Agile Tour Vilnius 2017 - Agility in the face of Perplexity (by Gunther Verheyen)

Gunther Verheyen, Ullizee-Inc
Scrum. Connector, writer, speaker, humaniser.
Agility
in the face of perplexity
Agile Tour Vilnius
12 October 2017
Vilnius (Lithuania)

2Gunther Verheyen – Ullizee-Inc, 2017 - @Ullizee
Before we start. Do we still need ‘Agile’? 1”
‘Agile’ dates from 2001. Is it therefore outdated?
Raise your hand if you feel that today (2017):
1. ‘Agile’ is still worthwhile (and even more needed than ever).
2. ‘Agile’ doesn’t need to be renamed (it’s already difficult
enough to explain as it is).
3. ‘Agile’ applies to software development only.

Your company wants to embrace Agile. You are invited to come
enlighten your CEO and the Management Team. The CIO claims
to already know about this thing called Scrum.
What is your approach? What do you say?
e.g.
• What is your definition of ‘Agile’?
• How do you relate ‘Agile’ and Scrum?
How do you then explain what ‘Agile’ is about? 2”

My typical response (so far)
Agile
• The mind-set expressed through the value
statements and the principles of the Agile
Manifesto, http://agilemanifesto.org
Scrum
• A simple framework for complex product
delivery, http://www.scrumguides.org
More: Gunther Verheyen, “Agile and Scrum, actually (2015)”

There may be
many reasons
to pursue agility.
What is your #1
reason?
Does your
management
know/agree?
Starting with why often works better
• Improved relationship with customers
• Flexibility, easier to make changes
• Improved productivity and quality
• Taking advantage of market opportunities
• Early elimination of risk
• Early realization of value
• Always knowing where you are in development
• Elimination of overhead and waste
• Create products that reach market faster and are more
targeted
• Increased Return on Investment
• Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
• Engagement of co-workers

Agility (definition) - What it boils down to

New Ways
“ Rather than questioning, doubting and scorning,
I aspire uncovering new ways, new words, to
show the value and the originality of ‘Agile’. I do it
for the purpose of clarity over the essence of
‘Agile’, to disentangle the clew that ‘Agile’ turned
into. ”

“Complexity is our world.
Simplicity is our path.”
Gunther Verheyen

Work variables
The Complex Novelty Space
Work spaces

Work has shifted to the Complex Novelty Space
“Our iceberg is melting and your cheese is being moved. At lightspeed.
The balance of society has rapidly shifted from industrial, often physical, labor to digital, often
virtual, work. Hence, the value of the Agile paradigm.”

The impact of the work shift
• There is no doubt that the world of human beings has always
been complex; in terms of businesses, economical trade,
power, relationships. However, the rate and scale at which the
ruling complexity impacts us are unprecedented.
• Technological evolutions are not slowing down and technology
invades ever more aspects of life, changing the fabric of
society and of our social systems.

Perplexity (definition)

‘Agile’ is more needed than ever
The Agile paradigm defines the new thinking and
behavioral tools to navigate through the perplexity.
Acting with agility is key to avoid perplexity turning
into an inability to act.

Burning questions for a positive definition of ‘Agile’
What is it that makes Scrum work? What is it that
makes the Agile paradigm work?
What does acting with agility include? What is
needed to turn complexity into manageable
perplexity?

The Prime Agile Tenets
Who
How
Why

The Prime Agile Tenets – Collaboractive People
People take a stance of continual ability and willingness to act in
concerted ways, to actively engage in collaboration. People bring
in skills and expertise, regardless position, title, hierarchy, or
function.
• Perspectives to “Collaboractive People”
– Accountability
– Professionalism
– Teamware

The Prime Agile Tenets – Deliberate Emergence
More changes than remains stable in the Complex Novelty
space. Predictions don’t work (anymore). Emergence prevails.
Feedback is provoked deliberately. What works today, might not
work tomorrow.
• Perspectives to “Deliberate Emergence”
– (Time-boxing)
– (Feedback loops)
– (The iterative-incremental continuum)

The Prime Agile Tenets – Value for a Purpose
Success is not in predicted big bang delivery, but in the continual
optimization of value delivered through finished versions of
product and end-to-end working results, frequently. What is
important today, might not be tomorrow.
• Perspectives to “Value for a Purpose”
– (Measuring value, measuring agility)
– (The value in valuation)

• Collaboractive People
– Accountability
– Professionalism
– Teamware
• Deliberate Emergence
– (Time-boxing)
– (Feedback loops)
– (The iterative-incremental continuum)
• Value for a Purpose
– (Measuring value, measuring agility)
– (The value in valuation)
Perspectives to the Prime Agile Tenets 2”
What does
‘professionalism’
mean for you?
How is it important
in the Complex
Novelty space?

Is a craftsperson also a professional (and vice versa)?
Professionalism encompasses technical and behavioral reliability;
people that combine technical craftspersonship and personal integrity.

Professionals in the Agile space
Operating in the complex novelty space introduces some specific traits
of professionalism:
• Being craftspersonalities demonstrating a collaboractive stance
(willingness to act in concerted ways).
• Don’t represent complexity as ordered and predictable.
• Do not promise certainty where there is none.
• Do not pretend being able to predict the inherently unpredictable.
• Do not mix up the path with a destination.
• Present simple rules to emerge patterns, not misrepresent the
problem as simple (which is simplistic).

Growth in the complex novelty space
Growth can be benign or
malign. Consider how your
organization balances the
energy and resources spent.
• Perspectives to “Growth”
– (Servant Management)
– (In the Agile Zone)
– Team of Teams
– The extreme org

Agile (definition)

About
Gunther Verheyen
Independent Scrum Caretaker
• eXtreme Programming and Scrum since 2003
• Professional Scrum Trainer
• Shepherded Professional Scrum and co-created Agility
Path, EBMgt, the Nexus framework for Scaled
Professional Scrum
• Author of “Scrum – A Pocket Guide” (“Scrum
Wegwijzer”, “Scrum Taschenbuch”)
Mail gunther.verheyen@mac.com
Twitter @Ullizee
Blog http://guntherverheyen.com

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