Agile maturity assessment and subsequent coaching to attain next level maturity: Experience based insights based on actual client engagement

Introduction

Got an opportunity to conduct an Agile Maturity Assessment for a program consisting 8 + PODs for one of the Banking client recently. The purpose was to provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of agile practices within the program. This assessment aimed to identify strengths, areas for improvement, and actionable recommendations to enhance agility and efficiency.

Problem Statement

Despite the growing adoption of agile methodologies within the program, there were significant challenges that hinder the full realization of agile benefits. These challenges include inconsistent application of agile inspired best practices, limited cross-functional collaboration, and insufficient integration of customer feedback. Addressing those issues were critical for improving the overall agile maturity and effectiveness of the various PODs and teams.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment was structured around several key dimensions of agile maturity:

·?????? Team Dynamics: Evaluating collaboration, communication, and team cohesion. Suggested Visual: A flowchart depicting team interactions and communication channels.

·?????? Agile Practices: Assessing the implementation of agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, XP best practices along with customized scaling framework.

·?????? Leadership: Examining the role of leadership in supporting and driving agile transformations.

·?????? Technology and Tools: Analyzing the use of technological tools that facilitate agile processes by eliminating waste, reducing dependencies and automating hand-offs.

·?????? Customer Focus: Measuring the alignment of agile practices with customer needs and feedback in line with organizational OKR.

I adopted multi pronged strategy to get a truthful picture of current state of agility

Understanding the leaderships objective and their understanding on pain area as well to be state

Participating selective ceremonies/events (Program level, team level) as a silent observer

Questionnaire based assessment in workshop setting (to record team's collective mind )

1-1 with key roles and individuals

Review product backlog to understand nature of work

Key Findings

After analyzing the input and assessment result, came across some interesting findings

Team Dynamics

The assessment revealed that most of the PODs were exhibiting strong collaboration and communication skills. Team members work well together, share knowledge openly, and support one another in achieving common goals. However, there was a room for improvement in terms of cross-functional collaboration with other departments.

Agile Practices

The program had successfully adopted several agile practices, particularly Scrum, with regular sprints and stand-up meetings. Nonetheless, there was a need for more rigorous backlog management and continuous improvement practices such as retrospectives and feedback loops.

Leadership

Leadership within the program/portfolio was supportive of agile methodologies but could benefit from more active involvement in agile ceremonies and decision-making processes. Leaders were encouraged to foster a culture of empowerment and accountability among team members.

Technology and Tools

The assessment highlighted the effective use of agile tools such as Jira and Confluence for task management and documentation. However, there was potential to leverage additional tools for automation and real-time collaboration to further enhance efficiency.

Customer Focus

While the program was prioritizing customer needs, there was an opportunity to improve the integration of customer feedback into the agile process. Regularly soliciting and incorporating customer input could help to ensure that the team's efforts align closely with customer expectations.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, the following recommendations were proposed to elevate the agile maturity of various PODs/team within the program.

·?????? Enhance cross-functional collaboration: Establish regular inter-departmental meetings and collaboration cadence to foster stronger relationships and knowledge sharing across different teams

·?????? Strengthen backlog management: Implement a more structured approach to backlog grooming and prioritization, ensuring that tasks are aligned with strategic objectives and customer needs.

·?????? Encourage continuous improvement: Conduct regular retrospectives and feedback sessions to identify areas for improvement and implement actionable changes.

·?????? Increase leadership involvement: Leaders should actively participate in agile ceremonies and decision-making processes, demonstrating their commitment to agile principles and practices

·?????? Leverage additional tools: Explore and adopt new tools that can automate repetitive tasks and enhance real-time collaboration, such as automated testing and continuous integration tools.

·?????? Integrate customer feedback: Establish mechanisms for regularly soliciting customer feedback and incorporating it into the agile process to ensure that the team's efforts align with customer expectations.

Survey During the Coaching Session

As part of the assessment, I conducted multiple coaching sessions to know the current state and to read mind of the people what exactly teams and roles looking for to make their life easy. During on of the team coaching and feedback session, I run an online survey to know what their experience says.

The Agile Coaching Workshop Feedback

After recording the current state and analyzing the result, I conducted few coaching workshops for each team to empower them with a knowledge and techniques to attain next level of maturity for identified focus area. Feedbacks were quite encouraging. A sample feedback from one of the team as below.

Conclusion

The Agile Maturity Assessment for a program highlighted the strengths and areas for improvement for various teams within a program. By addressing the identified gaps and implementing the recommended actions, the teams and roles decided to ?enhance agility, efficiency, and alignment with customer needs. Continuous commitment to agile practices and a culture of continuous improvement definitely crucial for their ongoing success.

Indicative Agile Maturity score for one of the team.

Gajanan Govindwar

Enterprise Agile Coach

ICP ACC, SAFe 6.0 SASM, PMI ACP, CSM

[email protected]