and create sustainable change

An agile approach to agile change will accelerate adoption of the right

agile modelTraditional approaches to software delivery improvement have limited

success

The typical approach to rolling out a new delivery model falls in waterfall approach• Define the target state• Identify gaps in the current state• Create a roadmap• Implement the target state, often big bang

• We have not encountered scenarios where this is has led to meaningful and sustained value for both IT and its customers

• Building a method that quickly becomes stale and is not fit for purpose • People following a check the box mentality, or build our effects once the project is complete• Greater lack of control, poorer visibility, less accountability• No demonstration of improvement in generation of business value

• Co-create a change solution using a cross functional group of stakeholders• Design and rollout change using an iterative approach, maximizing opportunity to adjust to the right

solution• Contextualize the change solution to meet your unique needs rather than forklifting in a commoditized

model

We have had real success in helping clients use an "agile change management" approach

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A "continuous delivery programA "waterfall" approach to agile change creates an environment of severe

risk for an agile transformation program

Identify Gaps

Build a Change Backlog

Build A Roadmap

Build a Change Backlog

Roll Out The Method

R D B T D

Performance can drop significantly in the medium-term, increasing the resistance to adoption of the new methods

A traditional tend to approach agile change using a waterfall design and planning approach. The result is change resistance, unsustainable change, and an agile target state that does not meet the needs of of your environment.

Identify gaps by looking at current organizational capability and willingness to change

Unverified assumptions about current capability, aptitude, and willingness to change on the part of TD staff

Sequence and prioritize the activities to adopt a new continuous delivery method

Unverified assumptions about the right change methods, and how staff in TD learn and respond to change

Establish the continuous delivery model across the department

Delivery model is presented in a way that "resists" continual refinement and improvement

A change imposed from the "outside-in"

Design a target state based on examining business drivers and organizational constraints.

Unverified assumptions about solution applicability to TD and if they address key points

Selection of agile and continuous delivery methods is not fit for purpose and suited to your context

Absorbing the method in a big batch will result in change burnout, as a result adoption stalls before it's complete

Define Target State

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We manage agile adoption as an agile project, using co-creation, iterations,

and constant learning

Adopting agile methods is a lot like delivering a complex software project, success means taking an agile approach to introducing agile

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We have lived the challenges behind Agile transformation and believe

successful Agile change require addressing a holistic set of risks

Will the Change be Sustainable?

Is My

Agile Change Correct?

How do I Minimize Resistance?

Agile transformations face critical challenges concerning correctness of the target state, resistance to adoption, and failure to sustain the new mindset.

Defining a methodology without testing in the field will leave the organization with the irrelevant “bloatware”

Context is king, no one delivery method is correct for a organization, methods need to be adapted

The most important part of the method, how teams and individuals interact, need to be defined at the grassroots level, and continually tuned

Top down approach to transformation typically meets resistance with the working teams

People’s very identity are threatened by any initiative that asks them to change the way they work

The “all or nothing” view of big “A” agile can be disruptive and teams may resist the big change

Sustaining change is one of the greatest challenges in Agile transformations – in the absence of appropriate processes people tend to go back to old or convenient ways

Methodologies are compromised under stress conditions (scope, timelines, resources)

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Design & plan each change so that impacted teams, rather than change agents “own” the change

Deploy small changes iteratively, using a lifecycle that enforces a experiment and learn mindset

Lean Change puts change stakeholders in the drivers seat, arming them with change tools that allow them to learn their way to the right agile solution

Change design sessions are facilitated using collaborative, informal, method such as the Change Canvas

The Change Canvas maximizes how many change participants can play an ownership role in designing what the change will look like

A change that is owned by change participants is much less likely to encounter resistance, and will have a much greater chance of being suitable for the organization

Change is deployed in the smallest possible increment known as Minimum Viable Changes

Each MVCs follow a Validated Change lifecycle that determines if the change is getting the right type of traction

All activity for an MVC is expressed in the form of Improvement Experiments

Improvement Experiments are designed according to the Validated Change lifecycle, this ensures the right assumptions are validated early on

Regardless of whether experiments succeed or fail, the required learning takes place, maximizing our chance of rolling out a change solution that that meets the needs of all employees

Manage agile change risk by iteratively testing small changes that are

designed by both change agents and change stakeholders

Scale out change co-creation and learning enterprise wide, building an ecosystem of continuous improvement The scope of entire transformation then the next using a larger scale and is known as a

Transformation Canvas

Multiple leadership and champion transformation planning workshops are run in parallel where information is synthesized, merged, and finally broadcast to the entire organization using the Transformation Canvas

The transformation is mined for risk, which is mitigated through strategic level experiments

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Design & plan each change so that impacted teams rather than change agents

“own” the change

The Change Canvas is a change model on a page, facilitating Negotiated Change. This negotiation process enables meaningful organizational change. Change agents and change stakeholders negotiate different aspects of the change canvas collaborating on a simple, holistic model. Highly collaborative canvas design workshops maximize the buy-in necessary to support successful change.

