Also in this issue

Start-up agility for SMEs and corporations

When and how to use agile teams

Agile teams Paradigm shift

or aimless sprint?

Your magazine for Supply Chain Management

Q2 / 2019 edition

2

Save the dates

BME Symposium in Berlin

Drozak Consulting will again have a presence at the BME Symposium this year, focusing on supply-chain management particularly within the purchasing sector. We are looking forward to inspiring discussions on current trends and opportunities in to-day’s market. Visit us in Berlin from 13 to 15 November 2019.

In the next trend

The next edition of trend will also deal with the issue of agility. We have asked customers and partners to share their experiences with us. You can look forward to exciting insights into the agile project world of international companies, spotlighting a variety of challenges and approaches.

FEBRUAR MÄRZ APRILJANUARS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

JUNI JULI AUGUSTMAIS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

OKTOBER NOVEMBER DEZEMBERSEPTEMBERS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

FEBRUAR MÄRZ APRILJANUARS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

JUNI JULI AUGUSTMAIS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

OKTOBER NOVEMBER DEZEMBERSEPTEMBERS SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM S SM D D FM

3

Editorial

The topic of “agile teams” provokes a wide variety of reactions, from “ Finally, a profound change in the way we work” to “Unworkable, a typical trendy buzzword.” However, both statements have one thing in common – a deep respect for the degree to which the new idea has penetrated our business culture.

Now I have to be honest about some-thing. We have been entirely agile since the creation of our firm 21 years ago. For example, a consultant on one of our projects might take over the po-sition of team leader for the next, even if his current project leader is part of that team. Our actions in this regard are guided by customer, industry, and methodological knowledge, not by status. The consulting projects them-selves are often very agile, because they sometimes start quite sudden-ly, and thus require no firmly pre- allocated resources. There’s a story I like to tell: Once, while driving on the highway to a meeting, I learned that it had been shifted “agilely” to another location. I simply used the next exit to turn quickly around and speed off in the opposite direction.

This is to say, moderate-sized com-panies depend upon every employee

to have mental flexibility, procedural spontaneity, and strong nerves when dealing with the unexpected. If you prefer fixed structures and secure, repeatable processes, you are better off in a corporate group. But you can introduce agility regardless of the company’s size – only the amount of effort required differs.

Your organization probably uses some agile methods already. Maybe you have implemented initial pilot projects, or your process of transformation into an agile company is already under-way. We have used agile practices in working with a number of customers, and can thus look back on a broad spectrum of experiences. Today we use this extensively as a methodo-logical approach. Our validated work-ing hypothesis is that agile working methods enable project goals to be achieved more quickly, while also supporting company transformation processes.

We would like to share these experi-ences with you. That is why both this and the next edition of trend focus on agile project management. In this issue, our colleague Sebastian Reimer provides a deft, highly readable sum-mary of the origin and content of the

approach. Neal Greer of Eastern Analytics explains his experiences in transferring agile practices into estab-lished industrial organizations. Finally, our principal, Erik Grundmann, de-scribes how agile practices can be used in current project-based work.

We would love to learn about your experiences in the agile world, too. Please drop us a line, we are looking forward to hearing from you.

Warmly,

Dr. Jacek Drozak

“ In an agile company, employees need mental flexibility, spontaneity, and strong nerves.”

Dr. Jacek Drozak, founder and CEO of Drozak Consulting

4

Synopsis

Sprint toward transformationWhere does “agile” come from, and what is “Scrum”?

“Agile” is currently the most widely used buzzword in the manufacturing industry. It raises the expectation that work processes can be accelerated, complex problems solved, and time to market decreased. Months will turn into weeks, weeks into days, and days into hours – or so company executives hope. Moreover, agile practices are believed to make company transfor-mation processes more effective. In short, agile methods are supposed to help large corporations act as nimbly as start-ups, promising to let tankers maneuver through the fourth indus-trial revolution like speedboats. In this regard, converting firms into nimble organizations seems to have become an existential issue, in which it is abso-lutely necessary to be faster than the competition.

