Part 1: Agile Transformation – What is it ? Why is it necessary ?
If being flexible, leveraging on collaboration and sustaining shared understanding is critical for your success, there is a need to engage in agile transformation. But what does that actually mean, why is it necessary and how can it be done correctly ? These are fundamental questions that arise in most organizations contemplating in being more agile. This brief article answers these questions irrespective of the type of organization you lead or work in.
What is it?
Being agile implies having the ability to think quickly and respond effectively to changes. Agile transformation simply means shifting an organization towards an agile way of working. A way of working that enables employees to respond faster to leverage on opportunities and overcome threats that emerge better than before.
This involves embracing a more customer centric, collaborative way of working that emphasises creativity, employee initiative, innovative approaches, and a reduction in unnecessary micro-management.
Why is it necessary ?
The primary aim of being agile is to add value This implies increasing the gain (such as revenue, improvements, social network etc ) and reducing the pain ( such as cost, effort, time etc). The aim is to continually seek to benefit the client within increasingly shorter timelines and less effort. This benefits both your organization as well as to your customers.
By persistently adding value, the ecosystem required to sustain agility will emerge. They include
· Collaboration through Honest, Open and Transparent (HOT) feedback
· Knowledge sharing that boost efficiency
· Self-Organization leading to Faster product delivery
Through a heightened sense of collaboration that readily accepts and respects feedback both within teams as well as with other stakeholders including customers, knowledge sharing is intensified significantly. With such an increase in knowledge sharing, teams are better able to plan, monitor and execute work on their own.
· Collaboration through Honest, Open and Transparent (HOT) feedback
Following on from the above point, HOT ( Honest, Open and Transparent ) communication that plays a core role in boosting collaboration begins to manifest. Agile places greater importance on sharing ideas, testing, and delivering feedback — all of which require clear open communication based and mutual respect and trust. This is done both within the team as well as with customers and all relevant stakeholders .
· Knowledge sharing that boost efficiency
In an agile work environment, departments no longer stay restricted to their own tasks without taking any involvement in their colleagues’ work: teams can share their knowledge and skills to create better products and operate in a more efficient way. This becomes a norm that enables efficiency across all departments and functional units to increase exponentially.
· Self-Organization leading to Faster product delivery
Just as agile principles can help teams complete development on software projects faster, agile transformation serves to have the same effect on all areas of a business, such as delivery of enhanced customer experience or quicker turnaround of products that clients value.
Teams should be trusted more to work independently without being micromanaged every step of the way. This shift in management supervision from manager led to team led creates a smoother, streamlined process, with fewer delays or obstacles to negotiate.
To summarize, achieving flexibility is one of the traits to be agile. Being agile allows you to the ability to think quickly and respond effectively to changes. Agile transformation simply means shifting an organization towards an agile way of working. The aim of Agile Transformation is to add value to all stakeholders in a complex work environment.
Tune in next month for part 2 of this article.
Dr Rumesh Kumar
PMP, PMP Trainer,
Scrum Certified Trainer
PMI - Agile Certified Practitioner
Scrum Master Certified, Scrum Product Owner Certified, Scrum Developer Certified
Sharma Management International