Pilot Your Way to Agile Success
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Hello CM Agility Community!
Last week, we introduced our theme, “Agile in Action: Debunking Myths in Operational Environments,” and discussed the potential of Agile in structured settings. This week, we will explore practical strategies for successfully integrating Agile methodologies through a pilot implementation—a strategy we often recommend to our clients from a change management perspective, which focuses on integrating new practices with the existing operating model, learning, and adapting (and getting others excited about what is coming!)
Pilot Your Way to Agile Success
Integrating Agile in operational environments like IT security, marketing, HR, or general support services can be challenging but highly rewarding. A pilot implementation offers a controlled, manageable way to test the chosen practices and refine them before a full-scale rollout.
Here’s how to set up a successful pilot:
Choose an Initiative: Select an initiative or process that is critical enough to justify attention and resources but not so crucial that an initial failure would be disastrous. It should have clear, measurable outcomes to track progress.
Form a Cross-Functional Team: Put together a team with diverse skills necessary for the initiative. You could encourage volunteering to ensure that the members are motivated and interested in the Agile approach. This enhances buy-in and reduces resistance to new ways of working. Getting through “Awareness” and “Desire” are major steps toward success.
Define Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly assign roles that align with Agile practices. Ensure everyone understands their responsibilities and how they contribute to the initiative’s goals. Assigning a Scrum Master or Agile Coach and a Product Owner or a Customer proxy can be very beneficial. It is very important that the team understands what is expected of them!
Establish Clear Objectives and Metrics: Communicate the purpose of the pilot and what success looks like. Set up leading indicators for progress and criteria for intervention if things don’t go as planned. At CM Agility, we emphasize the importance of understanding how success is measured from the start.
Create a Sponsorship Plan: Secure executive sponsorship to provide the team with the necessary authority and resources. This ensures the team feels empowered and supported throughout the pilot. Ensure you align and involve their people managers within the same plan.
Provide Training and Coaching: Offer training sessions and ongoing coaching to help the team adapt to Agile practices. Focus on principles over processes to foster adaptability and innovation.
Allow Time for Adjustment: Recognize that forming a new team dynamic takes time. Support the team through the initial “storming and norming” phases and meet with them often without micromanaging. Ask the right questions and be an active leader.
Next Steps and Continuous Learning
As the pilot progresses, gather feedback, make adjustments, and celebrate and communicate the wins. Learning from this pilot will provide valuable insights into scaling Agile across other parts of the organization, sparking excitement and curiosity.
Stay tuned for next week’s insights, and please share your experiences or ask questions related to setting up Agile pilots in your operations.