Failing at Agile Transformation

Nobody likes to fail especially when it comes to an enterprise-wide change. Failing at Agile Transformation describes the numerous things people do that sabotage an organization's efforts to change.

The number of practices you can test out to assist you in your Agile journey are limitless. Unfortunately, the number of counterproductive assaults people perform during the journey are just as limitless. There are countless books, websites and blogs that will describe dozens and even hundreds of different techniques that can help you become Agile.

With so many available resources, making this transformation successful must be easy. Right? Wrong! The sad fact is that an organization can employ every single tip and trick out there and still fail at Agile. How can this happen if they do everything they are “supposed” to do? It can happen because shifting in this way is much more than simply changing how you do things.
Becoming a living, breathing Agile organization involves changing why you do things. There must be a complete metamorphosis of the company culture. Management structure must change. You cannot simply implement this mindset into your existing structure. Individual roles need to change and responsibilities need to adjust. Some positions become obsolete.

Therefore, some good advice is to read as many books and resources as you can about Agile transformation. Educate yourself on all the things people have tried that worked. Familiarize yourself with the Agile terminology and nifty lingo. However, there is also have a word of caution: Do not assume that doing these things will make your organization Agile. Employees can do all the right things but if they are also doing things that are harmful and detrimental to the Agile mindset, the transformation may fail before it has had a chance to thrive. Do not allow that to happen. Save yourself some headaches and spend a couple of hours reading about the lessons learned by Kelly Geyer in her experience as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach.