Part 1: Transforming Tradition: How Agile Thinking Accelerated Decision-Making in the Public Sector

Between 2022 - 2023, Lithe Transformation and its expert consultants undertook a series of projects across several departments within the public sector. The following case study is Part 1 of a series that showcases how Lithe Consultancy coached and advised multi-level officials in not just understanding and implementing the principles of Agile but also using them to achieve long-term and sustainable results.

Collaborating with leading Scrum and consulting organisations, Lithe was engaged to support the leadership team to streamline decision-making processes and improve operational agility, whilst navigating the organisation's traditional structures and challenges.

Faced with a rigid and time-consuming decision-making processes, the departments were keen to identify the delays, bottlenecks and inefficiencies within the organisation.?

Lithe’s consulting engagement aimed to bring about positive outcomes and results through coaching and collaborative efforts.

This case study highlights how Lithe Consulting provided coaching and support to achieve positive outcomes through an Agile transformation.?

The Challenge:

Operating under a highly hierarchical and bureaucratic system, which created significant delays in decision-making, the department was hindered by delays and planning for operations, with critical decisions often taking up to a year to be made.?

Additionally, the organisation struggled to apply Agile principles, initially following generic Scrum training without tangible success.?

The organisation's resistance to change and top-down decision-making presented major obstacles to the Agile transformation.

The Approach:

Lithe Consulting’s coaching process aimed to help key personnel break down their bureaucratic processes and improve collaboration across leaders and their teams.?

The key areas of focus were:

1. Understanding Decision-Making:

Lithe Consulting facilitated workshops with personnel to comprehend their decision-making processes and identify pain points. Through active listening and collaborative discussions, they discovered that critical decisions were delayed due to a lack of timely information flow.

2. Reframing Processes:?

Instead of simply introducing Scrum, Lithe Consulting focused on Agile thinking and broke down decision-making into smaller, incremental components. This reframing helped personnel across all ranks understand the significance of their contributions to decision-making and empowered them to make small decisions to accelerate the overall process.

3. Empowering Middle Management:?

Recognising the significance of middle management, Lithe Consulting worked closely with a dedicated Scrum Master. This individual played a vital role in coaching others and leading the Agile transformation efforts within the organisation.

4. Metrics for Success:?

The key metric for success was reducing the time taken to plan an operation from a year to just three months. This reduction would result in lower operational risks, cost savings, and enhanced collaboration among teams.

The Results:

The Agile transformation within this department led to several positive outcomes:

1. Streamlined Decision-Making:?

By breaking down decision-making processes and empowering personnel to make incremental decisions, reduced the time taken to plan operations significantly.

2. Increased Collaboration:?

Agile thinking and reframing processes improved collaboration among teams and stakeholders, fostering a more agile and responsive environment.

3. Improved Operational Agility:?

With faster decision-making and improved information flow, processes and personnel became more adaptable and responsive to changing circumstances.

4. Leadership Development:?

Lithe Consulting introduced leadership development workshops that enabled leaders to experience scenarios and understand Agile thinking in practical contexts.

The Impact:

Through coaching and collaborative efforts, Lithe Consulting supported the teams in overcoming bureaucratic hurdles and fostering a more agile way of working.

The Agile transformation empowered personnel across the board to make informed decisions quickly, resulting in reduced operational risks, increased collaboration, and improved overall efficiency.?

As a result, the department achieved its goal of planning operations in just three months, a significant improvement from the previous year-long timeframe. The successful transformation showcased the benefits of Agile thinking and demonstrated how it can be applied beyond traditional software development, even in a highly hierarchical and complex organisation.

This case study highlights the potential for agile methodologies to revolutionise traditional and hierarchical decision-making structures, leading to increased efficiency, reduced risks, and improved collaboration within large organisations.

If you’re interested in creating positive and sustainable change through Agile within your organisation, get in touch with us here and work with Lithe’s highly experienced and trained consultants to foster incredible transformation.