What Does Agile Mean for Human Resources?
Angela Johnson, PMP, PMI-ACP, CST
Certified Scrum Trainer & Agile Transformation Coach
http://collaborativeleadershipteam.com
@AgileAngela
#REALCHANGE
Angela Johnson PMP, PMI-ACP, CST
• 23+ years Information Technology with traditional SDLC and Scrum/Agile
• Chief Change Officer, CoLeadTeam
• Mom, Wife, Teammate and Lifelong Learner
• Based in Minneapolis, MN
2Copyright 2018 Collaborative Leadership Team
• Why organizations are choosing Agile ways of working
• What Human Resources needs to change to support an Agile transformation or adoption
• How Human Resources can leverage Agile ways of working to manage their own daily work
• Join HRtechies (booth 307) for a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) course May 2 & 3
• Code HRTECHEXPO gets you $100 off: http://agileforhr.ezregister.com/
Objectives
3Copyright 2018 Collaborative Leadership Team
• When leaders say they are “going Agile” – “Agile”
typically refers to the movement started by the
Agile Manifesto and its creators
• Leaders begin by asking their people to get
trained and trainers the world over begin with
the Agile Manifesto
• Yet how many leaders have read the Agile
Manifesto or have pursued understanding what it
means?
• This is where the trouble begins…
Going Agile vs. Being Agile
6Copyright 2018 Collaborative Leadership Team
http://agilemanifesto.org
Agile Software Development Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value
Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
Agile Manifesto
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1 Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
2 Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.
3 Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
4 Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5 Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
6 The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
7 Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8 Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9 Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10 Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
11 The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12 At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
http://agilemanifesto.org/
8
“We not I.T.”
Agile Approaches
9Copyright 2018 Collaborative Leadership Team
2016 VersionOne State of Agile Survey
• Agile means change – doing any work differently
• Agile Manifesto values and principles explain this
• A leadership mistake is to require people to do work following all of the steps and create all of the artifacts required in a Waterfall process AND do the work following an Agile approach
• What kind of expectations will employees have?
• Such a mixed message will confuse people and lower leadership credibility
• Why would anyone do the same work twice to satisfy opposing ways of performing that work?
Agile in Name Only
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• The old way of doing work
demanded meeting agreed
upon scope and timelines
regardless of what it did to
the people in the
organization
• “Nights and weekends!”
was the old adage
• Agile embraces sustainable
pace for everyone – which
means no “death marches”
Principle #8 Sustainable Pace
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• Many leaders do not
understand that the only role
recognized in Scrum for the
people building the product is
product Development Team
• There are no specialized roles
on a Development Team
• Mixed messages are sent when
leaders ask people to use
Scrum AND continue
functioning in their old role or
by former title
We’re Going to use Scrum, but…
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• Leaders ask their people to learn Scrum, to work together in teams but then continue to incent them as individuals
• People are held accountable to their old, waterfall job descriptions and titles in addition to being asked to shed those and work together as a team
• In other cases, people still report to a functional manager by skillset who also tries to give them work direction – competing with the Product Owner
• All of these send mixed messages to employees
We’re Going to use Scrum, but…
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• Few organizations understand that there is a real
difference in an Agile Adoption and an Agile
Transformation
• Adoption: beginning to use something new or
different
• Transformation: major change in form; a complete
change
• If the organization is still structured the way that
it was when project management was used – it is
no transformation has taken place
Adoption vs Transformation
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What Impedes an Agile Adoption?
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2015 VersionOne State of Agile Survey
What Prevents Agile Transformation?
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2015 VersionOne State of Agile Survey
• Understanding Leadership goal• In serving both the employees and the organization, HR
can help by ensuring there are clear goals for adopting or transforming with Agile
• HR can help to provide consistent messaging regarding the goal
• HR can further assist by ensuring policies, practices, etc. are congruent with these goals
• Examples include:• Hiring practices
• Compensation
• Performance Evaluations
Supporting Adoption or Transformation
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• Agile is a choice – a different way of doing work
• “Agile” means many different frameworks
• Two of the more popular approaches to manage work done in HR are Scrum and Kanban
• Scrum is a management framework that is agnostic to the type of work being done
• It focuses work through the use of dedicated teams, timeboxes called Sprints and an ordered list called a Product Backlog
• Kanban manages flow and prescribes no set way to manage the work in process
• It uses the status quo and provides properties to continually improve the flow
Managing HR Work with “Agile”
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• Visualize the flow: a common way
to visualize the workflow is to use a
card wall with cards and columns
• Limit Work In Progress (WIP):
Limiting WIP implies that a pull
system is implemented in parts or all
of the workflow
• Manage Flow: The flow of work
through each state in the workflow
should be monitored, measured and
reported
• Make Process Policies Explicit: With an
explicit understanding it is possible to
move to a more rational, empirical,
objective discussion of issues
Kanban-Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business
by David Anderson
Kanban: Properties
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• Improve Collaboratively, Evolve Experimentally: When teams have a shared understanding of theories about work, workflow, process, and risk, they are more likely to be able to build a shared comprehension of a problem and suggest improvement actions which can be agreed by consensus
• Implement Feedback Loops: The purpose of feedback loops is to be able to compare expected outcomes with actual outcomes and make adjustments
Kanban-Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business
by David Anderson
http://www.djaa.com/principles-general-practices-kanban-method
Kanban: Properties
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OrdersEspresso Drink
Coffee Order Pickup
Blended Drink
WIP (1) WIP (1)
Kanban: Sample Flow
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WIP (1)