Session Title : Thinking Lean and Agile

1. C aution :
I created this slide deck to augment my
talk in a meet hosted by Agile Network
India
on 15 Dec 2018.
Viewing this in stand-alone manner may
have limited value.

2. Agile Organization
by aboveTARGET
for
Business Agility

3. 3
There is nothing here…
• which can not be found on web.
• which is guaranteed to solve your problem.
• which is hugely different than common sense.
▪ What I will present here are my beliefs based on
hundreds of my & my
▪ I do not claim that my beliefs are absolute truth.
▪ In fact there is nothing as absolute truth
in this world; except gravity.

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Thinking LEAN & Agile

5. In this short presentation, we will talk about
• Business Agility
• Or should we call it just Agility ?
• Or may be we should call it just plain agility ?
5
We will not talk much about
• 12 Principles & 4 Values
• Paradigm Shift & Out of Box Thinking
• Empowerment & Trust Building
• Holistic Mindset & VUCA World
• Strategic Initiatives v/s Tactical Steps
• etc / ktp / und so weiter / वगैरे / इत्यादी
Thinking LEAN & Agile

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Organization Design
Change Leadership
Business Agility
I vaguely remember that.
Can you just tell me once again ?

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Thinking LEAN & Agile

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
•Business Agility
• New Innovation
• Free Gift
• Predictions, especially about the future.

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
•Business Agility

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Thinking LEAN & Agile

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
1989 AD

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
1888 AD

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
1860 AD

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
40000 BC

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Since the time immemorial , human history is full of
threats and opportunities from unforeseen places
&
it will always be.

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
When was it enough ?

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Local optima is useless 23
Identify & improve the the weakest link in the system.
Any improvement BEFORE the weakest link will
actually damage the system more.
Any improvement AFTER the weakest link
is meaningless.
: agility in production: agility in sourcing

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Local optima is useless : agility in Understanding Markets

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Meet Muthhuswami of Malad.
He has not studied
the concept of Drum-Buffer-Rope or
the Theory of Constraints.
But he practices it very well. Why ?

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Agile :: What it is not ?
• Not a Standard Operating Procedure. Not about more throughput.
• Not limited to a department. Not just new terminology. 36
• Not Unstructured. Not Unplanned. Not NO Documentation. 66
Agile :: What it is ?19 & why it is needed ?24 25
• “agile” is an adjective. In business it describes
a nimble way of thinking & not being afraid of uncertainties.
• Being agile is an art of delivering relevant Value and Innovation even
when requirements are evolving.
• Art of self-organization & collaboration for meeting end-objective.
• Should be validated externally146
• Get Agreement on End-Objective, Add Common Sense, Make a Difference.
169
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21. feel free to touch base with me
satish@abovetarget.biz
I will be happy…
I will be very happy…
I will be extremely happy…
Have a great day ahead !
21
Thinking LEAN & Agile

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Agile or should it be agile ??
agile = nimble / quick to react / supple / graceful / light-footed 26
In business world, agile indicates => nimble & capable to adapt to uncertainties in business.
The word agile is an adjective. Just like … rich, strong, tall, bright, deep.
Whether our customers would be interested or bothered about
our Ceremonies, Steps, Duration ?
Can we adhere to Fixed Steps, Fixed Ceremonies, Fixed Duration
to become nimble, so as to address uncertainties ?
30
The word “agile” does not denote any standard like ISO9001 / DIN CK45 / S&P BBB
Whether our stakeholders would be interested or bothered about
our Ceremonies, Steps, Duration ?

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Even a Routine Flight needs great collaboration 91

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Need for Business Agility 6

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Evolving Requirements & Need for Collaboration 30

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
External Validation
He did not start
calling himself
Black Pearl
He did not say, call me
The Wall
He did not say, I am Captain Cool

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
External Validation …
He was called as “Black Peral” by
his fans ( read as Customers )
Not by
Federation of International Football Association
He was called as “The Wall” by
his fans ( read as Customers )
Not by
Board of Control for Cricket in India
He was called as “Captain Cool” by
his fans ( read as Customers )
Not by
Board of Control for Cricket in India
30
Same way, we can not call ourselves agile even though…
• We are certified,
• We are great in collaboration
• We call ourselves as Scrum Team,
• We work on UserStories; NOT on Requirements.
Someone else should call us agile. That someone could be…
• Our customers. ( who else ? )
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Thinking LEAN & Agile

29. Organization wide focus on
I am Product Owner.
I focus on outward facing
aspects like... competitive
edge, long term product
vision and
GTM strategy.
I am VP-Sales.
We make Release
Roadmaps which are
pragmatic & which are
actually met.
I am CMO.
We listen to our broad
customer base and use the
Voice of Customer as
input of strategic value.
I am VP-Delivery.
Our releases deliver value to
max possible users.
I am Release Manager.I am Dev Manager.I am Developer.I am Quality Engineer.I am Tech Architect.I am Scrum Master.I am the CEO.
Our teams focus on
outcome rather than
focusing on output.
Thinking LEAN & Agile
end-objective.

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Terms associated with Agile
Don’t you dare to call it a requirement.
It is a User Story.
Stand up.
We are in a stand-up meeting.
When I say Sprint ,
it is always 2 weeks !
, but don’t make you Agile 30
No more Documents;
Only Artifacts !No more meetings;
Only Ceremonies !
No more Review;
Only Retrospective !

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Thinking LEAN & Agile
Missing out the jungle while searching for trees 66