Agile Challenges

A Consultant’s Perspective
10/20/2018

© Oracular IS 2018 1
 1 Introduction

2 Backstory

AGENDA
3 Agile related challenges why/what?

4 The root cause?

5 My (Consultant’s) Perspective

6 Conclusion

2
 Introduction

Javad Ahmad Oracular IS LLC Smart IS (SMC Pvt) Ltd

© Oracular IS 2018 3
 Backstory
• Agile has grown … now in its 17th
year
• Agile adoption is no longer an ‘IF’
but a ‘WHEN’
• In 2017, over 65 percent of
companies have already or are in
the process of transforming to Agile
(was 25% in 2008)

• Agile is the FORCE TO RECKON

WITH!

© Oracular IS 2018
 AGILE
is the
new BLACK
• Agile is no longer a focus limited to IT Operations
• Companies as a whole are transforming their processes to be more Agile
• 8 out of 10 companies are committed to adopting Agile
• Organizational Agile Transformation is the new Competitive Edge …
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 It’s all about Adaptation and Assimilation
Agile Usage Stats within IT teams:
Consideration

Investigation

Routinization
Awareness

Acceptance
• Development Teams = 44%

Adaptation
Adoption

Infusion
• IT Operations = 41%

Pilot Agile Implementation Stats:

• Breadth = 13%
• Depth = 13%
• Consistency = 18%

Initiation Adoption Assimilation

https://hbr.org/sponsored/2018/03/survey-data-shows-that-many-companies-are-
still-not-truly-agile

Done Doing Focus

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 Why do we have Challenges?
Social
• In Short we are going through some Growing Pains
• We have decided to chart a course with Agile, except using the old maps of Waterfall
• We are more focused on rituals as opposed to essence of Agile
• Treating Agile as a methodology, as opposed to a mindset

Procedural
• Today’s teams are different than those in 2001. Almost every shop deals with Distributed Teams
• Technology is evolving and shifting at a much faster pace than seen in 2001. Mobile, B2C, C2C, Social etc. were not
a norm then.
• Today’s technology demands different roles than those in 2001. We are still stuck with older job descriptions.
• Corporate funding practices are now misaligned with IT operational practices.
• Product and Process ownership remains a challenge in large enterprises
• Large enterprises with IT shops of greater than 100 FTE, still have a low adoption and struggle with Scaling Agile
(Only 17% adoption)
• Lack of defined controls and documentation, makes adoption a greater challenge within Regulated Industries

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 What are the key challenges (Adopting)?

Ref: https://explore.versionone.com/state-of-agile/versionone-10th-annual-state-of-agile-report-2

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 What are the key challenges (Scaling)?

Ref: https://explore.versionone.com/state-of-agile/versionone-10th-annual-state-of-agile-report-2

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 PEOPLE not the PROCESS
What is the Root Cause?

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 Time for Self-Reflection … My Agile Scorecard
AGILE
FEATURE driven delivery
Progress is measured as WIP and DONE
Plan is demonstrated as Burndown Schedule
Sprints are 2 weeks or less
Testing is integrated and automated
Deployments are automated and frequent
Smaller teams comprised of Poly-skilled teams, fulfilling
multiple roles
Peer review
Self-managing teams with Team Leads appointed
amongst the peers (the best suited person for the job at
hand)
© Oracular IS 2018
Not so AGILE
TASK driven delivery
Progress is demonstrated with Percent Complete
Plan is demonstrated as Gantt or MS Project
Sprints are longer than 2 weeks
Testing is a separate process, assigned to designated
QA role
Deployments are manual, handled by a designated
team
Larger teams comprised of Specialty skills and roles
Defined code sign-offs
Designated PMs, Scrum Masters, Coaches etc.
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 Global value of IT
Outsourcing (2017)

$64,300,000,000.00

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© Oracular IS 2018
 Consultant’s Dilemma!
(Deliver AGILE but within Waterfall constraints)
Management
• Budgets drive the outcomes, as opposed to features
and value
• Solutions are envisioned at a very abstract level,
which drive the contracts and funding – before the
start of the project
• Payments are tied to deliverables
Staffing
• Often teams are finite and pre-determined
• Difficult for a Consulting Organization to deploy
resources for short iterations
• Difficulty in engaging customers as product owners
© Oracular IS 2018
Deployment
• Customers do not like the process of continuous testing,
continuous integration and continuous delivery
• Interdependent components and projects are not utilizing
same approaches
• Transform PMO to be Agile
• Improve Domain Knowledge
• Redefine job descriptions and career paths
Process
• The PMO departments in large enterprises act as
gatekeepers and demand adherence to documents and
processes that slow down the project velocity
• User Acceptance and Deployment remains a defined activity
within large enterprises
• SCRUM is continuous, whereas the Projects by definition are
temporary and finite
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 The Consultant’s Opportunity!

• Offers an outsider’s perspective

• Carries no institutional baggage
• Equipped with Specialized Skills
• Experienced with Industry Best Practices
• Exposed to variety of use cases
• Pragmatic and Solution Focused
• Action Driven engagement

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 Consultant’s Perspective!

Behavior Organization

• Be flexible • Break the hierarchy and flatten out the teams

• Pick your battles • Believe and then truly fully self-organizing teams, no
need of Coaches and Masters, instead empower
• Change the mindset
Team leads
• Transform PMO to be Agile
Process
• Improve Domain Knowledge
• Shorten your sprints • Redefine/simplify job descriptions and career paths
• Stick to the agenda
Outcomes
• Eliminate UAT
• Automate deployments • Features vs. tasks
• Utilize collaboration tools and improve visibility • Done vs. Doing
• Continue to evolve and adapt • Value vs. Expense

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 Consultant’s Advice
• Focus on changing the culture
• Sincerely test your Agile adoption
• Do not be afraid to innovate
• Adapt and Assimilate
• Focus on What To Do vs. What Not To Do

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 Consultant’s Challenge!
• Get rid of Gantt Charts and focus on WIP and Burndown Schedules
• Stop being Developers and Engineers; instead focus on becoming Creators,
Manufacturers and Architects
• Get rid of Bug Reports – instead fix/resolve the bugs as they are discovered
– Quality cannot be injected at the end of the process.
• Do not underestimate the value of interpersonal communication – put away
the device and talk to your teammates - good chemistry will lead to
efficient and innovative outcomes
• Do not box yourself into a single skill and/or domain – instead become
Poly-skilled – Agile Demands it.
• Elevate your delivery from Task to Feature and start to focus on WHAT you
are developing as opposed to HOW you are developing.
• Yes You Are SMART enough to understand the Big Picture!

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 “If we want to ensure the
best possible outcomes
for ourselves and our
organizations, we must
focus on developing the
cultures that foster success
for all stakeholders,
because … culture trumps
everything”

(Dr. Gustavo R. Grodnitzky)

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© Oracular IS 2018
 In Conclusion!
• Agile is the right mindset, perfectly aligned with the current Millennial
workforce
• Globally all Enterprises and their IT departments, are implementing
Agile to be able to keep pace with the technology evolution and the
exponential growth and adoption of technology within every area of
the business
• In Pakistan, if we want to stay competitive – we do not have luxury of
time … The time of Action is Now

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