Is your company really Agile?

I know. Difficult, controversial topic. Especially because there are companies devoted to teaching you how to be Agile. On top of that, you have spent a lot of time and resources trying to become an Agile company for many reasons and one of them it’s because it makes you and your team more productive (or so they say).

You have read Essentials of Scrum and you know that book by heart; your team follows every ceremony and you know what the MVP acronym stands for. That’s why you can’t stand someone asking you: “But, are you really Agile?”

“If it’s not following Scrum, what is it then?” you might ask. Well, I don’t hold the Agile Coach shield or call myself a Consultant on this topic, however I have participated in and led many Agile teams in the last 10 years, mostly as developer and architect and I written a thesis for my Master's degree about Agile, so I know a thing or two about it. Then from my perspective, in order for you to know if your company is really Agile you have to answer 1 (ONE) question:

“How does your company respond to unexpected changes?”

For answering this you may split it in more detailed, or relatable questions:

• Is it easy for your company to create a new development that the business wants for next week? 
• Does your company change processes in favor of valuable activities fast and easy? 
• How many people do you have to consult before changing the methods, processes or ways to work to improve your team’s or your personal productivity?

If you answered to these questions finding that even expected changes are difficult to deal with, I’m sorry but your company really isn’t Agile.

The notion of Agility is even older than the Agile Manifesto, and it is defined only by that simple question. The Agile Manifesto only wanted to gather all the creators of software development methodologies that favored the construction of value instead of following a tight process and to agree to the principles they all had in common. To that moment, methodologies like Scrum, XP, and others already existed.

There are even sources that suggest that some Agile methodologies are an extension of the command and control that we lived through in Waterfall and RUP eras. For more reference (and perspective),I recommend reading The Art of Business Value by Mark Schwartz and The Agile Virtual Enterprise: Cases, Metrics, Tools by H.T. Goranson.

So what to do to become Agile?

Here I have to say this is my view about how to be really Agile. I have to clarify that I am not adhering to any specific process or methodology, but these are few learnings I have had over time:

1. Focus on goals: 

• What is the most important goal your team needs to achieve? Work towards it by asking next: What are the activities and achievements required from the team to achieve it? Don’t answer with process tasks (having a board, create a ticket): What does need to happen to achieve these goals?
• Once you have defined what the goals are and what are the activities that your team needs to achieve, give preference to these activities on everyone’s schedule. When someone asks about what to do first, give preference to that activity that would lead to the most important goal.
• Try to reduce the number of activities related to process, and activities out of people’s role. For example: if a developer needs to fill out forms, write documentation unrelated to software, etc, try to limit the scope and time of these tasks to the minimum, since the activity of most value for them is to develop software.If you are able to do so, remove all of these activities from developers’ schedule.

2. Be flexible:

• Listen to your team, how do they want to do first and how? The activities that make them feel more productive will align with project goals. This will make your team happier and more effective, and even loyal to company’s and project’s objectives.
• If your team suggests a change in priorities, consider their suggestions. Maybe a change will bring alternative solutions, or even achieving goals you didn’t consider before.
• If there is a blocker, be prepared to take decisions that allow everyone to change the focus of their time to other goals or other activities, while helping remove the blocker.
• Be willing to change standard processes NOW: In what concerns your domain, allow people to change processes as they need it and customize them to be more effective and productive. Also promote this behavior within the organization.

3. Be mindful of time:

• Use the minimum amount of time in meetings and reduce the group of people involved.
• Prepare individually the content of meetings, so that these are effective.
• Schedule meetings as the first part of the day and leave the rest of the day for you and your team to focus on their work.
• If you require a major or risk activity to do, choose to do it first, rather than later! And schedule it on your diary to be focused on it.
• Think more than twice before scheduling that meeting: is it really necessary to schedule it? Or maybe writing an email would be best?
• If you have already scheduled a meeting, stick to the schedule. If you run out of time for its purpose, stop there and schedule a second one: but please never hold people on it. Your meeting is not more important than other activities that your team is involved in.

In summary, give preference to those resources and activities that bring value (to your team, business, organization, market) and reduce waste, which is all those activities that are not directed to bring value, however needed anyway (filling out forms, compliance, administrative tasks and process). 

By having these 3 key guidelines, I bet you will be soon feeling more productive and even less dependent on following an Agile guide. At the end of the day, no one is going to judge if you followed Scrum or not: they are going to see (and admire) that your team achieved the goals that you were meant to and your organization is flexible enough to keep up with internal and external changes quickly, that is the goal of becoming Agile, in the first place.

Hope my article helps! Cheers!