Describe your change participants, the people who are going to own and be most impacted by the change. Tag change participants according to role, level, involvement, etc.

Articulate why these participants would feel any urgency to take part in an agile change. Summarize key pain points, and their impacts. Try to direct one urgency per “type” of change participants

Determine the appropriate change actions (coaching, training, mentoring, self-study, workshops, etc.) that will help you achieve the benefits of your change vision

Agree on a communication approach. Think about communication channel, directionality, and frequency. Consider how you will reach out to both direct change participants and other interested chain stakeholders

For each urgency-participant, conceptualize your change solution. Define a set of target options that will improve the lives of your change participants

Synthesize a vision that will inspire action! (Outcome achieved by action resulting in benefits)

List a set of change benefits for all or each type of change participants. Include benefits based on improvement and capability, as well as performance

Specify success criteria creating a measurable yardstick describing what success looks like. List assumptions relating to how many people will receive what level of capability improvement and the level of impact of performance improvements

Gain consensus on the commitments (change participants time, facilities, etc.) required by both change participants and change agents to enable these actions

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Design your canvas following each of these practices to ensure maximum ownership

of the right change plan

Plan Change in a Cocreative WayMake sure that all change stakeholders work closely with change agents to come up with a change solution together. The canvas supports a collaborative environment, but it is up to the facilitator and workshop participants to take advantage of this tool.Expect Your Change Plan to Be WrongThe change canvas is easy to build, easy to modify, and easy to tear down if it turns out to be completely wrong. It still takes a combination of courage, introspection, and discipline to take the time to modify elements of a change plan when we discover that they are incorrect.

Use the Change Canvas As an Information RadiatorRepresent the change canvas using physical, low fidelity artifacts that can be placed in a highly visible place, frequently trafficked by members of the organization. This encourages maximum exposure and feedback to our canvas, from as many sources as possible.

Keep the Content of the Canvas Light Weight and InformalContent within the canvas should be succinct. We want to avoid getting lost in the details, providing key information at a glance.

Think Visually, Use Pictures to Enhance CommunicationA simple picture can convey a lot of meaning. Artistic excellence is not required, Simply the willingness to put things down in picture form using whatever skills are available!

Keep Change Canvas As Close As Possible to Where Change Recipients WorkPlace the canvas wear most of the change recipients work. This encourages change recipients to look at the model in their own time, and encourages ownership of the change model by the impact the team

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Done right, the Change Canvas can guide the team towards Agile success

Manager Executive

Business Owner Project Manager

Developers Testers

Business Subject Matter Expert

Analysts

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Smallest possible change that maximizes learning

and buy-in…

necessary to validate the viability of a change program

Learn

Prepare

Introduce

Improvement

Experiment

• No longer than a couple of months in duration

• Impacting no more than 9-15 FTEs

• Adoption of one or two practices, or a cohesive set of methods or techniques

• All aspects of a Minimum Viable Change can be thought of as assumptions that must be validated through explicit declaration of hypotheses, and deliberate experimentation against specific success criteria

• This approach maximizes feedback and learning necessary for successful transformation

…is small in scope and duration

...is validated through experimentation

• Change activity is expressed as a collection of Improvement Experiments

• Each Experiment validates one or more assumption behind the change

• Experiments are tracked using an Improvement Kanban

Lean metrics

for channels

department

Software

craftmanship

level quality for

web group

Collaborative

management

and modeling

for Team A

Each Change Canvas can be used to represent a Minimum Viable Change, the smallest

possible change that can be used to validate that we are on the right course

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Each Improvement in an MVC is managed like a scientific experiment; complete

with hypotheses, constraints, and metrics of success

Success Metrics

Manager-Led Change Planning – Experiment Overview Hypothesis

Approach

Materials required

Timeline

1. Two tier change leader-change agent model will all the transformation to scale2. ES Leaders (Managers) will can exhibit change leader behaviors without formal

training3. ES Leaders can use the MVC planning kit with lightweight support from the Agile

