Title:Industry Insights-Why does Agile matter to business?
Author: Roger Leaton (BT)
Abstract:
"If only they would stop changing their minds..."
"Life would be so much easier if things were predictable. We could work out exactly what was needed and then decide the most efficient way to deliver it".
"Please can we go back to the good old days and do things properly?"
If your team are thinking and speaking like this you are not alone. However, the pace of change is predicted to increase instead and this will become the experience for most of us.
Traditional approaches adopt "Change Management" which usually translates into "Change Prevention" an approach that views change as an enemy to be stamped on.
Agile allows us to change the way we work so that we view change not as an enemy to be fought but learning, telling us about a better product or a more realistic view of our capabilities. We need to change the way we work so we ensure our customers thrive in a changing world.
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Robert Manderson
9:49am 24 June 2011
Hi Roger & All, Having previously worked for a large software-producing organisation such as BT in the past (BAE Systems & BT briefly at Martlesham Heath), I recognise what you are saying here (in your abstract) in terms of your view of "change management"; I would extend this by saying that, in my experience, (software) change management tends to be well suited to large-scale, homogenous systems which are somewhat 'monolithic' in nature and which do not have to change rapidly from the perspective of their core functionality.
However, this approach assumes that the upper layers of functionality including the Graphical User Interface (GUI) are similar in nature which they are not, and which require frequent and rapid change (according to business requirements) which is not supported by the (traditional) change management philosophy, systems and methods; recognising this and looking at how Agile methods may be integrated is clearly the challenge and how 'formal' support for this (in the form of a 'new' philosophy, systems and methods) can be provided.
Although seductive, I have concerns about the Agile approach particularly in relation business (software) system evolution over the long-term where the documentation may be incomplete (possibly non-existent) and where there is the 'natural' attrition staff members working on large-scale Agile projects.
Rob Manderson