You have a handful of agile teams and want to expand out. Or maybe your organizational leaders are excited about creating an agile enterprise. How do you approach the transition to scaled agile?
One of the first steps is selecting a narrative for framing the change.
This choice tends to happen subconsciously but it can have a significant impact on the conversations you have, skills you need to develop, and your likelihood of success.
Working with organizations and reviewing case studies, I’ve noticed two messages in particular: a process-based narrative and a mission-based one. They can both be effective in different circumstances.
What story are you telling?
With a process-based narrative, you’re leading with the “how” and supporting with the “what.” That means you’ll focus conversations on the new process, whether that’s an existing scaling framework or your own design. You’ll talk about how this process is different and better than the current one. Everyone will go through training in the new process. You might fold in examples of the specific projects that your company would be interested in, but that’s not the focus of your transition conversations.
For example, in a process-based narrative, a company might decide that a scaled agile approach could solve some of their delivery issues. So they reach out to scaled agile consultants to help train and coach people on how to execute the new processes.
In contrast, with a mission-based narrative, you’re leading with the “what” and supporting with the “how.” The mission is why you exist, or the large problem you’re trying to solve. You’re using scaled agile as a way to achieve that mission, but the focus of your conversations will be the mission or ultimate outcomes you’re looking to create in the world.
A good example of a mission-based narrative is the story that General Stanley McChrystal shares in his book “Team of Teams.” He noticed that their military practices weren’t effective for fighting terrorism in Iraq so he experimented with some new concepts until they ended up with their own flavor of a scaled agile enterprise. Your mission could be anything from a moonshot to current customer complaints.
We’ll dive a little deeper into the details, starting with a process-based narrative and then move on to a mission-based one. Consider which one might be a better fit for your situation.
When to choose a process-based narrative
Select a process-based narrative if you notice one or more of these signs:
- Delivery speed, coordination, or autonomy are a priority. The scaled agile process directly addresses these concerns so it will be easier to persuade people to shift.
- People are already interested in or excited about agile. Take advantage of the energy and momentum.
- There’s leadership buy-in for changing the process. Use this opportunity to explicitly try out a new approach.
- Your mobilizers are project managers. If the people who will get things done, delegate, and inspire are project managers, focusing on a process-based narrative will resonate with their viewpoint and skillset.
- You’re hearing goals related to agile processes such as, “we want to be more innovative and agile,” “we want to empower our employees,” or “we want to create faster feedback loops.”
How to pitch a process-based narrative
Frame your message in a way that will resonate by saying…
- “Changing behavior can help change mindsets.” Especially if people are concerned that you don’t have the right culture or mindset yet.
- “Other companies have followed these processes with success.” Cite case studies of people who applied that same scaling framework.
- “We can use the process to improve what we deliver.” Note that here we’re saying that the process can generally improve outcomes, but we’re not talking about a specific mission.
- “This process will help us deliver incremental value faster.” Most stakeholders, from customers to board members, like the idea of seeing progress sooner.
- “This process will help us quickly adapt to market shifts.” Reference how scaling agile will help the organization respond faster to new information.
- “These process changes will help us save (or make) money.” Discuss the economic value of accounting for the cost of delay and gaining fast feedback.
- “These processes have increased employee morale in other organizations.” Impactful for leaders who are concerned about the employee experience or turnover rates.
Pitching a process-based approach tends to involve highlighting the benefits of switching to a scaled agile process regardless of which problem you’re tackling. It tends to focus more on the value of different elements of the process, or the gains that other companies have seen after applying it.
Pros and cons of a process-based approach
A process-based approach is the most common, and there are some benefits but also some drawbacks to watch out for.
Pros
- Easier to track progress because the metrics are simpler and visible. Many are related to whether or not you’re doing agile activities.
- Agile tools already track key metrics. No need to spend a lot of time defining metrics and setting up your own reports.
- With so many books, courses, and blogs about agile processes and frameworks there are plenty of references to turn to.
- Easy to hire coaches and scrum masters to train others and execute the new processes.
- Can consult with the agile community for troubleshooting.
