It is no secret that when an organization chooses to transition to Agile methodologies, it requires an enormous commitment to leadership and change management. Even in prescriptive methods of Agile transitions, such as SAFe, I have found this subject matter deficient, especially in the area of practical application. This presentation is based on a training class I developed and conducted with executive leadership at American Airlines. It focuses on how to apply Dr. John Kotter’s 8-step model of change management and leadership to help transition an organization to support an Agile transformation. I have been involved in large scale Agile Transformations at Nokia, AT&T, American Airlines, Telogical Systems and VCE. I have successfully applied the principles of this process at several companies, most recently at American Airlines IT division to train executives in Agile Change Management.

1. Applying Organizational Change and
Leadership to Agile Transformations
Joe Vallone
Joe.Vallone@cprime.com
Twitter:@joejv
Blog:agilebizconnect.com

2. Who is cPrime?
AGILE SOFTWARE SERVICES

3. After the webinar…
• We will send directions to collect the PDU you will earn
from attending this webinar
• We will also send a links to the recorded webinar and
presentation slides once they are posted online
For more information, visit www.cprime.com

4. Poll
• What is your Agile Experience?
– Beginner: I understand the concepts
– Intermediate: I’ve done some work on Agile teams
– Advanced: I’ve led large scale Agile transformations

5. Objectives
You leave here today with:
 An understanding of Dr. John Kotter’s 8 step leadership model
for change.
 An understanding how to apply the 8-step model when changing
an organization to Agile.
 Learn how to measure change progress in this model.
 Learn how to overcome barriers to change management in this
model.
 Lesson’s learned when applying the model at AA.

6. My Background
• Over 20 years of Software Development and project
management experience. Agile experience since 2002
• Undergraduate Engineering, USF
• Graduate MBA, Cox School of Business, SMU
• Certified SCRUM Professional (CSP, CSM)
• Experience leading Agile Transformations at Nokia, AT&T,
American Airlines
• Previous Agile/Scrum opponent now proponent
• Certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)
• Have implemented both SAFe and CIF

8. Leading Teams Through Change
Overview of Dr. John Kotter’s 8-Step Model

9. Many Perspectives for Looking at
Change

10. Focus Today on How to Apply One, and how we
applied it at American Airlines

11. Kotter’s Model of Change

12. The Story begins…
• Our Hero Fred, a curious Emperor Penguin noticed they had a problem –
their iceberg was melting and could collapse leaving the colony homeless
and endangered.
• Fred wanted to warn everyone however, when Harold tried to warn
people of the same thing they would not listen and ostracized him.
• So Fred approached Alice, an influential member of the
Leadership Council. She had him show her the problem.
• He explained the details in a way that Alice understood. Alice
wanted to think about the best way to tell the colony. She
also warned Fred to be prepared for resistance.

13. Then…
• Alice tried unsuccessfully to get the Leadership Council to make the trip
with Fred to see the danger first hand. She did, however, get Louis, the
head of the council, to invite him to speak the next Council Meeting.
• Fred’s model of the iceberg got the attention of the Leadership Council .
However one council member, NoNo, rallied some of the
members accusing Fred of trying to cause a panic.
• Alice came to Fred ‘s defense asking,” how would they
feel if Fred was right but they did nothing? How would
they explain to the others when they were homeless and
lost loved ones?”

14. So…
• Louis suggested forming a committee to analyze the situation and develop
a plan while keeping the problem from the colony.
• Alice urged it was far to serious and should be discussed quickly at an
assembly of the full colony. The Council wanted more evidence to take to
the colony so Fred proposed an experiment to prove the iceberg was in
danger.
• A glass bottle of water was left to freeze overnight. When the bottle
shattered from the expanding ice, they would have proof that the iceberg
is in danger.
• The Assembly was held to let the penguins know what was about to
happen. Everyone had a chance to see Fred’s model and the evidence of
bottle. You could feel a difference; the start of the change process had
begun…

15. Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency
• The assembly reduced the level of complacency and created a sense of
urgency. Every penguin knew swift action was required.
• In our world we can do this by
 Helping people understand why the change is important
 Identifying what is in it for them as well as the organization
• As leaders, how would you create a sense of urgency for your Agile
transformation, but not panic?
 Our customers were demanding more
 Our competition was tough
 The business didn’t trust us to deliver
 We needed to deliver quicker
 Change was needed to keep pace

16. Next…
• NoNo told Louis it was his duty to solve the problem as the Leader of the
colony. Louis knew he could not do it alone.
• Other penguins thought he should delegate to experts but they lacked
credibility with the colony.
• Louis thought and was ready for the next step…

17. Step 2: Pull Together the Guiding Team
• Louis assembled a diverse team
• Louis – experienced leader, wise, patient, well respected
• Alice – practical, aggressive, smart, not easily intimidated
• Fred - level-headed, curious and creative
• Buddy - trusted and well liked
• Jordan - the Professor, logical and intelligent
• Louis then dedicated some time for them to form as a team
• For AA’s organization Agile Leadership team
• Identify early adopters in all roles
• Make sure the team is diverse with leadership skills, credibility,
communication skills, authority, analytical skills and a sense of urgency
• Include your business partners!