COE

• January 9th

• January 9th-13th

• January 9th-13th

• January 14th-17th

• January 20th-23rd

• Manager Communication (Call to Participate)• Review Transformation Canvas and identify a minimum

viable change (MVC)• Schedule session to define MVC with change personas• Build a change canvas and develop an improvement

experiments Kanban (change planning) with the change agents supporting as needed

• Review MVC Canvas & Improvement Experiments with Change Agent

• MVC Change Canvas & Kanban Board• Set of sharpies• Set of post-its

• 50 Managers will be reached with a call to participate• 25 Managers will respond with a commitment to participate• 12 Managers will complete an MVC canvas and improvement Kanban• 6 Managers will have correctly planned their minimum viable change

• 100%• 50%• 25%• 12%

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Verify Performance

Validate adoptionNegotiate change

Agree on Urgency

LearnPrepare

Introduce

Improvement

Experiment

including developers in detail

story analysis will reduce

defects by 50% after one

month

• Urgency is connected to

change participant(s)

• Build a canvas with the

change participants

• Identify eager adopters

• Mockup a target options

and make commitments

explicit

• Agree on a set of

hypothesis as

improvements

• Consensus gained on plan

• All experiments validated

from a behavioral

perspective

• Follow communication

approach

• Continue until change is

stabilizing

• All experiments validated

from a performance

perspective

• Institutionalize

methods/behaviors into

culture, training, hiring,

job specifications, etc.

23

4 1

Example Improvement

Experiment

Overview sessions will result in

business volunteering PO role in

one week

analysts can perform

story analysis after 2

weeks of coaching

An MVC is verified first by validating what people say, then by what they do, and

finally, by how they are able to perform

Tech SME can run class

responsibility card sessions

after 2 weeks coaching

Team can implement and

follow Kanban policies after

3 weeks coaching

Pairing testers with BAs will

increase QA throughput by

the 30%

We can increase delivery

throughput by 30% if we

send 1 month refactoring the

code

Value stream mapping will reveal

correct change participants

and their key problems (2

weeks)

Canvas workshop will validate

urgency and problems after 1

sessions

Change solution

workshop will collaboratively result

in change solution (1 session)

Workshops will gain

agreement on plan

after 2 sessions

Champion group will

refine and agree to

“own” change

initiative (3 sessions)

Lifecycle state policy

MVCs pass-through a Validated Change Lifecycle based on the Kotter 8 steps of change; Improvement Experiments are designed to validate whether an MVC achieves explicit success criteria

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During the “Agree on Urgency” state we validate understanding of the problem,

using techniques like value stream mapping and 5 whys

Agree on

urgency

Negotiate the

change

Validate

adoption

Verify

performance

Release

planning

Story

analysisDevelop

Customer

demo

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During the “Negotiate the Change” state target options will be collaboratively

designed by both change agents and change participants

Agree on urgency

Negotiate the change

Validate adoption

Verify performance

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During the “Validate Adoption” our change is validated based on ability to

adopt new behavior and new techniques

Manage FlowScore 1 for each technique in use

Daily meetings 1

Cumulative Flow Diagrams 1

Delivery rate (velocity/throughput) control chart 1

SLA management / Lead time target

Flexible staff allocation or swarming behavior 1

Deferred pull decisions, or dynamic prioritization 1

Metrics for assessing flow such as number of days blocked, lead time efficiency

1

Conduct regular replenishment cadences with business stakeholders

Conduct regular release cadences with key stakeholders

SCORE 6

Agile ModelingScore 1 for each technique used

Model envisioning (requirements and architecture) 1

Iterative modelingModel simplest possible solution that can work then refine and build iteratively to reflect evolving solution

Model collaboratively across functions

Model stormingCross-functional team dynamically iterates across multiple models to communicate and evolve architecture and requirements using a just-in-time approach

SCORE 1

Story MappingScore 1 for each technique used

Story mapping of functional requirements 1

Narrating the story map 1

Story mapping of non-functional requirements

Story mapping of technical featuresFeatures that provide value to non-business stakeholders

1

Prioritize and group features by MMF 1

Maintain story maps as requirements evolve .5

Effectively define features (INVEST) .5

SCORE 5

Agree on urgency

Negotiate the change

Validate adoption

Verify performance

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During the “Verify Performance” we validate that our change results in improved

performance, using a combination of Lean & Agile metrics

Team lead will analyze

lead time / defects

using SPC after 3

coaching sessions

Defect density can

be reduced by

50% if thorough

introduction of

packaging/regs fit

gap analysis

Extending our Kanban to

include two-tier

(objectives- stories)

intake will reduce 3

week analysis lead time

by 50%

Agree on urgency

Negotiate the change

Validate adoption

Verify performance

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Change how the organization things & executes a capability

Modernize career ladder, job specifications, role, incentives, etc.

Formalize with HR, legal, etc.

Can the organization formalize the new thinking as the new normal?

Provide the means for the organization to sell.