Cons
- Overemphasis on process instead of outcomes. This can lead to in-depth conversations about story points, costs, and process, and minimal conversations about what is truly valuable for your specific customers and business.
- Declaring victory too soon. For example, celebrating when the agile processes are in place, yet the overall business objectives haven’t been reached.
- Applying the process when it’s not a good fit for the problem at hand. Agile is not the only method for product development and in some cases creates problems.
- Less flexible for adapting the process (“but we spent so long training them…” “we’ll confuse them”). Focusing on the process instead of the context may mean that it’s harder to change the process.
With a process-based approach, you would transition the enterprise to a new process. And then later improve by looking at how the organization defines value and determines what to put in the agile backlogs.
A mission-based narrative flips that order. You’ll focus the enterprise on what you want to achieve as a final outcome, and then use scaled agile processes as a way to deliver that outcome.
When to choose a mission-based narrative
Select a mission-based narrative if you notice one or more of these signs:
- Achieving the mission is the priority and progress hasn’t been fast enough.
- People are skeptical about scaling agile or nervous about changing processes. In this case, focus on the overarching objective instead of the process to gain traction.
- Your mobilizers are business owners, designers, or architects. A content-based pitch will resonate more with people in those roles.
- Leaders express that they don’t care which methods the organization uses as long as you achieve the goals.
- You’re hearing needs related to the mission or against the process such as, “we need to accomplish this goal as soon as possible,” or “I don’t think that scaled agile works.”
How to pitch a mission-based narrative
Frame your message in a way that will resonate by saying…
- “We want to [accomplish this objective/solve this problem].” Remind people of the driving motivation behind all of the day-to-day decisions.
- “What we’ve been doing hasn’t been effective. What might we try differently? Here’s an option called scaled agile.”
- “Let’s test this out with one of our strategic goals.” This approach offers a way to make progress while doing a trial run of a new process.
- “We’ll compare our performance to our past projects.” Rather than comparing your performance to others, you’re looking at improving your own game.
- “This approach will help us better handle dependencies while staying adaptable.” A good pitch for missions that require a lot of teams to collaborate in order to execute them.
- “We need IT and business alignment to achieve this mission and a scaled agile approach supports cross-functional conversations.”
- “This approach will help us iteratively deliver on this mission, learn, and adapt more quickly.”
- “We’ll be able to test assumptions faster and reduce risk with this approach.”
Pitching a mission-based scaled agile approach is all about putting the mission first and showing how scaled agile can help you achieve that mission faster.
Pros and cons of a mission-based approach
A mission-based approach is a great choice but there are some disadvantages that you’ll need to account for.
Pros
- Attention is focused on delivery outcomes and the final impact.
- Removes the common “black boxes” outside of agile teams. Agile teams will need to be thinking about their impact on other teams beyond the typical program events in order to make progress toward shared goals.
- Provides everyone with the context they need to make decisions. A mission-based approach is going to focus on creating a shared consciousness through agile activities and tools. Everyone will understand how their piece fits into the bigger picture.
- Fewer integration issues. Teams focused on achieving the broader mission instead of creating and refining their own backlog means that integration needs will be identified earlier.
- Encourages creative approaches. Since scaled agile processes are recommended but not required in this narrative, there is some flexibility to shift activities and explore alternative ways of working.
Cons
- Might not provide enough process guidance for people new to product management, systems engineering, or agile. Team members may need more training or guidance at first to build up confidence.
- Requires defining and tracking your own metrics for success. You’ll need to define what success looks like for you and ways to track progress along the way.
- Might stray from executing typical agile 100% of the time. You’ll want to verify that deviations from proven processes are beneficial.
Choosing a narrative that’s a good fit for your organization can be the difference between a message that inspires and is forgotten. Between a scaled agile transition that thrives and fizzles out.
Which narrative would be more effective in your organization?
Looking for more support and guidance? Recharted Territory has a track record of helping companies develop their own scaled agile practices with either narrative, even if they’ve tried in the past and ran into roadblocks. Check out our services and book a complimentary session to discuss your situation.