Agile Planning: 5 Steps to Agile Transformation Planning for Success - Many are or will be implementing Agile in some form or other. For some, they are on their second, third, or even fourth attempt to really integrate and leverage Agile. Where Agile implementations fail is rarely with developers or other project staff. Executives and other Senior Leaders are often the cause of failure or excess friction due to their hope that Agile will simply be faster and cheaper without having to change the organization culture… In this presentation we focus on the 5 Steps to planning a successful Agile transformation that you can take back and apply all at once or one by one over time.

1. © 2019 All Rights Reserved
Agile Planning:
5 Steps to
Agile Transformation Planning
for Success
Authored by Darrel Raynor, PMP, MBA
President/CEO & Founder, Data Analysis & Results, Inc.
Interim, Fractional, Full-time COO/CIO, EVP/SVP
www.DataAnalysis.com | +1-512-850-4402 | Info@DataAnalysis.com

2. © 2019
Abstract
Many are or will be implementing Agile in some form or other. For some,
they are on their second, third, or even fourth attempt to really integrate
and leverage Agile. Where Agile implementations fail is rarely with
developers or other project staff.
Executives and other Senior Leaders are often the cause of failure or
excess friction due to their hope that Agile will simply be faster and
cheaper without having to change the organization culture…
In this presentation we focus on the 5 Steps to planning a successful
Agile transformation that you can take back and apply all at once
or one by one over time.
page 2

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Before We Begin
Questions?
Please be ready for a show of hands.
Please ask questions anytime!
page 3

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Show of Hands for Each Question
Agile Transformation Project
1. Have you participated in?
(Keep your challenges in mind…)
2. Are you planning?
(What are you worried about…)
3. Are you considering?
(What is holding you back…)

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New Frontiers: Transforming to and Championing Agile
page 5
Moving to Agile is a large Business Transformation effort!

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Our Research on Agile Transformation
Reasons for Fail or Hassle
● Management pushes Agile yet is
not willing to adapt processes
including planning and reporting
● Team adopts Agile with little
Business Transformation Change
Management effort to persuade
others
● Treating an Agile Transformation as
a Sprint rather than a project...
2 Flavors of Success
1. Grassroots - Team adopts
Agile. Customers support.
Org leaves them alone
2. Top Down - Management
pushes Agile. Teams are
given support and time to
normalize. Org processes
adapt including planning and
reporting
page 6

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Here is our recommended set of steps
1. Plan Your Agile Transformation Like A Project!
2. Drive Realistic Schedule & Resource Needs
3. Secure Executive Involvement & All Resources
4. Execute & Communicate by Your Plan
5. Support Agile Retrospective Team Engagement
page 7
5 Steps to Agile Transformation Planning for Success

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● Schedule - Practice Agile: Work estimates should drive your Schedule
● Resources Needed - Executives up to CxO, Internal Customers, Staff
● Executive Involvement - Regular short Alignment Sessions
● Communications - Formal including Escalation, Informal Permission
● Ongoing Processes - To change habits you need 16 weeks of stability
Such as
○ High-Level Planning & Expectations, formal Estimate Acceptance,
Changes & New Stories go in Product Backlog, and Retrospectives
page 8
1. Plan Your Agile Transformation Like A Project!

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1. What to do…
Plan Your Agile Transformation Like A Project!
page 9
How to start a great Agile effort
On your mark!
Get set!
Go!
No, wait, let’s plan!!

10. © 2019
Our Research on Agile ‘Starting’
Important during Start
● Systems Thinking: Who are all the
stakeholders including those who authorize
projects through implementation and Ops?
● Goals: What is reasonable to expect in
terms of product and process?
● Engage: Involve Everyone with small tasks
and communication. This will really set new
process expectations and roles and
responsibilities.
page 10

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● Switching to Agile is a Business
Transformation Change Effort
● Not just Software or Tools
● Culture Change Needed
● Specific Communication Tasks
● People need time to Think, Act,
and Follow Up
● This will take time, there will be
Stallers and delays
page 11
2. Drive Realistic Schedule & Resource Needs

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2. What to do…
Drive Realistic Schedule & Resource Needs
page 12
How to drive your Agile transformation project forward!
Rolling Wave.
Adjust per Actuals.
Forecast Availability.
Plan on Training &
Coaching.

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● Sponsorship
-- but not just sponsorship…
○ Peer Influencing / Top of Mind
○ Continued Escalation & other support
○ Public Resource Alignment
○ Meeting Attendance
○ Discretionary Budget by Project Mgr
○ Steady Public Recognition to Teams
and other Stakeholders
○ How else can Exec’s help?
page 13
3. Secure Executive Involvement & All Resources

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● Communication
Management
should be ½ to ⅔
of the number of
tasks in your plan
page 14
4. Execute & Communicate by Your Plan
● Remember, you are not
managing a software, process
improvement or tools project,
you are managing a ‘Change
People’s way of Working and
Thinking’ project

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4. What to do…
Execute & Communicate by Your Plan
page 15
Communication is your Critical Success Factor
for your Transformation Project

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● Set Retrospectives from the start of
your project
● Adjust your plan tasks, processes,
and estimates every week and make
sure Executives approve publicly
● Set Expectations according to
Actuals (Velocity), not original plan
page 16
5. Support Agile Retrospective Team Engagement

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Build a great process for positive change!
5. What to do… Agile Retrospective
Team Engagement

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Our Research on Agile Retrospective
Team Engagement
What does NOT work
● Meeting after every Sprint to
‘discuss’ good and bad.
● Creating a Retrospective
document or meeting minutes
will all things good and bad.
(Hint: do the math for 2 week
Sprints, 25 teams, over a year,
yields 600 docs a year…)
What works
● Document Your Processes and
Templates - Every process
should have a document or
section…
● Edit Your Processes,
Templates and Product
Backlog - In your Retrospective
meetings! Update what you
control and add Backlog items
for the ones taking extra effort.
page 18

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Summary for
Agile Planning: 5 Steps to
Agile Transformation
Planning for Success

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