Enabling Technology: Cavity in delivery communication?

Agile Transformation is a journey, and certainly not an end of a journey.

I often follow a great Agilist on LinkedIn, Harry Narang, who is not only a world class Scaled Agile Framework “SAFe®” Coach, but also a professional who commands great respect in the technology space and is certainly worth looking-up to.

His offerings clearly affirm how much more can be achieved using frameworks of Agile (SAFe®, Scrum etc). In his recent post, he highlights crucial pinpoints that are necessary to create a successful Scrum Master, in lieu of finding themselves in the “#housekeeper” role, to which I agreed wholeheartedly. I offer a link to his post here so that my readers can read directly from “the horse's own mouth” (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/iamharrynarang_credibility-scrummaster-agilecoach-activity-6986472705256566784-L-yx)

A key challenge in the industry that has contributed to lowering the Scrum Master role into a “#housekeeper” trap, that Harry described in his, is rooted in the culture of many “#waterfall-istic” organizations.

To curtail looming project risks, successful Scrum Masters have taken to heart their efforts to effectively communicate how the Scrum Team’s work supports or impacts affected stakeholders in the delivery pipeline. This is because not every individual in an organization is Agile trained, and not all environments have fully transitioned to SAFe®.

In many environments, there are stakeholders, including Directors and other Senior Managers whose work, albeit at a higher level, do align with the deliverables of the scrum team, who do have a genuine interest in the work they do. It is therefore not uncommon for them to ask questions, and even at times attempt to influence the scrum team.

Without the agile mindset under their belts, such communication could be a challenge at times, but communication is due them, regardless, if the project will be successful. Successful Scrum Masters do take such communication seriously.

I commend entities that have taken great pains to develop actionable methodologies that offer the enterprise an advantage that effectively aligns project components using codified methods, tools, and cadence to ensure promising outcomes. To this, I commend entities like Lockheed, NTT DATA, Leidos, and a few others, who have taken auspicious stands and continue to rise to the occasion.

Evidently, the Agile success shines brighter if practitioners stay in both learning and coaching modes at every opportunity.

Accordingly, achieving true agility would require continuous learning across the organization, backed with a taste of success, within an operational setting, and with a sense of duty if your organization will transition SAFeLY.

I would also commend Mary Laniyan, a great Agilist, who supports several Agile Communities of Practice with her wealth of knowledge in the Agile domain.

By Dr. Michael Buadoo

Management & Information Technology Consultant/Senior Executive.

Email: [email protected]