It is thus for good reason that the number of companies practicing a mixture of various agile methods and management approaches is rising. This is the conclusion reached by the U.S.-based Scrum Alliance in its 2017 study, “State of Scrum.” According to this study, organizations around the world use an average of more

than three different methods either in parallel or independently of one another. In addition, the number of companies focusing solely on one agile approach is declining. Put another way, agile methods are in great demand, and are being introduced in

companies in diverse areas in a target-ed, needs-driven way.

Known from software development, but with roots in industrial manufacturing

Along with Kanban and design think-ing, Scrum is undoubtedly one of the most prominent agile methodologies. The development of this framework is often dated back to the 1990s, and attributed to Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. Sutherland was working at a well-known software company at the time. Schwaber had just founded his own company, developing and selling process-management soft-ware. Both were experimenting with new forms of collaboration within their companies, inspired by the ideas of two organizational theorists and

Corporations as agile as speedboats

5

Synopsis

knowledge-management experts, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka.

However, to be more precise, the roots of Scrum in fact go a good 10 years further back, lying in the manufactur-ing industry. As early as the 1980s, Takeuchi and Nonaka observed that top companies such as Toyota, Honda, Canon, Fuji-Xerox, 3M, and HP were using cross-functional teams whose work entailed a dynamic con-flict of ideas. This iterative process of idea generation and discussion is characterized by creative destruction, the rejection of ideas, and early fail-ures. This produces “ba” (a Japanese concept), the context that en ables the trans formation of a person’s implicit know ledge into explicit know how held by a small team. This in turn reveals the knowledge that leads initially to the development of new products, and later to new processes. Takeuchi and Nonaka referred to this as the “new project development game,” and used sports metaphors to clarify the under-lying ideas.

A rugby play as metaphor for effective collaboration

As one example, they described the traditional development process as being like a relay race, with each run-ner acting independently, then hand-ing off the baton to the next runner when they were finished with their leg. By contrast, the organizations observed stood out for their use of non-linear approaches. These better resembled a rugby play, the scrum, in which a team together covers the entire distance travelled, passing the ball flexibly back and forth between individuals. This approach promised greater speed, and above all more flexibility in product development. It could reduce time to market, and lead to greater success in a world of constant competition.

In 1995, the above-mentioned Schwaber and Sutherland adapted the rugby approach into the Scrum framework for software development. It features short iterations, a contin-uous improvement of collaborative

practices, and teams that work auto-nomously. This creates conditions in which innovative ideas and project- implementation measures can be developed. Active participation of this kind helps motivate people. It

encourages employees to take the ini-tiative, and to be willing to go the extra mile. At the same time, developing an internal knowledge-generation cycle helps the departments involved learn from each other. This alone is creating value to an organization, and can help transform internal cultures.

How does “agile” work?

In a certain sense, Scrum can be under stood as the counterpoint to the command-and-control organiza-tion in which employees receive and follow working instructions that are as precise as possible. In comparison, Scrum is based on highly skilled inter-disciplinary teams that are given clear targets, and then are independently responsible for their own implemen-tation of these goals. This autonomy creates the freedom the teams need to develop and exploit their poten-tial knowledge and creativity on their own. The structure needed for such activity is created through the use of specific roles, artifacts and events, all designed intended to support this manner of work. For example, the expert with primary budget respon-sibility becomes the “product owner,” the methodological coach or consult-ant becomes the “scrum master,” and the manager with disciplinary powers is responsible primarily for the devel-opment of the employees assigned to him or her. These three roles were pre-viously combined in a single person functioning as a manager. Similarly, rigid, unalterable project plans are replaced by a “product backlog” that is subject to a process of continuous refinement, and which is continually adapted and dynamically developed during the active project period. The “sprint,” a fixed time interval in which

the team synchronizes their activities on a daily basis, and which concludes with a finished product increment, serves as the core of the agile work-ing method. Each sprint is separately structured by the team during a so-

called sprint planning session. Tasks to be carried out are placed in the “sprint backlog,” and subsequent-ly carried out as planned. In creating this plan, the team refers to the prod-uct owner’s prioritization of the vari-ous work packages. During the sprint review, the team presents the results of the work achieved during the sprint. These are then approved by the prod-uct owner. The process facilitates con-tinuous improvement in the team’s in-ternal collaboration through the use of regularly conducted “retrospectives.” Here, the team takes a critical look at the way the cooperation itself has been conducted, and makes adjust-ments as necessary.

