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Montana Agile 1 = Assessment

Define a clear vision towards a re-imagined expected outcome.

I am going to give you a general overview of my Agile Assessment process.  Once hired you get the detailed, dilligent, scripted view.

Uncharted Waters

Ok, the desire to change and re-imagine what could be at the management level got us to this point.  I often times organizations having a hard time moving from waterfall or away from Wagile as I call it to true Agile adoption.  This is normal and nothing to freak out about.  It's uncharted waters for many within the organization and with that comes fear, optimism and with some excitement.

Eventually the organization will mature to a more Agile process or not because some organizations just work better Wagile (hybrid Agile).  I am sure I derailed the day of some pure agilsts out there by saying that.  Oh well, contining on.

Why do an Agile Assessment?

The first thing I want to say is 'Trust the Process'.  It's worth the effort.  So, here are some of my reasons why the assessment will take place:

1. Baseline where we are as well as the organizations abilities.
2. How are we currently tracking against goals and timelines.
3. An honest determination if we are ready to move to the next level.
4. Note what we are good and not good at and where we can improve.
5. Narrow down a list of items to work on when teams are defined.
6. Establish that the assessment is a change management tool.
7. Make the case of outside assistance if needed with supporting facts.

Assessment Inception

Let's form a clear picture of the expected outcome.  I do this by working with department heads as part of the core team to understand the context of the ask.  I will have a few calls with the client to ensure we understand the goals around assessment context before we continue.  This is a good time to start familiarizing everyone with terms such as Roadmap and Release Planning, Sprints, Kanban and more.

Discovery Session

This is where the companies leadership assists me in completing the Disciplined Agile Approach to address goals.  Together we form an Assessment Team.  Collectively we decide the approach we will take around policies and Definition of Done as well as ways of working through cadence ceromonies.  We form an understanding of the tools and develop a measurement strategy.  Then we put in the conditions needed for success like supporting documents questions, working environment etc.  I will bring in the STAR method where we will discuss specific Situation, Task, Action, Results of situations.

Montana Customers

Some information I know about Montana is I believe the state was admitted or ratified to the United States around or about 'November 8, 1889'.  Montana is located around latitude '46.96526' and longitude of '-109.533691' and has a population of roughly '1,084,225 million'.  If I remember correctly the capital is 'Helena' and the largest city is 'Billings'. 

Get On Board

Make sure everyone understands the goals as to where the company is, where it wants to be and always bring in the competiton as part of the reasoning for the move towards Agile.  Always point out the benefits, be ready to hold your ground and make compromises where you need to because not every company works the same and sometimes full tilt Agile is not for everyone.  Wagile (hybrid Agile) is honestly ok sometimes.

Buy In Sessions

For those companies new to Agile I start off by introducing Agile as a tool to assist in guiding an Agile transformation and team improvement.  Once I have put together a structured document around customized work expectations and process I use a projector, white board, whatever I feels good to make the presentation and discuss what Agile is and where we go moving forward.

Data collection, review, knowledge transfer, shadow are some of the terms I will start using now so people hear them because they will be part of the Agile Transformation phase.

Review Assets

It is time to review assets with the PMO and discuss the Agile Center of Excellence around the current state of the company.

Review Governance Model

I will need information around the Governance Model which is the decision making process for alignment.  This is where I will enforce the notion of Lean-Agile values and principles.  Teams can be put into buckets as far as High Performing, Average and Low Performing.  We must first understand what data is used for these decisions.  For me personally one has to tead lightly here and not demean people to the point of thinking we seem them as a failure because that will defeat the purpose.

Make giving feedback simple for stakeholders.

When push comes to shove, and after all is considered, no matter of what option you choose for assessment; most important to success are:

1. A readiness for continuous improvement.  Managers, Teams cannot be inspired if they don't know what they're working toward, and don't have explicit goals.
2. Engaging people through continuous improvement.  Collect metrics that matter most, and do not skip your inspect and adapt sessions, using reflection tools and acting upon any results.
3. A continuous feedback loop, supportive context is particularly critical to team success.  This can be enabled through continuous improvement practices such as retrospectives at all levels as well as peer reviews.

If at any point you decide to reach to me just know the area code I work within for Montana is '406'.  For Agile 1 = Assessment assistance you will find my rates very reasonable for Montana.  Now just keep in mind my time zone is 'Eastern Standard Time (EST)' and I know the time zones in Montana are 'Mountain Standard Time (MST)' in case you wish to call me.  Anyway let me continue.

Understanding of the Agile Life Cycle

1. Scope out and prioritize projects
2. Diagram requirements for the initial sprint
3. Construction/iteration
4. Release the iteration into production
5. Production and ongoing support for the software release
6. Retirement

You know, I don't make it out to Montana much but I would like to see the 'Western Meadowlark' state bird.  I am a little familiar with the Montana 'Bitterroot' state flower as well.  However, I do not know much about Montana's state tree the 'Ponderosa Pine'.  Fishing is fun to me perhaps I would like reeling in the Montana 'Blackspotted cutthroat trout' state fish.  Anyway, sorry I went off topic.  Let me continue.

All About the Mindset

Productivity is key, organization is just as important.  Make the experience of learning Agile and participating fun.  Heck pay for everyones breakfast and lunch during the assessment process and on into the transition phase.  You will find a full belly and a free meal go a long way to keeping everyone engaged and happy.

Bottom line: The goal of the Agile as a process is to create and deliver accurately as soon as possible.

Ok, let's move on...

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