How to succeed with agile where agile frameworks fail?

Focus on agile principles, be flexible on the agile framework

A team can apply an agile framework (Scrum, Kanban, Safe, etc), yet it can still be far from being agile. Agile frameworks facilitate agility, but without a change in the mindset, true agility can remain elusive. Unfortunately, many teams experience this. They implement an agile framework but fail to achieve agility.

So, how can teams instill an agile mindset?

One way is to review the agile principles to set a team’s behavior and processes. Then encourage the behaviors that will create an agile culture and mindset.

So let's see what the agile principles tell us. There are 12 agile principles. For simplicity, I will class them into four broader groups

Group 1: Delivery of working software

I chose the following agile principles as part of this group

• Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
• Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
• Working software is the primary measure of progress.

If your team is not delivering working software in the hands of your customers often, then no matter what framework you are using, you are not agile. The first priority of your team should be to deliver working software often. Your processes, tools, and framework should facilitate this. If this is not the case, review your process and adjust.

Group 2 — Collaboration and Motivation

I chose the following agile principles as part of this group.

• Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
• The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
• Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

Your framework and processes should encourage collaboration. True collaboration happens when the cross-functional team works as a unit to deliver value to the clients.

If the team is not talking to the customers they should change that. The entire team should be part of understanding the requirements. This will usually mean that the whole team needs to work with the business and other stakeholders. This includes developers, BA, Testers, Product Owners etc.

The team should also take responsibility and aims to become self-organized. The best solutions emerge from self-organizing teams.

Remember: “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.” — H.E. Luccock

Group 3— Don’t do work that does not add value

I chose the following agile principle as part of this group.

• Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.

My view is that this is one of the most critical and misunderstood principles of agile. This is the reason that this single principle forms its own group.

The team should ensure that they are not doing anything that does not add value. Examine every task and process and ask the question — Does this task or process add enough value? Then be brave in cutting the waste as this will mean making hard decisions.

Remember: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all” — Peter Drucker

Group 4— Continuous Improvement

Finally, I chose the following principles under this group

• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
• Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
• Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

The teams should have a sharp focus on continuous improvement. A relentless pursuit of being better at what they do. This includes open to change even late in development for the customer’s benefit. Focus on technical excellence. Pause and reflect to become more effective.

The changes do not have to be big. The team can apply Kaizen principles to help them achieve continuous improvement.

Remeber : “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection” — Mark Twain

With a sharp focus on these principles, the team will deliver more value to their stakeholders. This will help the team succeed with agile with any chosen framework.