Agility requires values

In addition to the roles, artifacts, and events sketched above, Scrum is based on five central values. These constitute the foundation of the collective work process, and are es-sential for a successful collaboration. The values include: focus, courage, openness, respect, and commitment. Carrying out agile projects success-fully requires a team to be focused consistently on these values. More-over, they are vital to the establishment of a working culture able to support such projects. Agility thus means more than simply working with individual methods such as Scrum. It is based on a process of rethinking and letting go. It requires the renunciation of fixed targets, deadlines, and the exertion of pressure as primary management mechanisms. When traditional op-erations begin to act agilely, these changes inevitably lead to tensions. Managers should be aware of these conflicts from the start. This makes it all the more important to set a good

The choreography of change

6

Synopsis

example of agile working methods from the top of the company down. The fear of losing control is a justified one, but at the same time stands in the way of change processes.

Where should agile practices be deployed?

The use of agile methods appears particularly useful when the focus is on solving complex problems. For ex-ample, the use of Scrum is particular-ly suitable in situations with uncertain cause-effect relationships. Here, a better result can often be achieved with a higher degree of agility. Nor are these practices necessarily limited to product-development processes. For instance, the method can also be applied to projects aimed at reducing materials costs, or many other such issues. These projects too can benefit from cooperative work carried out by cross-functional teams.

However, agile work does create spe-cific challenges both for management and for individual employees. For ex-ample, some employees will take time

to get used to the newly granted free-dom of action. Such individuals may have to learn how to use this freedom to be both creative and effective on the company’s behalf. Others, on the oth-er hand, work very well under the new conditions of autonomy, and may want similar freedoms in their other, non-ag-ile work areas as well. These particu-larities must be taken into account when staffing teams, as the new roles will have requirements that are signifi-cantly different than those associated with traditional company positions. In order to guard against unrealistic ex-pectations, particularly within tradition-al organizations, management should clearly define, in concrete terms, how it expects the method to be used. This should be done at an early date – ideally before the introduction of the agile approaches. For example, the use of agile methods might be limited to a specific project or a certain area. Similarly, a definite budget could be established, within which employees would be allowed to make their own independent decisions.

Here to stay

An agile working method is not a silver bullet in all situations. Agile work simply does not make sense in every area. A baker will not profit from an agile working style. However, say I want to tackle a complex supply-chain management problem, for example. In doing so, I want the support of a cross-functional team composed of highly skilled and creative employees. In this case, an agile approach might be quite promising. Agile methods such as Scrum represent an addition-al tool in our tool box. They should be implemented in a targeted way, on the basis of need, and not excessively. And whenever possible, they should be supported by the framework of a transformative agenda.

Sebastian Reimer, Consultant at Drozak Consulting

Scrum sprint process Process and distribution of roles

Daily scrum Daily team meeting (15 min.).Conversation about the current status of the work. No problems are solved here.

Product ownerIndividual who represents the employer or client from a techni-cal perspective, and thus all the stakeholders in the project. He or she is responsible for maintaining the product backlog.

Scrum masterThe individual responsible for the Scrum process. He or she makes sure the process is being implemented correctly, ensuring maximal benefits.

TeamThe group responsible for implementation of the product backlog’s requirements. In addition, it is responsible for complying with the previously agreed quality standards. The team organizes itself.

Stakeholders These can be customers and/or users. They are periodically provided with the results of the work by the product owner.

Sprint iterations Depending on the project’s complexity, the implementation may be divided into interim stages (sprints). The planning of the end product, as well as of the process itself, is continuously refined and improved.

Product backlogOrdered listing of the product’s requirements

Product incrementSum of all product backlog entries that have been completed to date

Sprint reviewReview of the (product) results.

Sprint retrospectiveReview of the working process thus far

Results from the sprint review and sprint retrospective influence the planning of the next sprint.

Sprint planning: Separation of the “what” (product backlog) from the “how” (sprint backlog). The team dynamically and independently determines how it will work, and is responsible for the project’s results.

