Translating Agile into language that is meaningful for Senior Executives

Dennise Openshaw

PMI Sydney Meetup November 2014  

Agenda

  Introduc*on  

  Agile  mechanics  and  benefits  

  Organisa*onal  business  strategy  

  Ac*ve  execu*ve  support  for  change  

Thanks  to  Henrik  Kniberg  and  Jim  Highsmith  

3

Introduction - me

4

Introduction - you

Tonight’s topic

Transla*ng  Agile  into  language  that  is  meaningful  for  Senior  Execu*ves  

Why?  

“Support   of   top  management   is   not   sufficient……They  must   know  what   they   are   commiFed   to….what   they  must   do….Support   is   not  enough:  ac*on  is  required.”  

W.  Edwards  Deming  

Introduction

Ensuring  we  are  on  the  same  page  re  “Agile”  

No  plan   Big  upfront  plan  High  level  adap*ve  plan  

No  design   Big  upfront  design  High  level  adap*ve  design  

No  documenta*on   Heavy  Documenta*on  Necessary  documenta*on  

Agile   Waterfall  Chaos  

Thanks  to:  Henrik  Kniberg  

Agile mechanics and benefits

The mechanics

Code

Use Cases / Functional Specs

Requirements Gathering Project Plan/Estimation

Test & fix $

Integrate

Traditional lifecycle

Agile lifecycle Initial

Reqts & plan

Design Specifications

$

$

$

Release  1  

Release  2  

Release  3  

The benefits

VersionOne  –  7th  Annual  State  of  Agile  Development  Survey  

The benefits

The  Standish  Group  –  CHAOS  Report  2011  10  

“In 2002, agile projects made up less than 2% of overall projects and less than 5% of new application development projects . Today (2011), agile projects account for almost 9% of all projects and 29% of new application development projects…. The increase in project success rates can directly tie back to projects resolved through the agile process”"

The benefits

Real  world  example  

•  5th  aFempt  at  a  project  •  All  previous  aFempts  failed  business  case  

•  Previous  es*mates  ranged  from  $10-­‐30  million  &  were  12  months+  •  Agile  pilot  project  completed  for:  

o  3  months  

o  $2.8  million  

Organisational business strategy   Responsive organisation   IT as a business investment   Enhance customer experience   Mitigate business risk

Responsive business strategy Efficiency   Responsiveness  

?  

Responsive business strategy

To-­‐do  list  for  CEOs   Top  issues  facing  CEOs   3  key  success  factors  

1.  Finding  and  retaining  the  best  talent  

2.  Making  technology  a  compe**ve  advantage  

3.  Con*nuously  enhancing  client  service  

4.  Posi*oning  yourself  in  a  global  marketplace  

5.  Developing  the  right  corporate  culture  

1.  Talent  acquisi*on,  development  and  reten*on  

2.  Disrup*ve  technology  3.  Globaliza*on  4.  Cybersecurity  5.  Economic  Uncertainty  

1.  Embody  crea*ve  leadership  2.  Build  opera*ng  dexterity  3.  Reinvent  customer  

rela*onships  

Jay  Hooley  CEO  State  Street   Kenneth  Freeman  –  Dean  Boston  University  School  of  Management  

IBM  report  on    “Capitalising  on  Complexity”  

Responsiveness  Efficiency  

Responsive business strategy

 “The  Agile  movement  has  the  poten*al  to  be  absolutely  strategic  to  businesses,   par*cularly   those   whose   overall   strategy   focuses   on  responsiveness  over  efficiency.”  

Jim  Highsmith  –  AdapUve  Leadership,  AcceleraUng  business  agility.  

Responsiveness  Efficiency  

IT as a business investment Cost   Value  

?  

