Agile working is no longer just for small start-ups or hip IT companies. More than 20 years have passed since that Agile Manifest was published, and what began as a revolution in software development has long since outgrown its infancy and spread far more widely. Because although it can be difficult to convert even individual teams to agile working – if an entire company is to scale agile (scaling agile), everyone involved is confronted with an extremely complex challenge.
But more and more companies are realizing that without agile methods they are at a disadvantage in an extremely dynamic market. And if it goes beyond the team level, program managers in particular are faced with a Herculean task: On the one hand, they have to pass on the strategic goals to the operational teams and on the other hand – usually in the context of celebratory meetings – provide status updates and the expectations for portfolio and Control management level. At the same time, they must ensure that teams deliver value to customers and meet overall business goals.
It does not work? But. We’ll tell you how.
In the first of two parts of a small series of articles about Scaling Agile we will deal with the topics of dependencies and team coordination, in the second part we will deal with everything that is directly related to delivery.
Scaling Agile #1: Managing Dependencies Effectively
The problem:
“Our teams are agile. But overlooked dependencies affect the quality and timing of delivery.”
In the early phases of the agile transformation, individual teams can apparently function very well: they achieve all sprint goals, have a historically low error rate while maintaining a constant pace, and the positive retros show that all processes are continuously improving. Agile at its best!
But when teams work in isolation, all of that can be thwarted by overlooked dependencies. In a dynamic and complex environment, the horizontal alignment, i.e. the coordination of everyone involved in a product, is of crucial importance. Without this, it is difficult to stay on course and achieve strategic goals. Releases may be delayed, or what is delivered may not meet customer expectations.
The solution:
A systems approach to help you achieve your strategic goals.
Don’t just focus on each team’s productivity, but help teams understand how their work and deliverables relate to the overall vision. Don’t let unexpected dependencies surprise you – get them out of the way. Don’t try to manage dependencies between teams, instead focus on getting teams closer together and agreeing to work together on critical functions.
This way, everyone knows what everyone else is working on in parallel (and why) and can proactively request or share information, ensuring reliable delivery and a high-quality product.
Case Study: Cross-Functional Dependencies at Atlassian – Prepare for GDPR
In the run-up to the May 2018 GDPR compliance deadline, Atlassian – like many companies storing customer data – needed to set up a product strategy that met the new legal requirements.
To do this, dependencies also had to be recognized between teams that had no experience in close agile collaboration – especially not with such a critical topic and a tight schedule.
The product teams had to understand both the wording of the new law and the intentions behind each part of the regulation. So before actually starting, they needed specific guidance to ensure everyone was on board and a legally compliant solution could be delivered.
Here was a problem: the legal department, while generally very knowledgeable about legal issues, is not able to produce product specifications. And the compliance team typically doesn’t review software until it’s in development.
The dependencies between teams threatened to create friction that could have slowed work or misaligned work. To solve the problem, the experts involved turned to eliminating the dependencies by joining forces in a team instead of creating further processes or documentation.
For eight weeks, the representatives from the compliance and legal departments sat at a table with the engineers and the product specialists to plan the next steps. Those responsible for the technology asked questions about the intention of the law. The legal department explained. The compliance experts agreed. Sometimes the legal department pushed. Sometimes technology held back. Eventually everyone agreed on a plan.
Thanks to this collaboration between the relevant professionals, the team was able to avoid friction and missteps that could have negatively impacted this important task. By joining forces, they managed to achieve their common goal and deliver product updates that were GDPR compliant and benefited customers.
Scaling Agile #2: Alignment of teams
The problem:
“Our teams can’t align because they don’t work with the same methods or use different reporting tools.”
Contrary to popular belief, adopting an agile methodology is rarely all or nothing. While the organization as a whole can commit to a framework (e.g. SAFe or Spotify), teams adapt the methodology to their work.
But the willingness to work together is not the only decisive factor. There may be times when teams don’t share a common vocabulary and find it difficult to share the status of their work. This often happens when teams that don’t normally work together – such as whether the legal department and the product department or the development department and the finance department – are involved in a project where they need to exchange important information or provide feedback.
The solution:
Focus on measuring progress and put the terminology aside.
Let’s face it, it’s unlikely that you can get dozens or even hundreds of team members to finally agree on exactly ONE definition of ‘epic’ or ‘story point’.
However, this is not necessary at all. Outline a path for your project that makes it possible to always keep an eye on the essentials and to give prompt feedback to the management level. So that each team understands the work of the other teams, it is up to you to look for commonalities and make them understandable for everyone. And make sure tools are available that provide some level of integration and interoperability. As a result, everyone – regardless of different methodologies or software – can access important information promptly, take up new input and adapt their work accordingly.
Dependencies clarified and alignment established?
As you can see: The challenges are not small, but with the right approach – in which the strategic goals are made tangible for everyone and the importance of the individual results is underlined – you can master them in the course of your agile scaling.
In the second part, we will then go into how to act skillfully in the run-up to delivery and how good real-time reporting can be implemented for everyone involved.
Quelle: Whitepaper “How to overcome dependencies, align teams, and deliver predictably” (2020), Atlassian
We accompany your agile transformation – with the perfect combination of method and tooling!
Do you want to know more about software-supported Agile scaling in large companies? We would be happy to talk to you about your requirements for a company-wide agile product development and product management system. You can find more information and direct contact to us at: https://t4at-at-scale.de.
Further information
Agile at Scale – the basics: The why, what and how of scaled agility
LACE – die Rolle des Lean Agile Center of Excellence in der Scaled-Agile-Transformation
Agile leadership and agile transformation part 1
Agile leadership and agile transformation part 2