Prev

ious s

prin

t

Next

sprin

tSprint backlogPlan of tasks to be complet-ed within a single sprint

Sprint (30 days)Work phase in which one increment of a

product’s functionality is implemented.

7

Interview

What can start-ups teach established corporations and the Mittelstand?

The “what” and the “how,” explained by Neil Greer

trend: How do you define “agile”? „Contrary to some opinions, I view

agility not as the ability of a firm to change direction quickly, but as the ability to quickly maneuver within a defined space. While start-ups are of-ten forced to pivot quickly as ideas are validated or invalidated, start-ups are not designed to quickly change direc-tion. They are designed to “move fast and break things.” They are forced to quickly cycle through goals and tasks because they are trying to determine the correct direction, but within pre-defined parameters.

It is for this reason that the natural characteristics of start-ups potentially fit so well in established firms striving to become agile. Start-ups attack goals with cross-functional teams in part be-cause a given functional area usually consists of one or two people. They naturally create and disband project

groups, and draw on cross-functional resources by necessity. There are by nature no functional silos, no heavy bureaucracy, and no tedious reporting requirements.

Agility is best defined as a method-ology, a tool, which can be deployed in project management to address complex challenges. Agile is a tool with an operational and a strategic dimension. Operational, because it enables effective and efficient project management to achieve project objec-tives. Strategic, because it supports the transformation of the organization. We often think of firms as having an agility culture, but this is really an out-growth of employing agile methods. Because cross-functional cooperation is ingrained in agile methodologies, the methods and mentality spread quickly throughout an organization. It becomes how goals and projects are

imagined from the top, and how work-flow is explained to prospective hires. In this way firms go from being struc-tures onto which new divisions and products are attached, to becoming platforms from which new initiatives are launched.

trend: You deploy “agile approaches” in your work with start-ups, but also with mid-size companies and large corporations. What does it mean to work in an agile manner? „

For small and young organizations, it is simply the way to execute and scale up projects. For larger and mid-size organizations, it is a method of effective ly managing projects as part of a larger transformative or evolution-ary agenda. Just deploying “agile” to be agile on a single project will not help. But doing so repeatedly results in it becoming part of a company’s culture.

8

Interview

I recommend starting with a few pilot projects, to achieve some already ex-isting goals or implement projects al-ready in the pipeline. During the course of a few non-mission-critical projects, the methods and know-how will not only get transferred to the firm, but spread throughout the organization. Over a reasonably short time, it will simply become the overarching meth-odology in the firm, and become part of the organization’s DNA.

trend: What are the keys to becoming more agile? „

Creating an “agile roadmap” that is linked to the strategic objectives of the company. Depending on the ur-gency, the scale, and the complexity of the required change, we tend to propose two to three pilot projects of medium complexity. They are closely monitored by the company’s execu-tives, so the management level can understand issues and provide guid-ance. Afterward, based on the lessons learned from the pilots, a deployment at larger scale is sensible, expanding the approach throughout the organi-zation. After two to four iterative agile project cycles, the organization has become agile.

Imagining every project or goal as being cross-functional in nature. Even if the product sits in one functional area, it impacts others including busi-ness development, finance, IT, and HR. Beginning with a cross-functional project team and moving forward from there not only involves the whole com-pany, but also ensures that the differ-ent functional areas are aware of what the others are doing. This creates a camaraderie and empathy that breaks down barriers, and creates synergies.

trend: What benefits do your clients reap in the process? „

The great thing about agility as a tool is that it does not require a reorgan-ization, new personnel, or a new IT or ERM system. Because the tech-nique revolves around cross-function-al teams that are quickly assembled and just as quickly disbanded, the know-how which is acquired is quickly disseminated throughout the organi-zation, without the kind of training and

implementation necessitated by new systems and structures. Rather than taking away time and resources from the day-to-day business, it flows nat-urally through the course of business, while accelerating the projects and goal realization the firm already has in mind. In this way the company be-comes a platform for change and new ideas, as opposed to a company that changes and creates new products.

trend: What are success factors when deploying the agile approach? „

As with any cultural change, it starts with the commitment of senior manage ment. Managers who are used to having control and constant updates will not take naturally to the decentralized and fragmented nature of scrums.

