The Silver Bullet

"Quick! We have a complicated problem within engineering. They aren't going fast enough. I heard about Agile at a conference, should we try that?"

I am sure many of you have been in organizations that throw Agile around like a hot potato, passing the buck from group to group or even person to person. Yet, I am here to tell you, Agile is NOT a silver bullet. It is NOT a quick fix to issues and requires several key components to be successful.

"What are the keys to success?", you may ask. In this article I will briefly shed some light on this otherwise hazy situation.

Understanding

In a previous article, Can We Get on The Same Page?, I mentioned the fact that when two people say Agile... they mean two different things. As a leader in an organization it is great to notice that things might not be moving as quick as you or customers would like; however, simply throwing Agile at the problem will only lead to frustrated employees. It is your due diligence as a leader to investigate what is meant by Agile, what this mindset and the 50+ Methodologies will provide for you and your customers, how this will change the interactions between you and your employees as well as the silos within the organization. Without investigating this, you become part of the problem. You may think hiring an Agile Coach or SPC (if you are a Scaled Agile organization) will simply resolve the issues. Yet, once again, this is incorrect. What you will see happening is frustrated employees and you will begin to point your finger at the individual asked to lead the change rather than realizing you, yourself need to understand.

Leadership

With understanding, you are then able to become a better leader. With understanding you will see that leadership is the foundation of any lasting change within an organization. For without leaders, we will question who to follow. Agile is a mindset that begins at the top and morphs its way into the minds of everyone else within the organization by simply watching you. Watching you lead like an Agile leader. Not someone with a fixed mindset, not a dictator. But someone who really embraces Agile by acting out the mindset in everyday communication and life.

Continued Support

Just like when you buy a new car and you are all excited about the shiny new things it has to offer, you know deep down that someday you will need to maintain this new beautiful thing. You know it may need windshield wiper fluid, new tires, repairs on the paint, etc. Agile, is the exact same. You adopt Agile and you have to maintain it. Constantly staying ahead is difficult if you don't have people who are paying attention. This continued support could look like hiring Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, a PMO group, or even having Agile Coaches come in periodically to do assessments and provide training. However this is accomplished, is fine. It just needs to be done before the wheels fall off.

In closing, Agile is NOT a silver bullet but rather a mindset that begins with leadership and needs to be maintained to ensure the benefits are realized.