Why Does an Agile Transformation Fail?
Agile Transformation is a big project, and it requires a commitment of time and resources. It’s a process of changing how the organization functions and delivers value. The goal is to become a high-performing, adaptive and innovative company. It is a journey of several years that will result in changes in key organizational areas such as structure, metrics and policies. It involves teams that once worked in siloes to collaborate more effectively. It will require that leaders adopt new behaviors and values such as customer-centricity, collaboration, openness and a continual pursuit of improvement.
Despite the best intentions, agile transformations can fail. Often, it’s because the organization doesn’t fully understand what needs to change and why it is so important. It can also happen because the organization doesn’t have the capabilities required to make agile work.
A common cause of failure is that the organization doesn’t have enough accountable agile leaders. It is essential that all agile transformations have leaders who are enthusiastic about the approach and can be held accountable for driving the transformation. If those leaders leave, the effort will likely stall or even revert back to the old ways of working.
Some organizations get all-in on agile and are able to rapidly transition to an Agile model. However, it is more common for an Agile Transformation to be more gradual and take 12-18 months or longer. This is because of the complexity and culture of an organization and because it may be necessary to go through a series of steps before reaching full agility.
It’s important to be able to measure progress and communicate it clearly to the team. Without clear milestones, it can be easy for teams to lose motivation and believe that the transformation is taking too long. When you can show the teams that they are making progress towards ultimate agility, this will help to keep them motivated and less likely to be demoralized.
Another reason an agile transformation might take longer than expected is that it can be difficult to align all the stakeholders on the goals of the transformation. This is especially true if the goal is to achieve full agility within an existing organization with a diverse workforce and a complex business model. The key is to create a guiding coalition, an empowered group of individuals that are responsible for the transformation and that includes leadership from all departments. It is also important to provide training and coaching for the members of this guiding coalition. Providing these opportunities will ensure that all stakeholders understand the goals of the Agile Transformation and how they can support it. This will increase the chances that the Agile Transformation will be successful.