Dave Moran's Agile Expectations presentation from Agile Maine Day, April 26, 2019. The objective is to help identify key sources of organizational friction as well as understanding where to establish a new set of Agile Expectations for how your organization in order to fully transform into a highly productive, agile organization.

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Agile Expectations
Creating Organizational Alignment – Agile Maine Day 4/26/2019
Dave Moran – Agile Coach

2. “We will know we are agile when…”
Agility
Time
Low
High
?

3. TROUBLE IN PARADISE
VersionOne’s Annual State of Agile Surveys regularly cite the following as leading causes of failed agile projects or
barriers to further agile adoption:
• Existing company culture at odds with agile values
• Lack of management support
• General organizational resistance to change

4. KEY FACTOR
Each has different values that are fueled by experiences & beliefs
Differing mental models

5. CURRENT STATE
Functional reporting
relationships
Authority
Information
Traditional Organization

6. ONE PERSPECTIVE OF AGILITY
Transformative

7. TRANSFORMING: A SHAPE-SHIFTING EXERCISE

8. TRANSFORMING: A SHAPE-SHIFTING EXERCISE

9. TARGET STATE
Customer-oriented reporting relationships
Authority
Information
Agile Organization

10. TARGET STATE
Customer-oriented reporting relationships
Authority
Information
Agile Organization
Is this the true intent?

11. ONE SCENARIO
“Agility applies to this part of our organization.”
“They’re empowered!” (To make all of our problems
go away while we remain in control…)

12. ONE SCENARIO
“Agility applies to this part of our organization.”
“They’re empowered!” (To make all of our problems
go away while we remain in control…)
Agility is viewed as an efficiency improvement, but is this a shared understanding?
"We have Scrum teams, so that makes us agile!”

13. Initial Pilots & Learning Scaling
Teams Leadership
Time
LACK OF ALIGNMENT IS COSTLY!
Low
High
Agility
Friction
Conflicting Expectations
• Existing company culture at odds with agile values
• Lack of management support
• General organizational resistance to change

14. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
What is an expectation?

15. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Expectations are a belief about how the future will unfold – and we react negatively if others
fail to live up to our expectations

16. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Expectations are a belief about how the future will unfold – and we react negatively if others
fail to live up to our expectations
To successfully manage expectations we need to:
• Anticipate challenges
• Be honest, transparent and explicit about our assumptions and beliefs

17. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Expectations are a belief about what the future will hold – and we react negatively if others
fail to live up to our expectations
To successfully manage expectations we need to:
• Anticipate challenges
• Be honest, transparent and explicit about our assumptions and beliefs
“If you don’t manage expectations, expect to fail.” – Mike Cohn
https://mtngo.at/1705

18. ORGANIZATIONS: SYSTEMS OF INTERACTING ELEMENTS
Value System
Beliefs
There is mutual support and
reinforcement between the system
people are working in and the
behaviors that they exhibit

19. ORGANIZATIONS: SYSTEMS OF INTERACTING ELEMENTS
Value System
Beliefs
Agile frameworks provide guidance
Exploring these aspects provide context
and help uncover the barriers and issues
associated with the VersionOne surveys

20. TRANSFORMING TO AGILE
Created by Col. John R. Boyd (ret.), Published on September 3, 1976
Leveraging John Boyd’s Destruction and Creation
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JohnBoyd_Pilot.jpg
Abstract: To comprehend and cope with our environment we
develop mental patterns or concepts of meaning. The purpose
of this paper is to sketch out how we destroy and create these
patterns to permit us to both shape and be shaped by a
changing environment.

21. THE CHALLENGE IN TRANSFORMING TO AGILE
We need to destroy this In order to create this
Boyd’s Destruction and Creation

22. THE CHALLENGE IN TRANSFORMING TO AGILE
We need to destroy this In order to create this
Without wrecking the company
Boyd’s Destruction and Creation

23. THE SOLUTION
Iteratively create and destroy
“…permit us to both shape and be shaped by a changing environment.”
– DESTRUCTION AND CREATION, John R. Boyd, September 3, 1976
Ultimate Target State
Current State
Transitional Target States

24. CREATING TRANSFORMATIONAL ALIGNMENT
Value System
Beliefs
Traditional Organization
Value System
Beliefs
Agile Organization
Describe the key characteristics of each organization
Seek to explore the value system and underlying beliefs

25. Value System
Beliefs
Traditional Organization
CHARACTERISTICS OF A TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATION

26. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AGILE ORGANIZATION
Value System
Beliefs
Agile Organization

27. UNSTRUCTURING
Sever the relationship between the parts and the whole by pulling the constituent parts out of their
respective boxes

28. THIS CREATES A "SEA OF ANARCHY”

29. SYNTHESIZING A PATH TO TRANSFORMATION
Pair opposing concepts
Predictability | Adaptability

30. SYNTHESIZING A PATH TO TRANSFORMATION
Pair opposing concepts
Predictability | Adaptability
Conversation starters

31. DIGGING DEEPER: APPLY FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
Create transformational meaning & context
Driving Forces Proposed Change(s) Restraining Forces
We are continually re-planning to
contend with change
Switch to iterative, continuous
planning, budgeting, and delivery of
smaller targets
Strong belief that requirements need
to be locked down, followed by
comprehensive, up-front planning
and design in order to succeed
PredictabilityAdaptability
Force Field Analysis created by Kurt Lewin

32. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
Driving Forces Proposed Change(s) Restraining Forces
We are continually re-planning to
contend with change
Pilot projects have demonstrated
success with empowered teams
adapting to rapid feedback
(divergence)
Customer satisfaction increases when
we quickly incorporate their changes
into our product (responsive)
Switch to iterative, continuous
planning, budgeting, and delivery of
smaller targets
Give teams permission and space to
make immediate adjustments based
on feedback
Shift our definition of success from
delivering according to plan to
creating a successful outcome
Strong belief that requirements need
to be locked down, followed by
comprehensive, up-front planning
and design in order to succeed
Current processes rely on tracking
and reporting against conformance to
plan and a rigorous change-control
process
Strong culture of “plan the work and
work the plan” (planning orientation)
Related pairs
Planning
Conformance
| Responsive
| Divergence

33. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
Related pairs
Planning
Conformance
| Responsive
| Divergence
Driving Forces Proposed Change(s) Restraining Forces
We are continually re-planning to
contend with change
Pilot projects have demonstrated
success with empowered teams
adapting to rapid feedback
Customer satisfaction increases when
we quickly incorporate their changes
into our product
Switch to iterative, continuous
planning, budgeting, and delivery of
smaller targets
Allow teams to make immediate
adjustments based on feedback
Plan, budget, and deliver against
smaller targets while doing the above
Strong belief that requirements need
to be locked down, followed by
comprehensive, up-front planning
and design in order to succeed
Current processes rely on tracking
and reporting against conformance to
plan and a rigorous change-control
process
Strong culture of “plan the work and
work the plan”
Responding to change over
following a plan
Customer collaboration
over contract negotiation

34. POTENTIAL THEMES TO EXPLORE
Efficiency
Specialization
Utilization
Multitasking
Projects
| Effectiveness
| T-Shaped Skills
| Throughput
| WIP Limits
| Value Streams

35. POTENTIAL THEMES TO EXPLORE
Efficiency
Specialization
Utilization
Multitasking
Projects
| Effectiveness
| T-Shaped Skills
| Throughput
| WIP Limits
| Value Streams
• The focus in on delivering
customer-facing outcomes, not
keeping specialists busy
• Individuals are expected to expand
their skills to contribute outside of
their deep specialty
• Work is rigorously prioritized and
delivered using multi-disciplinary
teams

36. POTENTIAL THEMES TO EXPLORE
Efficiency
Specialization
Utilization
Multitasking
Projects
| Effectiveness
| T-Shaped Skills
| Throughput
| WIP Limits
| Value Streams
Control
Process
Prescriptive
Judgement
Reporting
Micromanage
Hierarchical
Secretive
Resources
Best Practices
| Autonomy
| Framework
| Participative
| Engagement
| Interactions
| Trust
| Open
| Transparency
| People
| Continuous Improvement
• The focus in on delivering
customer-facing outcomes, not
keeping specialists busy
• Individuals are expected to expand
their skills to contribute outside of
their deep specialty
• Work is rigorously prioritized and
delivered using multi-disciplinary
teams

37. POTENTIAL THEMES TO EXPLORE
Efficiency
Specialization
Utilization
Multitasking
Projects
| Effectiveness
| T-Shaped Skills
| Throughput
| WIP Limits
| Value Streams
Control
Process
Prescriptive
Judgement
Reporting
Micromanage
Hierarchical
Secretive
Resources
Best Practices
| Autonomy
| Framework
| Participative
| Engagement
| Interactions
| Trust
| Open
| Transparency
| People
| Continuous Improvement
Individuals and interactions over
processes and tools
• The focus in on delivering
customer-facing outcomes, not
keeping specialists busy
• Individuals are expected to expand
their skills to contribute outside of
their deep specialty
• Work is rigorously prioritized and
delivered using multi-disciplinary
teams

38. BUILD YOUR (ITERATIVE) NARRATIVE

39. MAKE SPACE FOR CHANGE
Peter Drucker’s Leadership Challenge:
What have you stopped doing in the last two months?
“You can’t execute new strategy if you don’t remove
some of the past.” – Rob Savage, COO of Taco Bell

40. ACQUIRE INFORMATION & CONFIDENCE
Invest in learning to develop an organization of lean/agile practitioners that
can continually challenge the status quo and guide improvement efforts

41. BUILD YOUR (ITERATIVE) NARRATIVE
Describe how the
organization is expected to
operate
Determine what expectations need to be established and
communicated in order to support the desired changes
(Agile frameworks provide a great deal of guidance)

42. ITERATIVELY TRANSFORM
Increase capabilities over time, as determined by leadership in partnership with the entire
organization, based on the organization’s capacity for change

43. CLOSING THOUGHT
“Change your thoughts and you can change the world.”
– Norman Vincent Peale