18. Example - What’s our current focus?
• To bring structure to achieve continuous improvement in
three focus areas
Efficiency
ProcessPortfolio

19. Example - How do we get started?
Create a guiding Scrum Team!
Identify
Initial Team
Members
• Recommend 3 to 5 people, including business and PMO representation
• Run this as an Agile team on a modified schedule (see next slide)
• Main goal – remove impediments to the Agile transformation
Conduct
initial
kickoff
session
• Introduce the concept
• Define the vision
• Brainstorm backlog ideas
• Define working agreements (e.g., iteration and standup cadence, time commitment, conditions for involvement)
• Determine if additional team members are needed at this time (and, if so, identify and recruit candidates)
• Identify a Product Owner
• Identify a Scrum Master
• Determine how to make the team’s activities and progress visible to the organization
Conduct
second
kickoff
session
• Introduce new team members (if applicable)
• Define a roadmap with quarterly release cycles
• Create initial backlog
• Define a release plan (even this can be a challenge when starting from zero, but the CIF overviews can help to prompt
thinking on this)
• Schedule the first iteration planning session

20. Sample Leadership Team Meeting
Calendar (Worst Case)

21. Strategy - How do we succeed?
Diversity in
roles and levels
represented
within the team
Time & Commitment
Involvement of
Agile Coach &
Mentor

22. Example Backlog – Portfolio
Purpose:
Organize roadmaps, releases, and iterations of
work to optimize return on investment; they
also focus on total coFst of ownership of the
product, as well as its long term viability and
value. This is accomplished by implementing
changes that optimize the organization’s return
on investment of product work.
Example Stories:
- Create visualization of projects in progress
- Establish a backlog of prioritized concepts
- Establish project work capacity limit
- Establish relative business value scale and
evaluate projects
- Establish project selection criteria and
process
- Determine maximum project size
Potential Strategies for Execution:
- Create and enforce a list of criteria to start a
project
- Utilize Go/No Go after project Iteration Zero
- Evaluate current speed-to-market to deliver
value more frequently
Metrics:
- Cycle time
- Concepts in the pipeline
- Work in Progress ( # of projects)
- Return on investment ( Partnering with
Finance )
- Usage of functionality delivered
- Number of people shared on more than one
project

23. Step 3: Develop a Change Vision
• Clarify how the future will be different from the past and how you can
make that future reality
 Focus on removing impediments for Agile adoption/transformation
 Pick a problem area (e.g. Portfolio Management), and make it Lean
and Agile
• Treat the Agile Transformation as a project
o Use the templates and create a Vision and Roadmap
o Build a backlog
o Plan small releases

24. Vision Planning Tools
Sources:
• Product Data Sheet, PDD
• Press Release, Business Case, Scope (in/out), Risks
• Elevator/Vision Statement
FOR <target customer>
WHO <statement of need>
THE <product> IS A <product category>
THAT <key benefit>.
UNLIKE <primary competitor>
OUR PRODUCT <further differentiation>.
From "Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey Moore

25. Example – Vision Template
Guides the development process
Gives direction in
what the product/project is about
why we are doing it
what we expect from it.
FOR AAdvantage Members and Guests
WHO are looking for opportunities to redeem their miles on a wider network of cities/airlines
THE All Partner Awards Program IS A redemption option within the AAdvantage Program
THAT WILL allow them to search, view and book redemption flights on AAdvantage participating
carriers in a self service mode on AA.com.
UNLIKE Northwest Airlines and other AA competitors
OUR PROGRAM will allow customers to book AAdvantage Partner Awards online.

26. Example - Road Map Template
<product>
Release 1 Release 2 Release 3 Release 4
mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy
Market /
Customers
Themes
Benefits
Architecture
Impact
Events and/or
Cycles
What are we planning to deliver and when
Market/Customers served by the additions,
modifications planned for the product
Themes represent a group of features or capabilities
to be incorporated into the product
List quantifiable business benefits be for each release
Expected impact on the IT architecture and
infrastructure
What events and/or seasonal cycles affect the release
or the timing of the release

27. Example – Release Plan Template
Iteration [X] Iteration [X+1] Iteration [X+2]
[mm/dd] – [mm/dd] [mm/dd] – [mm/dd] [mm/dd] – [mm/dd]
Velocity
[planned] points
[actual] points
[planned] points
[actual] points
[planned] points
[actual] points
Scope
• [user story title] ([points])
• [user story title] ([points])
• […]
• [user story not completed in
iteration]
• [user story title] ([points])
• [user story title] ([points])
• […]
• [user story title] ([points])
• [user story title] ([points])
• […]
Risks
• [risk name] ([risk category])
• […]
• [risk name] ([risk category])
• […]
• [risk name] ([risk category])
• […]
Architecture Impact
Dependencies
Events Or Cycles
[Dependencies from this project/team to other teams/groups and dependencies from other teams to
this project/team]
[Expected impact on the IT architecture and infrastructure (including dev & test environments)]
[Events and/or seasonal cycles that may affect the iteration or delivery of the iteration]

