As we discussed before, many of agile transformations start with a detailed, prescriptive plan mandating action items…..This a beautiful plan considering a lot of perspectives, it is rarely a short plan! This does not allow stakeholders to realize the value that is delivered. As a result after a while stakeholders, most of whom already have a lot of responsibilities start to get the dejected…
A good to way to conqueror this can be to design the transformation as a series of sprints which together deliver the large enterprise goal, but each sprint individually delivers at least a small, tangible piece of that large goal. These smaller goals allow stakeholders to taste success and retain their enthusiasm. It also helps to spread the word and convince those who are on fence.
I usually suggest that these sprints follow the scrum events and artefacts. It allows the team to collaborate in a structured manner. I have found that often stakeholders who are worried about one more topic for long meetings. They are really happy at the prospect of one short and time boxed meeting everyday. Once they see the benefits of shorter sprints , timeboxes and demonstrated values, they become the biggest supporters. In fact the opposing party stakeholder I mentioned in earlier article, went on to be the biggest agile champion in that organization.
For this short sprints to succeed its really important to have goals that can be measured and have a product backlog that is well refined. More about that in my next post…