This document discusses reasons why Agile initiatives fail in organizations. It identifies potential failure patterns at the organizational, team, process, and facility levels. At the organizational level, issues include a lack of vision, micro-management, and not establishing a culture where failure is acceptable. At the team level, problems involve teams not being adequately skilled, self-organizing, or having the right composition. Process failures stem from bending or ignoring Agile processes. A lack of communication spaces can undermine Agile at the facility level. The document encourages readers to share their experiences with Agile failures.

1. Agile Failure Patterns
In Organizations
Why Agile Fails
Leancamp 2016
Berlin, February 13th, 2016

2. Common Sense
The Four Core Principles of the Agile Manifesto*:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
*http://www.agilemanifesto.org/

3. The Benefits Of Being Agile
• Less customer churn:
Focus on value ➜ better product ➜ happier customers
• Mitigate risk:
Focus on value ➜ less waste ➜ higher ROI
• High quality software:
Self-organization ➜ happier team-members ➜ less fluctuation ➜
higher productivity ➜ better code
• Improved organizations:
Collaboration with stakeholder ➜ organizational flaws revealed
• More financial value:
Better traction ➜ extended runway ➜ better valuation for next
round (If you’re a startup.)
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

4. Practical Reasons To Adopt Agile
Most popular ones:
• Low productivity – perceived or actual
• Low morale
• Senior people won’t join your company
• Budget constrains
• Competition drives innovation at a high pace
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

5. Four Levels Of Agile Adoption
• Organization
• Team
• Process
• Facility
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

6. Organizational Level (I)
• No (product) vision
• The fallacy of
"We know what we need to build”
• Micro-management by superiors
• No transparency
• No culture of failure
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

7. Organizational Level (II)
• No rapid build-test-learn culture ➜ friction
• Senior management is not participating in
Agile processes
• „When you put problem in a computer, box
hide answer. Problem must be visible!“*
*Hideshi Yokoi, former President of the Toyota Production System Support Center in Erlanger, Kentucky, USA
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

8. Organizational Level (III)
• Product management ➜ "Jira monkeys”
• Local optimization efforts, bypassing product
management
• Core responsibilities of product management
covered by other departments, e.g. tracking,
• Product managers w/o a dedicated team
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

9. Team Level (I)
• There are too many juniors on the team
• Engineers with an purely open source coding
mentality
• Teams are too small and hence not cross-
functional
• Teams are not adequately staffed, e.g. the
Scrum Master is missing
• Team members reject Agile methodologies
openly
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

10. Team Level (II)
• Teams are not self-organizing
• Team members abandon Agile quietly ➜
perception: it’s management fad
• Cargo cult Agile: Teams follow the “Agile rules”
mechanically
• Moving people among teams upon short
notice.
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

11. Process Level
• Processes are being bent or ignored
• Agile processes are changed too far
(➜Product owner becomes project manager)
• Stakeholders are bypassing product management
• Not enough communication among participants
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

12. Facility Level
• No places to communicate:
Cafeterias, tea kitchens, sofas etc.
• Whiteboards is missing
• Offices that generally don’t further
communication
Read the long version here: https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

13. Your Experience?
Please add your experience to:
Agile Failure Patterns In Organizations
https://age-of-product.com/agile-failure-patterns-in-organizations/

14. How to Get in Touch:
Email: stefan@age-of-product.com
Blog: https://age-of-product.com
Newsletter: https://age-of-product.com/subscribe/