28. Step 4: Communicate for Buy-in
• Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision
and strategy
• Communicate, communicate, communicate
o Use communication style that works for the receiver
o Ask the receiver what works for them
• How would you get buy in and share the vision with everyone?
 Make results “visible”
 Bracelets
 Agile Reminder Cards
 Continuous Training

29. Step 5: Empower Others to Act
• Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the
vision reality can do so
• Ask for possible solutions when presented with roadblocks
• Work together to remove roadblocks and impediments
 E.g. Coaches teaming with PMO
• Holding each other accountable
o Ask: What will prevent you from taking 100% responsibility?
• Delegate decisions and actions to the teams
 Let the teams decide!

30. Step 6: Produce Short Term Win
• Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible
 Advertise! Create a newsletter
• Demand transparency
 E.g. Open and honest communication during retrospectives
• Keep focus on short term goals
• Don’t sacrifice the long term vision!

31. Step 7: Don’t Let Up
• Press harder and faster after the first
successes. Be relentless with initiating
change after change until the vision is
reality
• Failure does occur and is accepted, as
long as you understand why
• Keep the forward momentum - don’t
allow the “old ways” to continue
• Retrospectives – Inspect and Adapt
• Welcome Change!

32. Step 8: Make It Stick – Create a New Culture
• Hold on to the new ways of behaving and make sure they succeed, until
they become strong enough to replace old traditions
• Build trust
• Value results
• Hold the date sacred

33. Making It Stick
Tracking Project Health via Key
Performance Indicators

34. What are KPIs?
• Metrics to help identify opportunities for support
 Time to Market
• Length of Release
• Length of Iteration 0
 Productivity
• By Release
• By Iteration
 Planning Predictability
 Business Satisfaction

35. Time to Market – Sprint 0
• Goal: Deliver Business Value Sooner
• Determined by comparing planned length of iteration 0 against planned
length of the release
• Target:
• R ≤ 3m I ≤ 2w
• R ≤ 6m I ≤ 4w
• R ≤ 9m I ≤ 6w
NA
> target
≤ target
Equal to or Less
than Max
Greater than
Max

36. Productivity - Release
• Goal: Continuous Delivery by the team
 This KPI projects the % of the release that will be completed by the
end of the project based on team performance to date.
• Determined by comparing the % of Release points completed thus far to
the % of schedule completed thus far.
• Target:
 Deliver more than 85% of planned
release points
< 75% or > 125%
75% – 84% or
116% – 125%
85% – 115%

37. Productivity - Iteration
• Goal: Continuous Delivery by the team
• Determined by comparing the number of points accepted at the end of
the iteration to the number of points committed by the team at iteration
planning
• Target:
 Deliver more than 85% of committed points
< 75% or > 125%
75% – 84% or
116% – 125%
85% – 115%

38. Planning Predictability
• Goal: Consistent execution by the team
• Determined by comparing the number of unfinished hours at the end of
the iteration to the total estimated hours
• Target: At iteration end no more than 20% of hours estimated are
unfinished
>20%
NA
≤ 20%
22%
Unfinished

39. Business Satisfaction
• Goal: Business Value Achieved
 Is the business seeing meaningful progress toward
 delivering value?
• Determined by a rating delivered to the team by the Product Owner at the
end of the iteration
• Target:
 Score 8 out of a possible 10
 NPS
< 5
6-7
8-10

40. Don’t Let Up
Introduction to Maturity Assessments -
Zanshin, Shu, Ha, Ri
Measuring Change

41. Assessment Process
Teams Assess
themselves with
the help of a
Coach each
quarter
Team & Coach
plot their
maturity level
using Zanshin,
Shu, Ha or Ri for
each of the five
assessment
dimensions
Team & Coach
build a plan for
the team to
achieve the next
level of maturity
in 2 dimensions
The team
schedules a
follow-up
assessment for
next quarter
Coach & PM
Review Team
assessments
with Leadership
Team

42. Lessons Learned/Challenges

43. Lesson’s Learned/Challenges cont.
• Initially, strong resistance from Business Leaders
o …but Agile is an “IT Thing”
o “Here’s the requirements. See you in 6 months”
• Create an Agile Leadership team, that is focused on removing
impediments to Agile adoption.
o Run as a [modified] Scrum Team
• Be mindful of executive’s time
• Take what you can get – not everyone’s schedule can be in sync
o Working Agreements - email
• Needs to be sold to leadership
 What is the return on Time Invested?
 How will this help the transformation succeed?
 Schedule monthly follow-up reporting meetings

44. Lesson’s Learned/Challenges cont.
"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
―Eddard Stark
• Beware the Game of Thrones
 Fiefdoms
 Silos
 What Dr. Kotter calls “NoNos”
 Detractors that have their own interests in mind
• Make it fun/cool – create awareness
 Public Scrum Board
 Cards, bracelets
 Public classes

45. What Questions Do You Have?