IT as a business investment

“…..well-­‐managed   IT   organiza*ons   are   not   just   cost   centres   but  valuable  business  partners  …..(companies)  must….become  as  adept  at  calcula*ng  the  value  of  IT  investments  as  they  are  at  calcula*ng  the  costs”  

PWC  –  “IT  moves  from  cost  centre  to  business  contributor”  

Cost   Value  

IT as a business investment

“….*me   turns  out   to  be  a  more   important   factor   in  organiza*onal  performance   than   tradi*onal   financial   measurements.   When   you  focus   on   *me,   you   tend   to   get   both   greater   responsiveness   and  lower  cost.”  

Steve  Denning  

Cost   Value  

Enhancing customer experience

?  

Predictability   Innova*on  

Enhancing customer experience Predictability   Innova*on  

”….you   cannot   afford   to   stay   s*ll   -­‐   business   is   a   moving  escalator.   The   world   is   moving   around   you   -­‐   customer  expecta*ons   are   changing,   compe*tors   are   always   catching  up  and  threatening  to  take  away  your  business.”  

Jackie  Fenn,  Gartner  innovaUon  specialist  

Enhancing customer experience Predictability   Innova*on  

Mitigating business risk

?  

Certainty   Managed  risk  

Mitigating business risk Certainty   Managed  risk  

Mitigating business risk

“It  is  not  necessary  to  change.  Survival  is  not  mandatory.”  

W.  Edwards  Deming  

Certainty   Managed  risk  

Organisational business strategy (recap) •  Responsive  business  strategy  

•  IT  as  a  business  investment  

•  Enhancing  customer  experience  

•  Mi*ga*ng  business  risk  

Responsiveness  Efficiency  

Cost   Value  

Predictability   Innova*on  

Certainty   Managed  risk  

Active Executive Support for Change   Executive sponsor involvement   Business input   Planning   Team makeup

Executive sponsor involvement

Executive sponsor involvement

Monthly  steer  co  

Executive sponsor involvement

Execu*ve  sponsors  aFend  itera*on  showcases  and  assist  with  ad-­‐hoc  escalated  issues  

Fortnightly  showcase  ++  Monthly  steer  co  

Executive sponsor involvement

Fortnightly  showcase  ++  Monthly  steer  co  

Execu*ve  sponsors  aFend  itera*on  showcases  and  assist  with  ad-­‐hoc  escalated  issues  

Cost   Value  

IT  as  a  business  investment  

Business input

Business input

Involved  start  &  end  

Business input

Involved  start  &  end   Permanent  team  member  

Business input

Involved  start  &  end   Permanent  team  member  

Predictability   Innova*on  

Enhancing  customer  experience  

Planning

Planning

Predic*ve  planning  

Planning

Predic*ve  planning   Adap*ve  planning  

Compara*vely  less  detail  in  ini*al  plan  with  adap*ve  planning  throughout  

Planning

Predic*ve  planning   Adap*ve  planning  

Compara*vely  less  detail  in  ini*al  plan  with  adap*ve  planning  throughout  

Certainty   Managed  risk  

MiDgaDng  business  risk  

Planning - Predic*ve  

Thanks  to:  Henrik  Kniberg  

Planning - Adap*ve

Thanks  to:  Henrik  Kniberg  

Team makeup

Team makeup

Specialised  

Team makeup

Specialised   Cross  func*onal  

Team makeup

Specialised   Cross  func*onal  

Responsive  business  strategy  

Responsiveness  Efficiency  

Get support by aligning with the strategy

Responsive  business  strategy  Responsiveness  Efficiency  

Involved  start  &  end   Permanent  team  member   Predictability   Innova*on  Enhancing  customer  experience  Business  input  

Fortnightly  showcase  ++  Monthly  steer  co  Exec  sponsor  involvement  

Specialised  

Certainty  Predic*ve  planning   Adap*ve  planning  Planning  

Managed  risk  Mi*ga*ng  business  risk  

Cross  func*onal  Team  makeup  

Cost   Value  IT  as  a  business  investment  

Active Exec support needed Business strategies

One final thought

“If   you   want   something   new,   you   have   to   stop   doing  something  old”    

Peter  F.  Drucker  

Questions?