Scrum-But, Scrummerfall, other fizzled Agile transitions…

Goldratt describes these things (not directly), and similar phenomenon (like failure of companies to get the real benefits from ERP, SAP, 6Sig, Lean, etc.) nicely:

Organizations make rules to deal with/operate in the presence of limitations.  By rules, I mean rules, processes, structures, and other arrangements and things (see the dictionary definition).

Technology (see the dictionary definition) improvements remove limitations.

For a change to truly take hold and succeed, the rules that were made to operate in the presence of the old limitations must be eliminated or changed, and new rules created to deal with new limitations

The concepts above (ERP, SAP, 6Sigma, Lean, and Agile) are technology improvements.

Specifically, Agile, as a technology improvement, removes limitations such as:

• the inability to deal with change
• the inability to deal with uncertainty

Make the Change Stick
For an Agile transition to be truly successful, all the rules that were created when the old limitations existed should be revisited.

1. Remove rules that are no longer useful – these tend to be the ones that were made specifically to address those old limitations
2. Identify the new limitations we have now (they’re out there…a separate article coming soon)
3. Create new rules to deal with these new limitations
4. Rinse and repeat when you find the next improvement

Examples of Rules that May Need Changing and/or Scrapping in Agile Transitions

• Functional Org Structures and Groups
• Documentation-focused processes and steps (this is a huge one…changing how we validate things to how we request things)
• Heavyweight software release processes
• Compliance processes
• HR-related rules – from career paths, to evaluation and compensation, and more

All of these rules that were made when older limitations existed, if they continue to be modus operandi, will sap away the ability to continuously improve and embody the change you are trying to make, leech away energy from your change agents, and eventually result in a transition that has been mediocre at best.  It is exactly this situation that makes it appealing to create a hybrid method – such as combining the UP with Agile.

Changing the rules – A transformation enabler

I do believe that there are other aspects of Agile transitions that are important to consider.  Changing the rules is a major one that is often neglected due to how difficult it is.  Any time you feel like customizing your agile process with something from your former processes, ask yourself if it is because you have found a rule that needs changing!