Have you arrived at agile? 4 checkpoints to validate where you are on the journey

Moving the organization to agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban have awarded thousands of leaders with greater outcomes for their organizations.  Many leaders are always excited to tell their investors and board members that they are now an agile shop.  Starting with agile teams is a great first step.  A reminder that agile is a continual learning journey.  Here is a great checklist against the 4 simple principles within the Agile Manifesto for Software Development to help identify how boldly you can make this statement –

• Checkpoint 1 – You are no longer asking about ‘activity’ and every question is focused on client outcomes – practice starting all your questions with – “When will clients ….” as it forces the conversations to be about client outcomes V. outcomes for the organization.

Leader checkpoint 1 – Keep track of the organization questions you ask in a day (e.g. When will we see …., When will you …., How will this impact us ….) and how many times you are asking about client outcomes (e.g. Does this help the client buy and feel good about the purchase of their new home? Does the client become healthier? Does this add peace of mind for the client? Will the client find information quickly?)

Truly validate – Ask the clients.  Stop guessing and assuming.  Ask!

• Checkpoint 2  – You are producing working software daily – start with small goals and have your software working in SIT daily and then moving to releasing in regular (daily) intervals –
  

Leader checkpoint 2 – This means that product owners are in the room with the team and able to close stories because they have working software – always aiming for embedding with continuous development deployment in a DevOps pipeline from dev to production

Truly validate –  Ask the teams “Is the software working like a smooth factory or is it stitched together with breaks in the lines?” – This allows you to get under the cover with the teams and uncover their barriers

• Checkpoint 3  – Client feedback is shaping your backlog and priorities – this is the harder transformation as business results are needed for you to be successful, right?
  

Leader checkpoint 3 – you will arrive at full agility when embed yourself into servant-leadership – you put the success of your clients ahead of your success and believe that if your clients are getting what they need then you are successful

Truly validate –  decisions are supported by client insights V. reaching a company target

• Checkpoint 4 – Responding to change – you are able to pivot the organization quickly as you have teams with healthy backlogs and scalable skills that you can pivot to the most important thing for the company
  

Leader checkpoint 4 – you have clear mandates for your teams, with healthy backlogs and healthy teams

Truly validate – ask your product owners ability to pick up an epic early or insert something unexpected – there should be a calm response and articulate approach by the team

When do you know you are working in agile?

When you are continually delivering experiences of value and progressing experiences forward.  Watch the pitfalls of tweaking an experience and releasing regularly.  Confirm that clients see value and integrate their feedback into future planning.

How to ensure we reach agility?

There is not a defined path.  Each organization is unique.  As a leader, provide laser-focus on the 4 outcomes in the manifesto.  You can achieve great success and know that you are working with agility because the outcomes are clearly defined and teams focused on 4 simple principles.