creating alignment for agile change - agile and beyond 2015

#AAB15

CREATING  ALIGNMENT  FOR  AGILE  CHANGE

April Jefferson, Jason Little

@jasonlittle @_apriljefferson

Agile and Beyond 2015 #aab15

#AAB15

Jason Little April Jefferson@_apriljefferson@jasonlittle

Author, international speaker, college

professor, agile coach, haver of fun, culture

hacker, drummer and dad

Agile Coach, Consultant, Wife, Mom

& Lego Enthusiast with Big Hair

#AAB15

GOOGLE:  “WHY  AGILE  FAILS”  

RESULTS:  4,230,000

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METHODOLOGISTS  SAY:  “YOU  DIDN’T  USE  THE  

TOOL  RIGHT!”

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CULTURE  PEOPLE  SAY:  “YOU  DIDN’T  CHANGE  

YOUR  CULTURE!”

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MINDSET  PEOPLE  SAY:  “YOU  DIDN’T  CHANGE  

YOUR  MINDSET”

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MANAGEMENT  GURUS  SAY:  “LACK  OF  MANAGEMENT  

SUPPORT”

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AGILE  ZEALOTS  SAY:  “YOU  TRIED  TO  DO  AGILE  INSTEAD  OF  BEING  AGILE!”

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THE  CONSULTANT  YOU  DIDN’T  HIRE  SAYS:  

“THAT  OTHER  CONSULTANT  SHOULD  HAVE…”

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SYSTEM  THINKERS  SAY:  “ONLY  IN  RETROSPECT  CAN  YOU  

UNDERSTAND…COMPLEX  ADAPTIVE  SYSTEMS  THEORY  SAYS….”

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THE  TRUTH  IS…

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THEY’RE  ALL  RIGHT…  …AND  THEY’RE  ALL  WRONG!

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HINDSIGHT  IS  ALWAYS  20/20but looking back, it’s still a bit fuzzy

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“YOU  DID  IT  WRONG!”ISN’T HELPING ANYBODY…

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SO  WHAT  CAN  YOU  DO?

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THERE  IS  NO  SUCH  THING  AS  A  BINARY  “SUCCESS/FAILURE”  

MEASUREMENT  FOR  ORGANIZATIONAL  CHANGE

STOP IT!

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DIVERGENCE IN UNDERSTANDING

the objective

BELIEFS

“RES

ISTA

NCE

”

MOVERS MOVEABLES IMMOVABLES

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HOW  CAN  WE  CREATE  ALIGNMENT?  

1)  ACCEPT  UNCERTAINTY  2)  INVOLVE  THE  PEOPLE  3)  USE  FEEDBACK-­‐DRIVEN  

APPROACHES

Guide

CANVASES  HELP  CREATE  ORGANIZATIONAL  ALIGNMENT

FRAGMENTATION- Unclear vision for

change - Lack of awareness - Lack of urgency

REINFORCEMENT- Clear vision - Quick wins celebrated - Autonomy,

engagement

- create big visible room - create team/

department canvases - organize lean coffee

sessions - marketing! (make

posters and stuff!)

ACTIONS

ALIGNED FRAGMENTEDFRAGMENTED

- weekly lean coffee - executive sponsored

lean coffee - monthly retrospectives - refresh strategy

canvas - celebrate wins! - review progress

ONGOING  ACTIONS

- Leverage internal networks

- Build understanding - Encourage honest,

open dialogue

ALIGNMENT  

MOVERS MOVEABLES MOVEABLES IMMOVEABLES

TIME

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AND  NOW…

April  JeffersonAgile  Coach,  Consultant,  Wife,  Mom  &  Lego  Enthusiast  with  Big  Hair

University  of  Michigan  Medical  School  

Information  Services  Department  

Data  Management  Teams  

Implementation

WHY  DID  I  RECOMMEND  CANVASES

for University of Michigan Medical School

Failed  Agile  Adoptions

Culture  of  Blame

Management  Goals  Unclear

Work  Not  Visible  By  Team

Not  Delivering

Change  Dictated

SETTING  THE  STAGE

Removing  Blame

Solution  Focused

Culture  Change

SOCIALIZATION  &  INCLUSION

Why  Change

Learning  &  Discovery

Invite  Dialogue

Participant  Not  Observer

DISCOVERY  &  TRANSPARENCY

What’s  Really  Going  On

Most  Valuable  Change

Set  Expectations

Urgency  for  Change

Changes  Being  Made

ALIGNMENT  &  OWNERSHIP

Shared  Change

Partnering

Buy-­‐In

Invested

ORGANIC  CHANGE

Change  Introduced  By  

Team

Change  Requested  By  

Team

ChangeSelf-­‐Managed

REVIEW

Engage  with  Canvas  Often

Move  Things  Based  on  

Observations

Review  Biweekly  with  Management

Review  Monthly  with  Teams

Discuss  if  Adopted

Adopted  =  Done  =  Win

LESSONS  LEARNED

Having  canvases  doesn’t  mean  there  is  alignment  for  your  change  just  like  having  a  standup  doesn’t  make  you  

agile.

Inform  Early  About  Change

Prep  Culture  Change

Create  Strategy  Canvas  In  Open  

Space

Formerly  Introduce  to  

Teams

Don’t  Skip  Team  Canvases

Review  Regularly

Document  Wins  Often

Special  thanks  to  any  agilest  who  created  memes  used  in  this  

presentation!

@_AprilJefferson

CuriousAgility.blogspot.com

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THE  CANVAS  DOESN’T  MATTER  BUT  THE  

CONVERSATIONS  DO

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CHANGE  MANAGEMENT  SAFARI!Make your canvases visible, stop using status reports

and GO TALK TO PEOPLE!

#goat14

LEAN  CHANGE  MANAGEMENT

@jasonlittle @_apriljefferson

Jason’s Blog: http://leanchange.org or http://agilecoach.ca April’s Blog: http://curiousagility.blogspot.ca/

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HANDOUTShttp://leanchange.org/resources

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE CANVAS

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TEAM VISION

STRONG SUPPORT

WHAT IS WORKING AGAINST THE CHANGE?WHAT IS SUPPORTING THE CHANGE?

SEVERE BLOCK

OPTIONS

PREPARE INTRODUCE REVIEW

CO

ST

VALUE

Where does the team want to be in 6 months? A year?

what help does the team need to contribute to this vision?

WHAT’S OUR PLAN?

WHAT HELP DO WE NEED?

Experiments we can do to contribute to the overall

change strategyExperiments

being plannedExperiments in

progress

Experiments being reviewed

against expected outcomes

TEAM/DEPARTMENT  TACTICAL  EXECUTION  CANVAS

#AAB15

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MOVERSDon’t need to be motivated Will become your change champions May need to develop skills

MOVEABLESMight need to be motivated Might need to be re-assured Want to see quick wins first

IMMOVEABLES

Will blame everything for any failure! May be disruptive Can end up as strong supporters Want to see their own tribe doing the change