Published training videos, droppings, students are tutors

Bush change away from the center

Will people adopt on Their Own?

Roll out the new model incrementally

Gradual shift from validating context to verifying that the change from scale

Adjustments (major) to target state will continue

Can I scale my change to a broader audience

Adopt one of the “easier” agile methods (e.g. Kanban, scrum)

Quick results gained through eager adopters

Maximize success through path of least resistance

What are the major barriers to change?

Validate That We

Have Commitment

Validate That We

Are Rolling out the Right Change

Validate That we Can Scale Change in a Sustainable

Way

Adopt a more complete example of the proposed target state

Try a new methods, organizational structure, etc. on a small scale

Be ready to pivot

Is my change right for my context?

The focus of learning, and specific MVCs shift over the course of an agile

transformation

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Lean Change scales out to allow the entire enterprise to participate in designing an end-

to-end agile transformation

Merged Canvase

Transformation Canvas

Volunteers are asked to stay behind and help merge their canvas into a consolidated Master Transformation Canvas

• The result is a complete Transformation Canvas representing the IT vision for the entire agile transformation

• The canvas is then socialized, and placed in a common, public area for further feedback

Each observation on the Master Transformation Canvas was reviewed and bucketed into a Transformation Theme

• Independent Transformation Canvas workshops are facilitated with executives, managers, and eager adopters, typically in groups of 6-9

• Workshop participants are asked to use the canvas to model the entire agile transformation, as opposed to an individual change

• The scope of these canvases typically cover the entire organization over the course of 1 year +

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Smallest possible change that maximizes learning and buy-in

necessary to validate the viability of a change program and its change tactics.

Change agents, change leaders, and change participants work together to build a transformation canvas that then inspire a set of Minimum Viable Changes (MVCs). These travel through the validated change lifecycle, validated by improvement experiments. As consistent, positive performance is demonstrated the minimum viable change is scaledacross the organization

Run

Support

Define & Plan Support

Refine & Replenish

Measure Review

Create / Extract

Urgency Change ParticipantsCommunicationVisionTarget Options

Success Criteria Actions

Wins/BenefitsCommitment· Qualitative benefits (customer perception, changes in behaviour, adoption of specific agile methods, moral)

· Quantitative benefits (quality, throughput, lead time, velocity)· Constraints around time, cost and effort

· Commitment from recipients, leaders, and change agents· Expertise required that does not exist in the organization (e.g. consultants, coaches, etc.)

· Single compelling statement that describes what the “destination” looks like

· Written in the form of <Exciting outcome> for <Affected stakeholder group> through <Target

metaphor>

· Share progress of the transformation· Target of communication, channel, frequency

· Who is impacted by the change?· Teams/departments

· Customers· Managers

· Direct/Indirect

· Strategic pillars, common enablers, etc.· Changes to responsibilities, team, model

· Top drivers, and what needs to change· Business impact of staying with the current situation

· Specific transformation milestones that let you know what success looks like

· Specific criteria for each quantitative and qualitative benefit

· Rate of progress expected for each benefit

· Key methods used to implement change· E.g. coaching, training, one-on-one mentoring,

process analysis, etc.

Later 5-6 Weeks 4 Weeks 3 Weeks 2 Weeks Next Prepare Introduce Learn Done

#leanchange

Facilitates

Participates

Refine

Facilitates Participates

Change Agent

Change Leader

Change Participant

The validated

change

lifecycle

inimum

iablehange

Transformation Canvas

Change Standup

Identify MVC

Improve with Metrics

Co-Create Change Solution

Adopt Agile Method

Legend

Improvement Standup

Scale

Consistent

Positive

Performance

Lean Change is a change management method that requires, and fosters, an

environment of collaboration and learning, essential prerequisites for agile delivery

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A legacy organization limited change for 20+

training of basic lean & agile techniques through immersive, interactive games

bottlenecks and other impediments are immediately obvious, and our primary inputs into a more fulsome future state design

confidence gained through successful, incremental change pave the way for introduction of adoption of best in class engineering disciplines

organizational morale has stayed relatively high throughout the transformation, team confidence is significantly improved, with a sense of pride and ownership

Co-creative transformation planning Resulting organizational wide ownership

invisible work is made visible, providing immediate value while building the case for further change

various team options are overlaid on the existing organizational structure "virtually" and tested, making it easier to undo sub optimal decisions

physical teams are formed, supported by structure, management and other agile methods informed by the incremental approach

teams are connected resulting in a organization wide value creation network

The organization has the ability to combine intuition with data to improve quantitatively, and is able to showcase significant improvements in performance

Month 2 Month 6 Month 10 Month 18Month 0

How we took a client through the LEAN journey