Thereafter it is critical to create a sense of collective ownership within projects, so that the scrum members feel personally responsible for the team achieving its goals even if they are only tangentially involved from a functional perspective. Instituting cross- functional and agility-oriented KPIs are key to moving in this direction.

Perhaps the key factor to successfully drive agility, however, is selec ting the appropriate pilot projects and mon-itoring them to learn as an organiza-tion. Like any strategy, this must be molded to the organization, and can have a negative impact if not instituted properly.

We’ve all experienced off-site team- building exercises that breed great excite ment. But the excitement fades as employees return to their individ-ual jobs. Because agility exercises take place alongside of the day-to-day workflow and are relevant work, the methods have a greater chance of becoming ingrained into the culture.

Choosing digestible undertakings and learning through them, either by bring-ing in expertise or consultants, creates a strong foundation, which can then be expanded and scaled. By creating connections and empathies across functional areas, everyone who partic-ipates in a scrum becomes increasing-ly motivated by the success of the firm as a source of pride.

trend: You were mentioning the “platform” concept in agile? Can you please explain the concept and its implication for our readers who manage organizations? „

As we have said, start-ups are naturally agile, because it is generally a small number of people under one roof. Cross-functional cooperation and a sense of urgency are automatic. How-ever, start-ups are generally rushing to discover one viable product and get it out the door. They are maneuvering around a changing competitive land-scape and trying to find a functioning business model on the fly, and that is by its very nature agile. The difference is in what they do with the business model once they have found it.

Look at Google versus AOL. AOL was the first mover in search engine and email provision. They garnered a lot of cash, but instead of continuing to innovate, they bought Time Warn-er. They lost their agility, their inno-vation, and ultimately their market. Google, on the other hand, became the biggest search engine and email provider, but instead of trying to make Google search bigger and bigger, they began to experiment with comple-mentary innovations, and leveraged their dominance with acquisitions that would naturally benefit from their exist-ing market position and infrastructure. No one is surprised when Google gets into a new business, or when they give up on one, and the people at Google headquarters hardly notice the differ-ence. It’s just another scrum with a se-ries of sprints, with a few new people bringing in new ideas. The same gov-ernance and compliance rules and the same HR strategy apply. Smart people are shifted from one area to another, and then maybe back, or not. That is agility.

Comparing Google and AOL demonstrates the impact of being

agile or not.

9

Interview

Uber is another company that lost its agility. The first mover into ride sharing, they have continued to chase increased scale and fight regulation in the hope of capitalizing when self- driving vehi-cles hit the road. Meanwhile, Daim-ler Benz bought MyTaxi and merged its car-sharing business with that of BMW. These companies are no longer

constrained by trying to sell vehicles. Instead, they are marketing mobility, using the same HQ staff, governance, IT and accounting systems they did when they only built machines. They are positioning themselves to capital-ize when self-driving cars hit the road, but without the risks inherent in the sin-gle-product Uber strategy.

Companies that run new and inno-vative strategies within the bounds of existing governance and systems can attempt as many innovative projects as they can dream up, without the up-front time, costs and permanent headcount that is necessary when we think of a new product or service as a new business. Think of the compa-ny as the operating system, and the products as the applications that run on that system. If you have an Apple computer you run Apple OS, you can only run Apple software. A computer running Windows is constrained to running Windows software. If you want to run some of each, you need to set up two computers. Now think about Linux. Linux runs on any hardware, and any one can create programs on it, for anything from laptops to servers. It is open source, so not so easy to con-trol or manage, but once implemented its uses are unlimited.

Agile methodology tools work the same way. Once employed, you can use the existing corporate infrastruc-ture, the operating system, to develop any sort of product, the applications. You are not limited to what kind of ideas can be added or co-opted, and if the program doesn’t run, it doesn’t damage your hardware. Sure, you may need to add a few accessories to enhance the new output, but you are not buying a new computer to set up alongside the current one.

trend: You are at the forefront of the “agile” world. What are companies currently working on? „

While most businesses are being digi talized and disrupted to some extent, they are still in the same under lying industries, whether this is manu facturing, logistics, chemistry or physics.

Here in Germany we have numerous world-class SMEs and world-class technical universities, and bridges are built from one to the other by working with localities to identify needs and solutions, and by helping them grow together.

