Top 6 Challenges in Agile Transformation and Ways to Overcome Them
A quote reads “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” The same rule applies to challenges in Agile transformation as well.
A study shows that 47% of Agile transformations fail. The study further adds that nearly 67% of these Agile disasters are terminal. These numbers can make you feel overwhelmed. Yes, these are huge numbers because most organizations these days rely on Agile for their transformations. It is natural to think why is it so hard to reproduce something that works well at the team level. Why the same does not work when it comes to enterprise-level transformation?
It is important to know the Agile transformation challenges that any organization can face. Also, it is equally important to understand how to overcome them. Let us throw some light on the challenges and how to address them:
Third-Party Influences:
Most of the Agile transformation failures happen due to third-party influences. Many companies these days are locked into either fixed-outcome or fixed-price contracts. Otherwise, they are forced to work with partners, who do not or are not prepared to shift to an Agile Delivery Model. Let us consider that your business follows the Agile delivery system. But, you are forced to work with a supplier who does not. In this case, there can be a hindrance in your Agile journey.
How to Overcome?
One of the easiest methods you can follow is to negotiate again with the contractor. Otherwise, the second option available is to look for some other contractor following or ready to follow Agile.
In software development, Agile practices encompass the discovery of requirements. Also, it includes the improvement of solutions. The good thing here is that these works are done following a collaborative approach. As the entire project is divided into smaller parts, most suppliers will identify the advantages of Agile. Also, they will show their readiness to co-operate with you or even they may help drive the adoption of Agile. So, try to convince the supplier by highlighting the advantages of the Agile approach.
Culture Shift:
A culture shift is one of the biggest challenges in Agile transformation. Yes, rather than a set of practices, people describe Agile as a shared mindset or culture. This mindset turns out to be both a curse and a blessing when it comes to scaling or transforming Agile. Of course, you feel that when it comes to Agile transformation, the framework used is more important than mindset. Nevertheless, it is hard to create a shared mindset.
When talking about any culture, its elements fit together as a reinforcing system. They stay together to hinder any effort to modify it. Single-fix changes at the team level might show progress for a while. However, in the long run, the interconnecting components of the organizational culture can take over. As a result, the modification made is drawn back in the culture that already prevails in the organization.
How to Overcome?
When it comes to Agile transformation, one thing should happen. The entire organization should respond, act, and even think differently in every aspect. This should happen right from work planning, management, and completion to employee engagement. This shift cannot happen all of a sudden like magic. But, it needs intention, time, and most crucially commitment from the top-level team in any organization.
In other words, the leading team of any organization should comprehend the lean-Agile mindset. It encompasses giving importance to value, flow, and ongoing development. It should also encompass acceptance of ideas of failing quickly. The top-level should be ready to learn from continuing change.
The lead players in the Agile transformation endeavor in any organization should be ready to test the status quo. They should also be prepared to make changes to their style of managing. When you take the case of a lean-Agile mindset, it will nurture servant control. When this happens, the forerunners will set the strategic goals and even the team capacity. Then, they start relying on their teams for meeting those goals using the right strategies. When they follow this approach, leaders can support the basic principles of Agile. They are nothing but autonomy and accountability. These two are the key elements when it comes to Agile transformation and scaling.
Getting Buy-in:
When considering Agile transformation challenges, getting the buy-in is one of the key encounters. When they try to go Agile, many companies will start the process in one method. They apply Agile practices to a single vertical within the workspace. In other words, they start with smaller teams and fewer leaders. Of course, the pilot project to test this methodology can turn successful. Nevertheless, its impact can be highly restricted. The obstructive nature often hinders the executive team from understanding the strategic value. Also, they cannot understand the far-reaching impact of broader Agile transformation endeavors.
How to Overcome?
It is possible to make Agile Transformation successful by following a holistic approach. Also, if you own a business, you should try to implement these practices all through your organization. Of course, you can start within a particular vertical. However, you should treat it like a stage in the Agile transformation strategy. It means that you should continue to implement it in other verticals rather than stop there. Many organizations fail because they do not show the real value of Agile to executives. Rather, they restrict the nature of methodology to only sub-sections. Without executive buy-in, there are more chances of Agile Teams to lose funding when other organizational needs arise. The idea here to overcome this challenge is to implement Agile all through your organization.
Dependencies:
When it comes to Agile transformation challenges, dependencies are to be considered. To turn Agile, your organization has a couple of choices when it comes to handling dependencies. You have the first option to manage them. The other option available is to break them. When you disregard them totally, all you will get is just local optimization.
In the presence of dependencies, you can deal with the transformation with a team that is not aligned. You can transform this team with the rest of the teams in your organization. This team can do well on its own. However, when the team has any dependencies to be synchronized, everything will fall apart.
Even when you take the case of an organization, where every team is Agile, there will still be dependencies between them. In this case, let us consider that there is a single non-performing team. This team can lead to the failure of other teams as well.
How to Overcome?
Dependencies in an organization are good. However, they can create many unintended consequences during Agile transformation. To prevent this from happening, it is better to break the teams and identify how to slice up capabilities. When the realignment is rightly planned, it will be easier to manage things to make Agile transformation easier.
Communication:
One of the biggest Agile transformation challenges is the lack of communication between teams. Let us consider that you implement Agile principles across teams in your organization. Lack of communication between the teams can hinder the transformation process. As a result, it can lead to issues. The relieving thing about this challenge is that it can be rectified with ease by planning regular communication. Not just communication between teams, communication within teams should also be proper.
How to Overcome?
Team members should develop communication practices regularly and efficiently. Communication between teams can be ensured with Daily stand-ups. During a set time, team members can meet each day to discuss the challenges they face and also their progress. However, they should also ensure the completion of their tasks.
Let us consider that flow of information prevails across teams in your organization. When this happens, all teams can stay updated on the progress of each project at all times. In turn, it will help with the speeding up of Agile transformation time. The reason is that the transformation will happen organically. As a result, it will help with the creation of a suitable feedback mechanism for each project.
Investing in Talents:
Among the challenges in Agile transformation, having the right talents can only make things smooth. The reason is that talent is the drive that commands the Agile mechanism. Only due to the best talents, some companies are able to create empowered and cross-functional teams. Organizations fail in Agile transformation as they get talent strategy only as an after-thought.
How to Overcome?
This challenge can be handled when you ask yourself certain questions. These questions should come when you choose the talents to implement Agile transformation:
What are the intrinsic skills required to make Agile transformation smooth?
From which teams in your organization can you choose these talented people?
How will you support this talented group in the process of Agile transformation?
How will their career path revolutionize to a more expertise-based model?
How to manage the performance of this team?
What to do when a wrong person has been brought into the team?
By finding answers to these questions, you can make the Agile transformation smooth with the right team.
Conclusion:
Successful Agile transformation is more a way of thinking and behaving as compared to just going behind a framework. Let us consider that an organization experiences true agility. This will help the employees of the organization to exercise their competencies and grow skills. In turn, they will contribute more to the development of their workplace!
References:
- https://devops.com/4-ways-to-overcome-Agile-transformation-obstacles/
- https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/how-to-mess-up-your-Agile-transformation-in-seven-easy-missteps
- https://www.leadingAgile.com/2021/06/overcoming-the-most-common-Agile-transformation-problems
