(Did we got) lost in Agility ?
A few months ago, the idea came to me to take a closer look at a very fashionable subject, which is that of Agility. And that is how I discovered how confusing the quest for Agile could get.
“ The Age of Agile ”
Unless you live in a cave (which is a choice I fully respect), it is almost impossible that the word “Agile” has never reached your ears. This article will undoubtedly join and get lost in the multitude of contents and news that flourish on the web on this subject. Thats is why perhaps we should take some time to look into the genesis of this agile frenzy.
∙ The digital revolution, aka transformation accelerator
The world is changing at an unprecedented pace. Digital, also described as “the fourth anthropological revolution in the human history” by Michel Serres, is upseting the practices and habits of organizations of all kinds. Transparency, horizontality, co-construction, adaptability, have become the key words of an ultra-connected era. For many companies, the verdict is in: it is now necessary and urgent to transform. To survive that shockwave, drastic changes must be undertaken.
∙ The agile new-born …
The concept of Agility, with some beginnings in the 1960s, is developing in the midst of this huge digital boom.
It all started from a particular sector: that of software development. An environment in which one became aware very early that the then widespread project management methods were far too cumbersome, far too rigid and restrictive to cope with the required changes.
With this in mind, seventeen developers met in Utah in 2001 to develop a document that became a true Bible in the software development community: The Manifest for Agile Software Development. The latter was — and is still — underpinned by four major values:
“That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.”
With these four values and the twelve principles associated with them, the Manifesto creators set in stone the core convictions of a brand new perspective: namely, an “agile” approach to project management whose key words were iteration, incrementation, and self-organization.
∙ … On his road to success.
Let’s allow ourselves an ellipse to land in the time we all know.
Agile methods, which encourage and promote a quick and flexible response to change, have multiplied and become widespread in all types of organisations. They have produced concrete results in many of them, such as Spotify, which even gave its name to a technique for agile scaling up.
Agile approach now begin to emancipate itself from Information Systems or Innovation Departments to extend to the fields of Marketing, HR… or even to organizations as a whole.
At least, this seems to be in line with the ambitions of decision-makers and leaders who are increasingly eager to surround themselves with consultants and coaches capable of helping them to “become agile”.
The Big Unknown.
∙ Buzzword alert
The early stages of Agile adoption are over. Agile is now in every mouth and strategic plan. But wait …Do we really know what Agile means? More and more experts deplore the increasingly frequent use of a concept whose understanding is, in fact, very limited. And this comes with a threat: that of “Fake Agile”.
∙ “Fake Agile”
« As a well-executed ideal, agile can be pretty good, but the reality is often not aligned with the concept. This mismatch is called fake agile »
Olivier Peterson in “What is Fake Agile? Understanding the Dark Side of Agile and How to Avoid It”
Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, Crystal, XP, FDD … There are dozens of methods, methodologies and tools revolving around the Agile concept. This may be kind of frightening for a neophyte. And kind of dangerous for organizations seeking change.
When faced with this abundance of “technical” possibilities, our — natural — reflex is to focus more on the framework than on the deeper meaning of the approach.
Broadly speaking, many businesses are misled, focusing their efforts and spending in the wrong place. They are “doing” agile, rather than trying to “be” agile.
“Being” agile implies changes that are not just methodical. It is not the application of a recipe, which is supposed to improve the old one. “Being” agile implies profound cultural and managerial changes. It implies a fine understanding of the principles underlying the agile approach, in order to be able to rethink its organisation and operating methods in the most relevant and sustainable way possible. It implies that everyone, at all levels, has understood the meaning of this change.
Otherwise, the company finds itself stuck in an endless gear: that of paradoxical injunctions and feedback loops.
Hereunder are two examples Julien Fonteneau, a French Agile Coach.
Taking a step back.
∙ Questions please ?
After the Agile frenzy, now is the time for questions. It is time to question Programing Teams, Program Management, Program Leaders, Customers and Users, to make sure that we are on the right track, a track that does not lead to an AINO (Agile In Name Only) mode.
It is also time to reverse the questions we have been asking ourselves until now.
What if, instead of asking ourselves : “How could we become agile ?”
We would rather wonder: “Why are we not agile ?”.
∙ Mindset is key.
Agile is a matter of mindset. And this mainly concerns leaders and managers, whose role and posture are set to change radically.
It means accepting and learning to valuing multidisciplinarity over expertise, collective over individual responsibility, delegation over centralization, trust a priori over systematic control.
It means that all operating modes and choices must be thought out for and hand-in-hand with the final customer.
Agile is a shift from the old to the new rules, a shift that is not so easy to negotiate and yet profoundly necessary.
∙ Towards the fourth stage of digital transformation
The “Age of Agile” is part of a more global process, that of transformation, which generally takes place in four stages:
#1. Tools
#2. Processes
#3. Culture (“agile” era)
#4. Humans
Agile highlights our managerial flaws and fragilities. It leads us to put Humans at the heart of our entire system of thought. It reminds us that without people, nothing can be done, and that it is from them that everything is created.
To find our way back, let’s value Time.
Agile is a journey. It needs time and progressive steps to become a permanent part of an organization’s core operations and culture. It’s all about … exercise.