Many localities have start-up incuba-tors that work with Mittelstand [SMEs] and universities. Once an innovation solidifies, we use Scrum and sprint methodology to bring it quickly to the point where a VC partner is ready to invest the capital to develop the product.

By preparing the start-ups to join with a Mittelstand [company], and pre-paring the Mittelstand [company] to onboard them, this know-how and methodology creates a pathway for further adoption of locally developed innovative technologies. That creates a virtuous circle from universities to the Mittelstand – not trying to create the next Uber, but rather the next Uber-efficient valve or Apple-effective chemical additive.

trend: Looking into the future, what develop ments beyond agile do you foresee in the coming years? „

Given the increasing ease with which we collaborate over distances, I see project-development teams becoming

increasingly virtual in nature, and corporate boundaries evaporating.

Obviously I believe that agile, Scrum-based cross-functional methods will be more widely and broadly employed. Yet I also imagine that as managers become more comfortable with decentralized control and decision-making, they will become increasingly comfortable work-ing with outside specialists on an ad hoc basis. Assuming that the outside consultants and experts who helped im-plement the initial pilot projects are well accepted, they might be invited to par-ticipate further in other projects, without as much need to directly deliver the process. It is not hard then to imagine a company having a stable of such ex-perts, or a consulting partner almost on stand-by, ready to infuse expertise or manpower into scrums and then dis-appear when the scrum disbands. I can even imagine these outside resources acting as product owners and scrum leaders, without the other scrum partic-ipants ever having to leave their desks.

Interview conducted by Thomas Keitel, Partner at Drozak Consulting

Neil Greer, CEO of Eastern Analytics,

has held senior roles at Credit Suisse London and PaineWebber New York, as well as throughout the Russian financial sector. He is currently establishing regionally based seed acceleration funds, combining incubation, accelera-tion, and funding, while leveraging regional ecosystems as a source of innovation.

Our Seed Acceleration Fund approach with the Mittelstand is not trying to create the

next Uber or iPhone, but rather the next Uber-efficient valve or Apple-effective chemical additive.

Every day, projects have to deal with new and sometimes surprising de-mands that stem from globalization, digitization, or simply the constant change that defines the daily course of business. Change in project goals or circumstances is a rule, not a rarity.

Is the use of “agile methods” the an-swer to these challenges? What are the advantages of agile project man-agement in comparison to traditional project management?

Substantial flexibility and plenty of room for creativity

In traditional project management, the focus is on executing the project plan as precisely as possible. The ag-ile variant, by contrast, is based on reviewing the project’s future course and specific design before each suc-cessive project interval. This produces

a continuous, iterative process of coordination.

This incremental sequence of project planning enables a higher degree of flexibility, and allows room for crea-tive project development within the process itself. This can be useful, for example, when project objectives – or even the project’s ultimate outcome – are difficult to define clearly.

Cross-functional collaboration and efficient cooperation

Agile teams are by definition respon-sible for fully implementing a project goal, such as reducing project costs, by themselves. Teams are thus com-posed so as to allow the team mem-bers, with their combined capabilities, to be able to carry out all necessary tasks. In our example, therefore, a team would typically include people

involved in developing and selling the product, as well as those responsible for improving it and ensuring that it met required quality standards. This interdisciplinary, team-based collab-oration between people with different areas of expertise is an effective way of finding solutions.

Cross-functional teams combine ex-pertise. One key advantage here is that coordinating the work and its de-pendencies becomes easier. This is because the experts in each area are working toward the same goal, and are involved in the planning, imple-mentation, and decision-making from the outset.

Short-term and coordinated measures and decisions can be made and car-ried out more quickly than when using the usual defined processes. Silo-driv-en thinking and action is eliminated

10

Projects in practice

Agile: When and how?Is it possible to realize complex and challenging project goals faster and better through agile project management, while at the same time

supporting change and transformation processes?

when agile teams form, make deci-sions, and act in a way that bridges departmental boundaries.

A positive, creative working environment for new ideas and swift action

In an environment of this kind, tasks can be handled more easily and more quickly together. Cooperative work allows participants to exchange know-ledge and experiences directly. Work quality improves significantly as a result.

