You are back from the local Agile Tour. You still have in mind all the speeches you heard about Agility, Scrum, Lean and other methods that make promises of better days to IT organizations. You return to the office still very motivated by the energy of the Agile Tour and you state very convincingly to your superior that you want to implement an Agile method, which is promising earlier results in the development process, better quality, as well as more productive and more dynamic teams. He agrees with a big smile because you told him that there was no investment required and that this would not affect his work in any way.

You determine that the most appropriate method is Agile Lean especially since your department provides support services. You’re looking to deliver results earlier and more regularly. You make the announcement to the team that there will be changes in the way the team works. The group of people in front of you does not seem as enthusiastic as you were at the Agile Tour. You think to yourself, “It doesn’t matter . . . They won’t believe it!”

Quickly, you put up a Kanban board, hold daily meetings, use velocity indicators; you have taken off! Weeks go by and it seems that communication has improved a little bit and that the team is able to deliver within the new context. Then, your supervisor calls you to her office:

Her: “So, how are things progressing?”

You: “Well! The team seems to work well with the new ways of doing.”

Her: “Did you gain significant benefits?”

You: “It’s still early, but we should get results shortly.”

Her: “Well. Okay, so I can expect that the improved results are part of your quarterly report?”

You (doubtfully): “Uh . . . yes. Yes, they should be included.”

You had not expected this pressure from your manager when you made the decision to implement Agility. You go back to your team and call an ad hoc meeting.

“We have to put a little more effort and get things done faster. We set up this new way of working to help you! So, make the most of it.” you say persuasively.

Several weeks go by, even months, and improvements are slow to come even though all the tools are in place. What’s going on? After attending the presentations at Agile Tour, you were certain that this was going to work in your team. Suddenly, you remember the conferences you did not attend at the Agile Tour. For example:

These presentations were not talking about methodologies, the “how to” of things. How can they help a team to deliver earlier and more regularly? Is there a missing ingredient in your recipe?

Teams and organizations who fail with Agile methods, such as Scrum and Lean, rarely come to the conclusion that an ingredient is missing in their recipe. Instead, they prefer to give up and say that Agility simply doesn’t apply to their context. However, large-scale organizations like Toyota succeed. Why is that?

Part of the answer lies in how these companies have undertaken their transition to new approaches. They understood that it was not only a matter of implementing tools and processes. In fact, they understood that implementing a new method would affect not only the team but the entire organization. Toyota was inspired by someone who believed that the application of several principles and values, in addition to the implementation of tools and processes, could significantly improve the performance of employees at various development levels, be it individual, team, and organizational. This person worked for Toyota during its transformation. His name: W. Edwards Deming.

Toyota’s managers took the ideas of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, adapted them, and applied them to their context. They created a management system that worked for Toyota. To do so, they created and adapted new processes and tools in compliance with Dr. Deming’s ideas. Chairman and Director at Toyota, Shoichiro Toyoda says: “There isn’t a day where I don’t think about the value that Dr. Deming brings to us. Deming is at the heart of our management.”

Deming offers 14 key principles to managers for transforming their business effectively with methods such as Agile Lean. Here are some principles that apply, in my opinion, to the context of Agility:

  • Create constancy of purpose (focus on the mission) toward improvement of product or service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs
  • Adopt a new philosophy
  • Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality
  • Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service
  • Institute training on the job
  • Institute leadership (the aim of supervision should be to help people to do a better job)
  • Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company
  • Break down barriers between departments
  • Remove barriers that rob workers of their right to pride of workmanship
  • Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation.

In short, what Dr. Deming proposes is to consider the organization as a whole (managers, employees, processes and tools) to maximize delivery and be successful. To succeed, consider not only the application of tools, but also the values ​​offered by Deming:

  • Trust in teams
  • Leadership by acting as a servant leader rather than controlling
  • Commitment to people and what they are trying to produce.

The implementation of new methods in an organization requires its transformation. This change should be reflected at all organizational levels. It is easier for the organization as a whole to work in the same direction, which will allow each and every one to reach their full potential.

marc-andré langlais

Marc-André is an Agile coach at Epicoaching, member of Pyxis network. He helps build self-organizing teams who evolve in a stimulating and relational environment. Contact him to find out how he can contribute to the success of your teams.

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