Project Requirements
The project is going nowhere!!! That was the answer I got from a startup CEO when I asked him about the project status...
The project is going nowhere!!! That was the answer I got from a startup CEO when I asked him about the project status...
Let's talk about measurements. Organizations who still work in classic environments (that is, waterfall) measure the progress based on resources' inputs, which means how much effort they invested in a specific task.
Let's talk about mid-term planning. The question "How far can we plan?" has been raised many times in recent years. Obviously, organizations that would like to be flexible and responsive cannot plan for a year or even 6 months.
Let's talk about work from home – WFH. In recent months many organizations were forced to work from home, whether they liked or not. Organizations that were already used to WFH made this transformation smoothly. Other Organizations had to invest in infrastructure and tools to be able to work remotely. Our challenge as Agile coaches was to make sure the organizations continue to be agile despite the constraints.
Let's talk about Agile and VUCA world. VUCA is a term that was coined by the American Army and defines the current business environment that we live in. It stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.
Let's talk about co-location. One of the basic principles in establishing an Agile team is that it has to be co-located. Co-location enhances communication, builds team spirit etc. However, in the post COVID-19 era we will see a lot of employees working from home. Some say it is a fact that we'll have to get used to.
Let's talk about COVID-19 and its impact on Lean-Agile mindset transformation. As in any extreme event there is upside and downside. The downside is that some of the teams say that this is not a good time for Lean-Agile transformation because they are too busy… Sounds familiar?
Organizations can adopt the Agile mindset in many ways. Scrum, being an Agile subset, is one of them. However, focusing on Scrum only and not adopting a true End-to-End Lean-Agile process will challenge the organization capability to deliver true value to its customers. The challenge is even greater in large organizations.
Let's talk about "Agile Champions". One of the key success factors in Agile implementation is the early identification of the organizational "Agile Champions" who are going to be the first group to adopt the Agile mindset that will lead the Agile organization in the long run.
Let's talk about working with ALM tools. I would like to emphasize that ALM tool is a tool that should support us and not lead us. However, after leading many #Agile transformations I have realized that none of the tools I have seen is fully supporting the principles and processes we have implemented. It does not support even 80% of what we need.