Of all the organizations that have attempted to be Agile, only few have truly succeeded. The primary reasons for lack of success appears to be the lack of understanding the difference between Agile Adoption and Transformation, and in failing to understand that Agile is a mindset and not a collection of processes and that transformation has to do with significant changes to the organization eco system. Evidence is also available that companies have found it much harder to do Agile Transformation as compared to Agile Adoption This presentation showcases 2 contrasting case studies, one not successful and the other a success in agile transformation, to bring out the key variables that determine success or lack of it in Agile Transformation.

1. AGILE TRANSFORMATION:
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Sunil Mundra
Principal Consultant

2. • What Is Agile Transformation
• Case Study: Not Successful
Transformation
• Case Study: Successful
Transformation
• Key Takeaways
• Q&A
OUTLINE

3. • Adoption
• Transformation
• Change
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

4. 4
ADOPTION VS. TRANSFORMATION
Adoption Transformation
Emphasis on Practices Emphasis on Values and
Principles
Typically covers a part of
the Organization
Covers the entire
Organization
Focus in on ‘What You Do’ Focus is on ‘Who You Are’
Level of Disruption is
relatively Low
Level of Disruption Is
relatively High
Limited Impact on
Business Outcomes
Maximum Impact on
Business Outcomes

5. 5
CHANGE VS. TRANSFORMATION
Change Transformation
Subscribes to Vision Prescribes Vision
Fixes the Past and Current Creates the Future
Driven by Tactics Driven by Strategy
Focus on Methods &
Processes
Focus on Mindsets and
Beliefs
External Influence is High External Influence is
Minimal

6. NOT SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION

7.  Health Care division of a Global Engineering
Conglomerate, dealing in Medical Imaging
Product
 Product created initially with small hospitals as
target. Strategy modified to cater to large
hospitals as well
 Senior Management mindset oriented towards
traditional engineering
 Development Team was offshore
ORG. CONTEXT

8.  Challenges, post change in Strategy
 ‘Flood’ of new requirements
 Large and Unprioritized Backlog
 Delivery not aligned with Business needs,
therefore Business unable to keep up with
competition
 Excessive focus on speed of delivery resulted in
high tech debt and therefore poor quality
 Vicious circle of Unhappy Business and
Demotivated IT
ORG. CONTEXT

9.  Inadequate Buy-in by Leadership
 Poor Collaboration between Business and
IT
 Local Optimization
 Lack of Engineering Practices
 Focus on merely ‘Doing’ Agile, and not on
‘Being’ Agile
TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGES

10. SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION

11.  Insurance division of a large financial
conglomerate
 Acquired another company twice it’s size
 Business started breaking down due to
 Misalignment between Products
 Disconnect in IT Applications
 Differences in Culture
 A ‘Courageous Leader’ launches Agile
Transformation
 Transformation Period: Approx. 5 years
ORG. CONTEXT

12. SUCCESS FACTORS
Solid Foundation Through
Agile Adoption
•Business and IT Collaboration
•Engineering Practices
•Culture of Learning and Continuous
Improvement

13. SUCCESS FACTORS
Transformation Strategy
•Define Target State and identify
gaps with Current State
•Define the Scaling Approach
•Create Internal Champions

14. SUCCESS FACTORS
Change Management
•Create Shared Vision
•Provide extensive Training and
Coaching
•Relentless Focus on Mindset Change

15. SUCCESS FACTORS
Encourage Right Behaviours
•Align KPIs
•Accountability at Team level
•Communities of Practice

16. SUCCESS FACTORS
Org. Level Changes
•HR Policies
•Transition Middle Managers
•Agile Friendly Infrastructure

17. KEY TAKEAWAYS

18. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Leaders Transform First
• Focus on ‘Being’ Agile
• It’s a Long and Tough journey.
Be Patient and Persistent
• Introduce Change Management
ASAP
• Adopt Systems Thinking
Approach

19. THANK YOU
sunilrm@thoughtworks.com
www.linkedin.com/in/sunilmundra
suniltalksagile.wordpress.com
@sunil_mundra

20. QUESTIONS?
sunilrm@thoughtworks.com
www.linkedin.com/in/sunilmundra
suniltalksagile.wordpress.com
@sunil_mundra