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

Scrum Master is one of the core roles in the Scrum framework that adds value by making sure the team correctly follows the Scrum framework.

To define the Scrum Master key skills is somewhat difficult because he/she performs the role of management as well as the team leader. The major role of the Scrum Master is not to tell his team members what they should do but to support and motivate them. An example that can be used for a Scrum Master is a referee in a sports match. Whenever a rule is broken in a sports match, the referee will penalize the offender. Similarly, the Scrum Master might need to train or coach the team on how to use the Scrum framework correctly.

The Scrum Master must acquire specific skills for this, which he/she should work on personally. The following Scrum Master skills are necessary to succeed as a Scrum Master and successfully transition into the Scrum Master role:

1. Remove obstacles and keep the team focused

The Scrum Master concentrates on helping the team members stay on task and accomplish their objectives. He/She is responsible for finding out the distractions that block the team from delivering quality work. Unwelcome meetings, cumbersome procedures, the workplace, or any other difficulty are examples of these distractions. Any obstacles or sources of distractions are removed that might prevent the team from adding value by developing the product or service for the client.

2. Promotes sharing of experiences

Based on research, 30% of effective learning occurs when experience is shared in the workplace. The knowledge that is imparted during the experience sharing will create trust among team members and also provide ideas on how to solve complex problems.

3. The Ability to Communicate and Listen

Scrum is synonymous with empiricism. Empiricism is the scientific approach based on evidence, where any idea must be tested against observations. For empiricism, it is important to communicate ideas and to listen to each team member.  Occasionally, it's important to pay attention to the various audiences. Being a good listener is therefore an important skill for Scrum Masters.

4. Serving as a coach for group growth

Successful Scrum Masters thoroughly understand the various stages a team can go through while working together. In addition, he/she is aware of the significance of team composition. The Scrum Master mentors the team members by forming natural, self-organizing teams; monitoring the project; putting straightforward methodology rules into practice; and developing a project vision.

5. Collaboration with the Product Owner

Three roles are involved in a Scrum project: the Product Owner, the Scrum Team, and the Scrum Master. Together with the Product Owner, the scrum master forges a working relationship. While the Scrum Master's responsibility is safeguarding his team, the Product Owner's role is pushing the team. Together, the Product Owner and Scrum Master add value to the team by creating a perfect rapport with them and, as a result, delivering the best outcomes.

6. Supportive Leadership

A Scrum Master has to show skills of supportive leadership. Scrum framework is new compared to traditional project management. Therefore, the Scrum Master needs to train the Scrum Team members on how to use the Scrum framework while managing complex projects.  Supportive leadership focuses on improving two aspects of a Scrum Team member which are will and skill. A supportive leader will teach the team member if they lack the skill (knowledge of Scrum) and will motivate them if they lack the motivation to implement the Scrum framework. An advantage of a supportive leader is that the leader will be able to work together with the Scrum team to empower them to be able to self-organize.

In conclusion, for the organization to be able to implement the Scrum framework to manage complex projects, they will need to hire a full-time Scrum Master. The Scrum Master that they hire needs to help the team remove blockers, promote sharing of experiences, can exhibit good communication and listening skills, serves as a coach for the team, can collaborate with the Product Owner, and finally be a supportive leader.

You will learn how to successfully undertake the skills above once you have attended the two days of online sessions under the "Scrum Master Certification (SMC) Training Course."

By: Sharma Management International