{"id":11542,"date":"2022-10-18T09:43:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T08:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ee.yelkdev.site\/?p=11542"},"modified":"2024-12-09T15:22:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T15:22:39","slug":"scaling-agile-without-losing-agility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.equalexperts.com\/blog\/our-thinking\/scaling-agile-without-losing-agility\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaling agile without losing agility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Context matters<\/h2>\n

Most organisations considering agile as an approach start small and explore its strengths and weaknesses. If this is you, then I salute you. You did absolutely the right thing. The core principle of any iterative method is \u201ctest and learn\u201d, and that\u2019s exactly what you did. So now you\u2019ve hopefully seen the value, and want to scale your agile approach up, so the whole organisation can benefit. Where should you start and what pitfalls should you avoid?<\/p>\n

The first thing I need to tell you before you roll agile out across your organisation is this. Don\u2019t. Agile is an excellent approach, but as with all solutions it has its place. Context is everything. Agile works best in situations where you\u2019re trying something new, or making something for the first time. It\u2019s for situations where you don\u2019t already know the answers. That\u2019s why test-and-learn is so important. Only scale agile up to cover those activities.<\/p>\n

(For more information on where agile fits and how to introduce it, take a look at this blog post<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

No one-size-fits-all frameworks<\/h2>\n

Agile is about autonomy and freedom to change direction. It\u2019s about achieving outcomes, not about completing predetermined tasks. So, avoid frameworks that promise to create control structures and processes that allow you to manage agile at scale. The whole point of agile is it shouldn\u2019t be managed from above. Set goals and guidelines, but don\u2019t micro-manage.<\/p>\n

An agile team explores the unknown and reacts to what it finds. Trying to control that process, and create predictable plans and portfolios is tantamount to practising astrology and reading tea leaves. That\u2019s not to say agile has no rigour. It\u2019s just that the rigour is applied within the team, not from outside. Agile teams seek to achieve an outcome and deliver value. They don\u2019t focus on completing a set of predefined tasks.<\/p>\n

Most frameworks apply techniques from other methods to try to make agile more familiar and comfortable. All this achieves is a conflict between two different approaches designed for two different contexts.<\/p>\n

In short, there\u2019s nothing safe about a scaled agile framework.<\/p>\n

Fund teams, not projects<\/h2>\n

Agile initiatives aren\u2019t about completing a fixed deliverable or task. They\u2019re about achieving an outcome. You can\u2019t define them as tightly bound projects with a gantt chart and fixed budget. While an agile initiative is in progress it should be considered to be an operational activity, and should be funded as such. So, don\u2019t create a project budget.<\/p>\n

Form agile teams to deliver specific outcomes that align to your organisation\u2019s strategic goals, and then let them use their skills to deliver results for as long as those outcomes are needed to fulfil your strategy. The benefits you expect from the assigned outcomes should allow you to define an acceptable financial burn rate for the team. The team should then look to deliver regular value that justifies that burn rate, by achieving those outcomes, incrementally.<\/p>\n

As outcomes are achieved, new ones will emerge that take your organisation to the next level. This ensures longevity for established teams, and ensures that beneficial change becomes a core part of your business\u2019s operating model. An added benefit is that stable teams become high performing teams as you don\u2019t have to form and reform them each time a new project starts.<\/p>\n

Be agile about being agile<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve already started using agile in your organisation, you\u2019ll know it\u2019s an iterative approach. You don\u2019t go straight from nothing to a full roll out. Instead, you advance incrementally, learning and adapting at each stage of the way. You do this because what you\u2019re doing is new. You\u2019re not familiar with the potential pitfalls and unknowns. Doing agile at scale fits this category of activity. You\u2019ve never done it before.<\/p>\n

So, practise what you\u2019ve learnt on the exercise of scaling. Move from one team to three. Wait to see how that works, and learn from it. Now, when you expand again, you can use those learnings to do it better. Keep going until you have as many teams as you need to cover all the strategic initiatives for change that you want to pursue.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, grow until the operational cost is at a level that you can sustain and accept that some initiatives can wait. This just needs some careful juggling of cost versus benefit. Something that every successful business is already expert at. And you are, of course, a successful business because you\u2019re still trading.<\/p>\n

In summary<\/h2>\n

So, to scale agile successfully, don\u2019t adopt a framework. Just apply these simple rules and trust your judgement:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Restrict it to new things.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t wrap it in controls and frameworks.<\/li>\n
  3. Fund teams not projects.<\/li>\n
  4. Grow incrementally, learn and iterate.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By taking this approach, you\u2019ll only go as far as is beneficial for your organisation. You\u2019ll achieve sustainable and continuous change without making large, risky step changes. Best of all, if you do end up with a framework, it\u2019ll be one designed specifically for your business, by your people. That\u2019s how you get the buy in necessary to make it last.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s it. That\u2019s how you scale agile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    So, you\u2019ve started doing agile and it\u2019s worked out. That\u2019s fantastic, but now you\u2019re struggling to make it work at scale, or to understand where to go next. In this article I\u2019ll give you a few pointers that might ease that journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[303,318,310],"location":[397],"class_list":["post-11542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-thinking","tag-agility","tag-framework","tag-scale"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nScaling agile without losing agility | Equal Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So, now you\u2019ve tried being agile, how do you scale what you\u2019ve learnt without losing agility? 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