Is your risk management team Agile?

Applying Agile methodologies can greatly minimize uncertainty in risk management projects by focusing on adaptability, iterative progress, and ongoing feedback. It's common to assume that training your personnel in Agile or Scrum will automatically lead to their adoption of the methodology. However, this is rarely the case.

To fully embrace the Agile methodology and reap its benefits, it is essential to make significant changes in our approach to governing risk projects and managing our day-to-day operations. Let me give you an example:

A few weeks ago, Adam, a risk manager working in the financial industry, asked three of his teams to update their training materials to enrich them with examples and best practices captured during the last year of process mapping and risk assessment projects. This seemed like a relatively easy task that could be tackled in two weeks.

In a typical corporate fashion, there was a kickoff meeting where assignments were given, questions were answered, and a deadline was drawn. These were the results:

• The first team worked together and decided to incorporate simple illustrations that would resonate with a diverse range of people and included process maps from processes outside the financial industry. While the concept of creating straightforward and relatable processes was promising, the implementation fell short because none of the team members had material experience in these processes or had access to people who do. Upon receiving the finalized proposal two weeks later, Adam correctly identified flaws in the maps, causing the team to panic and opt for a complete overhaul of the product.
• The second team also worked together and made the decision to revise all the slides in the previous training deck. They dedicated numerous hours to perfecting their final product. However, upon completion, the deck unfortunately contained several grammatical errors and lacked sufficient real-life work examples. It was back to the drawing board for them as well.
• The third team began by creating an outline of the presentation, and they returned to Adam the next day with a proposal of what should be the content, which slides from the previous presentation were still valid, what needed to be changed, and what new content they proposed to include. Once they agreed on the concept, they returned to Adam every day for the next week with an updated presentation, making sure to capture his views and learn from each interaction to build a style and cadence.

As you can see, the first two teams prioritized speed over value, resulting in missed deadlines and the need to revise their products. They lost sight of their customer and what was expected of them. Every engagement with Adam resulted in frustration on both ends.

The third team made it a priority to fully grasp the key elements of quality before making any changes to the training deck. They effectively gained Adam's support early on?by establishing a common vision,?consistently seeking his input, and?continuously refining their product.

So, adopting Agile takes more than using templates and establishing ceremonies. You have to adopt its mindset as well. One of its cornerstones is documented in the Agile Manifesto (Agile Manifesto Authors, 2001), and a revised version for the Risk Management practice might look like this:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes, methodologies, and tools.
2. Risk management solutions?over comprehensive documentation.
3. Business (our internal customers) collaboration over control imposition.
4. Responding nimbly to changes in the business environment over following a plan.
5. Adding value to the business over risk adversity.

Let me hear your thoughts.

Daniel

Subscribe to my Newsletter! https://www.dhirubhai.net/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7184916447897268224

Copyright 2024 Daniel Espejel

Credits

The Agile Manifesto Authors are:

• Kent Beck
• Mike Beedle
• Arie van Bennekum
• Alistair Cockburn
• Ward Cunningham
• Martin Fowler
• Robert C. Martin
• Steve Mellor
• Dave Thomas
• James Grenning
• Jim Highsmith
• Andrew Hunt
• Ron Jeffries
• Jon Kern
• Brian Marick
• Ken Schwaber
• Jeff Sutherland