Short lines of communications are efficient, and provide for swifter clar-ification of any problems or misun-derstandings that may arise within the team. Agile methods save valua-ble time, and thus produce a genuine competitive advantage.

Sprints, sprint review meetings, and daily stand-up meetings create transparency

In agile project management, plan-ning takes place using a framework of short, generally week-long planning cycles. Following each planning inter-val, a review session is held in which participants discuss what has been implemented or not, and what the next step should be. This kind of project planning enables a high degree of flexibility, and allows creative space for effective and efficient implementation. When working in weekly sprints, the team structures the project require-ments, and creates its own list of re-quirements for each working cycle. As soon as it has finished one part of the project, the team tracks its progress visually in a sprint review session. Teams bear responsibility for their actions.

The daily stand-up meeting is another efficient model that allows teams to come together regularly – but briefly, while standing – in order to coordinate the day’s activities.

Effective success management and control using burndown charts

In agile project management, plans and reality often go their own separate

ways. Therefore, agile teams must always keep an eye on their project’s progress. The sprint burndown chart has established itself as a useful visual planning, control, and management tool.

The burndown chart depicts the re-maining effort in relation to the time-line. It is used by the team to monitor progress, and as a presentation tool for joint discussions. It enables immediate interventions, and offers the optimal ability to adjust and improve solutions during the course of the project work.

The burndown chart also provides the team with up-to-date information on several key questions, such as: What amount of work can the team mem-bers handle in the time available? Can they complete the planned require-ments on time, and will the current milestones be met?

And how can management support the agile practices?

A well-applied agile working method gives project teams new opportunities to develop both as a team and as indi-viduals, but at the same time poses significant challenges.

If the amount of responsibility borne by employees or teams increases af-ter agile working practices are intro-duced, this will have an effect on the company’s culture. Executives and employees alike must take on different roles, learn new skills, and change the way they work and think.

New ways of working combined with an unfamiliar degree of freedom re-quire a process of rethinking. This must also take place at the manage-ment level, and with regard to exec-utive functions. Advocates of agile practices should remember that not all executives are in favor of leveling hierarchies and giving up the usual decision-making processes. Indeed, resistance from within the organiza-tion, often at the management level or from those with executive functions, can be significantly greater than when

using traditional project-management practices.

Thus, these changes can be im-plemented only if employers create conditions in which agility can be ex-perienced. Executives play an impor-tant role in this regard. They must be involved from the very beginning in order to establish the agile mentality within the company.

When it’s important, and needs to be done quickly

Agile working methods such as Scrum divide large undertakings into small sections, and give projects a cyclical structure. This helps avoid mistakes, and makes processes more efficient.

Agile projects typically tend to go more quickly and be less risky than projects using traditional development cycles.

However, the agile working meth-od is productive even with long-term projects, as requirements and even underlying conditions may change repeatedly over time. Agile working methods such as Scrum and Kanban offer the necessary flexibility, prom-ising more efficient processes, more strongly motivated employees, and more satisfied customers.

The agile approach offers the greatest benefits when it is consciously used as a project-management tool in the con-text of a larger transformation agenda. The development of specific method-ological knowledge and the provision of coaches reduces the risk of painful failure at the project level.

Erik Grundmann, Principal at Drozak Consulting

11

Projects in practice

Imprint

Drozak Consulting GmbHLeibnizstraße 5310629 Berlinwww.drozak.comtrend@drozak.com

PrinterDahler Print, Wandlitz

Responsible under press lawThomas Keitel Editorial department+49 (0)30 30 67 33 0

Picture creditsAdobe stock, and by generous permission of the named companies and/or article authors.

Composition and layoutSusanne Kwanka www.susannekwanka.de

Circulation / Frequency1.000 copies / 4 × per year

The magazine and all texts and photos are protected by copyright. Upon manuscript acceptance, publication rights and the rights to translation, allocation of reprint rights, electronic storage in databases, and production of reprints and photocopies are transferred to the publisher. Any use of the material outside the limits specified by copyright law is prohibited without the permission of the publisher.No liability is assumed for any unsolicited articles or photographs. All information contained is published on the basis of best knowledge and belief, but is without guarantee. The magazine is provided free of charge.