What made it so bad?
● Lack of clear leadership / governance
● Users not consulted - internally focussed
● Requirements not clearly articulated
● New requirements introduced mid-project
● Timelines not adhered to
● Stressful for everyone involved
Lean principles
1. Eliminate Waste
2. Build Quality In
3. Create Knowledge
4. Defer Commitment
5. Deliver Fast
6. Respect People
7. Optimise the Whole
Agile/Lean vs Zombies
See results earlier Can be slow
Feedback constantly No reaction - only moans
Serves your customers Internal agenda
Flexible Fixed focus
Uses brains (data) Eats brains
What are the benefits?
● Efficiency - save time and money
● Focus - don’t build what you don’t need
● Co-creation with audiences
● Data + feedback-led (share early and iterate)
● Impact on wider organisation
Co-created surprises
Conversion rate up to 4.8%
38% increase in sign-ups
4,300 extra applications a year
Wider organisation
● More data-driven
● More open to sharing early and often
● Greater understanding of digital process
● See where they fit on the roadmap
● Use Lean elsewhere
How to go agile and lean
● Influence senior staff
● Build a strong multi-disciplinary team
● Invest in learning and development
● Start small, experiment with models
Influence senior staff
They say: “Isn’t it expensive/untested/risky?”
You say: “...”
● Put into terms they understand (metaphor)
● Case studies
● Meet the development team
● Use a robust Agile contract
Start small, experiment
● Pick one defined project to try out agile
● Consider ‘Agifall’ or ‘Wagile’ combinationso Agile and lean sprints within phases of a
waterfall timeline
o Agile and lean + milestones for top-level
deliverables
o Waterfall on standard deliverables (CMS) +
parallel agile and lean on key touchpoints
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