What you can learn from the Agile Change Agent course...

Training the Agile Change Agent course this week, and once again was delighted with the feedback from those attending, especially the thanks for my approach, which is to provide “on the spot coaching” as we use the change examples from everyone on the course, rather than relying on a pre-prepared, generic scenario where the situation will not be able to match all the changes that attendees are involved in. My approach confirms the practical approach that the course has been designed for, ensuring that everyone is able to apply what they learn to increase their ability to generate change in their organisation.

Below are the highlights from the list of what everyone learned. Review these against your needs, and if they match what you are looking for in a course, book the first virtual classroom event of 2025. If you cannot wait, book the self-paced, online course!

1.     Iterative Roadmap and Incremental Planning

A visual roadmap is central to shaping the approach to change and is easy for everyone to understand.The roadmap brings to life the concepts of Agile, ensuring that with very little Agile knowledge, you can create an iterative, incremental plan, that delivers early and frequent return on investment for your stakeholders.The simple structure of the roadmap ensures clear guidance for how to get started and what to do next. The concept of the first iteration is for planning and organising, and subsequent iterations are for delivering change.The roadmap helps prioritise the changes according to what will make the most difference and deliver the most value to the business.

2.     Benefits-Led Change

The opposite of benefits-led change is requirements-led change, where all ideas are assumed to be valuable, and are included to create a comprehensive change, even though some of the ideas have a surface appeal but in reality are non-essential.Benefits-led change emphasises focusing on delivering value to the organisation by understanding the "why" behind the change.Participants noted the importance of aligning all activities with organisational benefits, to minimise the effort of change and with high volumes of change, all effort is targeted to create the most business value.Encourages a step-back approach to assess the impact and purpose of initiatives, avoiding the trap of delivering for the sake of delivery.

3.     Practical Tools and Tips for Real-World Application

The course was praised for providing actionable tools that could be immediately applied in practice.Practicality was highlighted as a differentiator compared to other theoretical courses.

4.     Breaking Down Complexity (Thin Slicing and Manageable Chunks)

Participants learned how to decompose large problems into smaller, manageable parts (thin slicing).This process, while challenging, is crucial for managing a high volume of change effectively.Delivering in smaller increments allows for quicker value realisation and adaptability in a dynamic environment.

5.     Mindset Shift for Early Wins and Imperfection Acceptance

A major takeaway was the realisation that benefits can be delivered earlier than traditionally expected, and several people reflectedParticipants reflected on how focusing on early wins could have improved their past projects.Emphasis on delivering "imperfect solutions" to achieve progress rather than delaying for perfection.

6.     Reflection and Continuous Learning

The course inspired participants to reflect on their existing practices, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities for earlier delivery of value.Encouraged a mindset of continuous adaptation and learning to improve future project outcomes.

Overall, attendees were delighted with the course's focus on iterative planning, delivering organisational value, and practical application, while fostering a mindset shift to enable early, meaningful impact in change initiatives.