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Organizational Transformation
Transformations starts with the leadership of the organization. There is an event, a trigger, where the leadership in the organization determines that the business needs to transform in order to be successful. The cause of the trigger is either:
- The organization finds itself in a situation where change is forced upon them. Perhaps the business environment has shifted in direction which is not supported by your products. Perhaps your competitors have released a solution that effects the market for your products. Irrespective there is a need for the organization to change, and change quickly.
- The organization decides that they need to become more effective. Perhaps there are internal signs that there are problems such as customers or other business stakeholders becoming frustrated with your offering. Perhaps the leadership just know that the organization is too complacent. Irrespective leadership decides that something needs to be done to improve.
In either case a case is made for change, and a decision is made to bring in some outside, experienced help. The first step is to work collaboratively, between you as leadership and me as coach, to determine the required business outcomes of the transformation and develop the plan, the roadmap, to achieve those outcomes.
While every engagement is different, there are a couple of “typical” transformational patterns:
| Engagement | Outcomes | SAFe?1) |
|---|---|---|
| Lean-Agile Readiness Evaluation | In many cases you know what you want to do and so simply want to get started with the transformation. Others would like to take a more measured approach with some level of analysis to determine where the issues might be in your organization before you get started. The readiness evaluation seeks to identify potential impediments to smooth Agile adoption by looking at your people, your processes and the technologies you use. This evaluation is done through direct interviews with both executive, management, and key personnel as well as surveys, and analysis of current artifacts, and other tools. The result in a focussed report of current status and impediments, recommendations, and any raw data that I collect. | Yes |
| Lean-Agile Transformation Startup | Working with Executives, Managers, Teams and Customers, this is aimed at establishing the roadmap for the transformation. Training is provided to ensure people understand the Lean-Agile values and principles which are then worked into specific plan for implementation for a specified set of organizations or projects. The Lean-Agile Readiness Evaluation is often included in this approach. | Yes |
| Lean-Agile Quick-start | Sometimes you want to try some of the Lean-Agile ideas, perhaps as part of the Transformation Startup or perhaps just as a pilot to determine the effect the Lean-Agile approach will have on your organization. The Quick-start trains and supports a couple of teams in the basic philosophy of Lean-Agile core practices. The result is that the Team(s) immediately work using the new approach which provides the organization with a chance to learn from their experience and decide what to do next. | |
| Lean-Agile Organization Retrospective | If you already have an Agile implementation in place, you will see parts of your organization (be that at the team, product, project, management, or wider organizational level) where you think more improvement is possible. Through a process of observation and focussed activities we will collaborate to determine a specific set of plans focussed on improvement areas. |
At the organizational level, a transformation engagement is made up of a mix of:
- Coaching