Agile Tour Vilnius 2017 - Agility in the face of Perplexity (by Gunther Verheyen)

Gunther Verheyen, Ullizee-IncScrum. Connector, writer, speaker, humaniser.

Agility

in the face of perplexity

Agile Tour Vilnius

12 October 2017

Vilnius (Lithuania)

2Gunther Verheyen – Ullizee-Inc, 2017 - @Ullizee

Before we start. Do we still need ‘Agile’? 1”

‘Agile’ dates from 2001. Is it therefore outdated?

Raise your hand if you feel that today (2017):

1. ‘Agile’ is still worthwhile (and even more needed than ever).

2. ‘Agile’ doesn’t need to be renamed (it’s already difficult

enough to explain as it is).

3. ‘Agile’ applies to software development only.


Your company wants to embrace Agile. You are invited to come

enlighten your CEO and the Management Team. The CIO claims

to already know about this thing called Scrum.

What is your approach? What do you say?

e.g.

• What is your definition of ‘Agile’?

• How do you relate ‘Agile’ and Scrum?

How do you then explain what ‘Agile’ is about? 2”


My typical response (so far)

Agile

• The mind-set expressed through the value

statements and the principles of the Agile

Manifesto, http://agilemanifesto.org

Scrum

• A simple framework for complex product

delivery, http://www.scrumguides.org

More: Gunther Verheyen, “Agile and Scrum, actually (2015)”

http://agilemanifesto.org

http://www.scrumguides.org

https://guntherverheyen.com/2015/03/12/agile-and-scrum-actually/


There may be

many reasons

to pursue agility.

What is your #1

reason?

Does your

management

know/agree?

Starting with why often works better

• Improved relationship with customers

• Flexibility, easier to make changes

• Improved productivity and quality

• Taking advantage of market opportunities

• Early elimination of risk

• Early realization of value

• Always knowing where you are in development

• Elimination of overhead and waste

• Create products that reach market faster and are more targeted

• Increased Return on Investment

• Reduced Total Cost of Ownership

• Engagement of co-workers


Agility (definition) - What it boils down to


New Ways

“ Rather than questioning, doubting and scorning,

I aspire uncovering new ways, new words, to

show the value and the originality of ‘Agile’. I do it

for the purpose of clarity over the essence of

‘Agile’, to disentangle the clew that ‘Agile’ turned

into. ”

“Complexity is our world.

Simplicity is our path.”

Gunther Verheyen


Work variables

The Complex Novelty Space

Work spaces


Work has shifted to the Complex Novelty Space

“Our iceberg is melting and your cheese is being moved. At lightspeed.

The balance of society has rapidly shifted from industrial, often physical, labor to digital, often

virtual, work. Hence, the value of the Agile paradigm.”


The impact of the work shift

• There is no doubt that the world of human beings has always

been complex; in terms of businesses, economical trade,

power, relationships. However, the rate and scale at which the

ruling complexity impacts us are unprecedented.

• Technological evolutions are not slowing down and technology

invades ever more aspects of life, changing the fabric of

society and of our social systems.


Perplexity (definition)


‘Agile’ is more needed than ever

The Agile paradigm defines the new thinking and

behavioral tools to navigate through the perplexity.

Acting with agility is key to avoid perplexity turning

into an inability to act.


Burning questions for a positive definition of ‘Agile’

What is it that makes Scrum work? What is it that

makes the Agile paradigm work?

What does acting with agility include? What is

needed to turn complexity into manageable

perplexity?


The Prime Agile Tenets

Who

How

Why


The Prime Agile Tenets – Collaboractive People

People take a stance of continual ability and willingness to act in

concerted ways, to actively engage in collaboration. People bring

in skills and expertise, regardless position, title, hierarchy, or

function.

• Perspectives to “Collaboractive People”

– Accountability

– Professionalism

– Teamware


The Prime Agile Tenets – Deliberate Emergence

More changes than remains stable in the Complex Novelty

space. Predictions don’t work (anymore). Emergence prevails.

Feedback is provoked deliberately. What works today, might not

work tomorrow.

• Perspectives to “Deliberate Emergence”

– (Time-boxing)

– (Feedback loops)

– (The iterative-incremental continuum)


The Prime Agile Tenets – Value for a Purpose

Success is not in predicted big bang delivery, but in the continual

optimization of value delivered through finished versions of

product and end-to-end working results, frequently. What is

important today, might not be tomorrow.

• Perspectives to “Value for a Purpose”

– (Measuring value, measuring agility)

– (The value in valuation)


• Collaboractive People

– Accountability

– Professionalism

– Teamware

• Deliberate Emergence

– (Time-boxing)

– (Feedback loops)

– (The iterative-incremental continuum)

• Value for a Purpose

– (Measuring value, measuring agility)

– (The value in valuation)

Perspectives to the Prime Agile Tenets 2”

What does ‘professionalism’

mean for you?

How is it important in the Complex Novelty space?


Is a craftsperson also a professional (and vice versa)?

Professionalism encompasses technical and behavioral reliability;people that combine technical craftspersonship and personal integrity.


Professionals in the Agile space

Operating in the complex novelty space introduces some specific traits

of professionalism:

• Being craftspersonalities demonstrating a collaboractive stance

(willingness to act in concerted ways).

• Don’t represent complexity as ordered and predictable.

• Do not promise certainty where there is none.

• Do not pretend being able to predict the inherently unpredictable.

• Do not mix up the path with a destination.

• Present simple rules to emerge patterns, not misrepresent the

problem as simple (which is simplistic).


Growth in the complex novelty space

Growth can be benign or

malign. Consider how your

organization balances the

energy and resources spent.

• Perspectives to “Growth”

– (Servant Management)

– (In the Agile Zone)

– Team of Teams

– The extreme org


Agile (definition)


About

Gunther VerheyenIndependent Scrum Caretaker

• eXtreme Programming and Scrum since 2003

• Professional Scrum Trainer

• Shepherded Professional Scrum and co-created Agility

Path, EBMgt, the Nexus framework for Scaled

Professional Scrum

• Author of “Scrum – A Pocket Guide” (“Scrum

Wegwijzer”, “Scrum Taschenbuch”)

Mail [email protected]

Twitter @Ullizee

Blog http://guntherverheyen.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://twitter.com/

http://guntherverheyen.com

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Agile Tour Vilnius 2017 - Agility in the face of Perplexity (by Gunther Verheyen)