Introduction to Agile change agent

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Training & certification
Agile

2apmg-international.com
A 2-3 day training course and certification designed to build
practical ability in agile and change to support effective
transformation and change initiatives.
Single-level exam & certification available.

Agile Change
Management
Core guidance / publication
Authored by renowned Agile
& Change Management expert
Melanie Franklin
Approved Training
Accredited by APMG to
offer Agile CA training services
Certification
Agile Change Agent
Syllabus & exams
developed by APMG

Contents
Introduction ---------------------------------------------------- 5-6
Agile: a bit of background ---------------------------------- 7-13
Change Management: a bit of background ------------- 14-19
Agile Change Agent training & certification:
– Background and course details ---------------------- 20-23
– Supporting publication ---------------------------------- 24-28
– Course content ---------------------------------------- 29-35
– Benefits & learning outcomes ---------------------- 36-38
– Target audience ---------------------------------------- 39-41
– Syllabus, exam & accredited training ---------------- 42-44

Introduction
Agile approaches are increasingly adopted by organizations as they recognise the
need to respond quickly and easily in a world of complex and continuous change
Organizations across all sectors and industries are increasingly recognising the
importance of change management
To get the most out of Agile and change, practitioners require key knowledge, skills
& ability
For those responsible managing change (e.g. project managers / change
managers), professional development opportunities are readily available and
relatively easy to identify
But what about wider team members involved in ‘making change happen’?
– They don’t necessarily need a full project/change manager qualification, and
managing/implementing change isn’t necessarily their day job
– But they do need to understand the impact of Agile working and the effects of change so
they’re better prepared to support the implementation of Agile and change, supporting those
leading initiatives and those impacted
– Professional development opportunities are not so easy to identify

Definitions
Agile
1. able to move quickly and
easily.
2. relating to or denoting a
method of project
management, used especially
for software development,
that is characterized by the
division of tasks into short
phases of work and frequent
reassessment and adaptation
of plans.
Change Management
1. the management of change
and development within a
business or similar
organization.
2. the controlled identification
and implementation of
required changes within a
computer system.

Agile
Increasingly adopted by organizations that recognise the need to respond
quickly and easily to new opportunities.
An agile approach enables businesses to become or remain fit for purpose
in a world of complex and continuous change.
Agile concepts originated in IT and software development (see next slide
for the Agile Manifesto)
Increasingly adopted in all areas of business as leaders recognize the
benefits of agile and flexible approaches to management, projects and
development
Agile approaches can result in more and faster change which naturally has
an impact on those responsible for change, and of course those impacted
by change

The Agile Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and
helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right,
we value the items on the left more.

An incremental approach, delivering
value early and regularly.
The empowerment of people at the right
levels, to make decisions on detail.
The acceptance that we cannot know all
of the detail at the outset and that we
will inevitably learn more as work
progresses.
The collaborative working and
involvement of people with the right
skills, including those of the customer
and end-users of the product being
produced.
The definition of the fine detail only just
before we need it, to avoid the waste of
trying to predict too early.
Some key Agile principles……

The benefits of Agile
 Improved revenue and speed to market: the
Agile philosophy supports the notion of early
and regular releases, enabling benefits to be
realised early as the solution continues to
develop.
 Increased collaboration and customer
satisfaction: the continuous involvement of a
user representative and/or product owner, high
visibility of the solution and progress, and the
flexibility to change when change is needed,
create much better business engagement and
customer satisfaction.
 The right product/solution: traditional approaches typically require detailed specifications during
the start-up phase. As all deliverables are based upon documented requirements, the client may not
see the final solution until it’s almost finished. At this stage, changes can be difficult (and costly) to
implement. Agile, in contrast, advocates a high-level plan at the start of the project whilst
encouraging change and flexibility though incremental development cycles, helping to ensure that
what’s delivered at the end of the project is current, fit for purpose and satisfies the client/business.

"While 95% of the respondents said their
organisations practice agile, only 1% of
the 3,880 respondents said their agile
implementation was unsuccessful."
“The top three benefits of adopting agile
have remained steady for the past five
years: manage changing priorities (87%),
team productivity (85%), and project
visibility (84%).”
VersionOne “State of Agile” report
http://www.agile247.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/VersionOne-
10th-Annual-State-of-Agile-Report.pdf

 “Using agile, organizations can respond to market changes
faster, deliver higher quality software, and gain a significant
competitive edge.”
 “The benefits of agile software development are real, especially
for companies looking to accelerate time to market and move
quickly into the digital economy.”
 “Agile offers benefits in several areas, as many companies report
that agile increases software quality and team productivity while
lowering costs and time to market. In fact, according to a recent
PwC survey, companies that use agile processes in any capacity
are twice as likely to be top performers.”
 “From agile software development to agile as a business model,
organizations in the digital economy realize that agile is a
standard for success moving forward.”
Agile Practice: The Competitive Advantage for a Digital Age
Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/sponsored/2016/04/agile-practice-the-competitive-advantage-for-a-digital-age

What is Change Management?
The discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals to
successfully adopt change.
Provides a structured approach for supporting individuals and teams to
move from a current to future state.
Gaining increasing recognition as a profession with growing demand for
qualified & experienced change practitioners, managers & leaders.
Organizations have started paying more attention to the discipline in recent
years, building stronger internal capability to better facilitate increasing
levels of change.
It’s vital, therefore, that those involved in implementing change have the
ability to develop their capabilities.

Why Change Management?
Change is inevitable. For many organizations, change can be regular.
Dealing with change and, more importantly, the impact of change is a high
priority for all organizations.
The current business climate demands high frequency change for
businesses to evolve, remain relevant & competitive, or even survive.
Today’s IT and digital climate is a major driver for change; organizations
can quickly get left behind if they fail to embrace new technology,
developments and ways of working.
While all changes and individuals are unique, there are actions we can
take to guide and influence others before, during and after change.

Vital alongside Project Management
Projects introduce change (new systems, new products, new ways of
working).
Such projects typically require changes; changes to processes, job roles,
organizational structures and types & uses of technology.
Change Management is the process by which we ensure these new
systems/products/ways of working are adopted, and stakeholders
appropriately engaged, supported & informed.
If people are unsuccessful in the personal transitions, and they don’t
embrace and learn a new way of working, an initiative is likely to fail.
Project failure rates remain alarmingly high; a major reason is the failure to
effectively engage with and support those affected by change (customers,
partners, employees).

Why change can fail….
Initiative not aligned to business objectives
Resistance from various stakeholders
Lack of engagement, information and support
Insufficient skills and personnel to effectively plan and
implement change

TRAINING & CERTIFICATION

Increasingly adopted by organizations that recognize the need to respond quickly
and easily to new opportunities, agile approaches have a significant impact on
how change is managed and implemented.
The impact goes well beyond those responsible for leading change initiatives.
Teams and individuals from across the business – whether actively involved in
and/or impacted by change – need to understand the new operating environment
and how they can contribute effectively.
The objective of many organisations is to get the business on board with Agile
ways of working, understand the practicalities of working in an Agile way. Those
in the Agile community are keen for the business to understand how they work
and to understand the broad concepts of Agile.
Background

Current APMG courses/qualifications (AgilePM® and Change Management) are designed
for those taking specific responsibility for a project/change initiative.
This qualification widens the field, providing an entry into the world of Agile and change for
all those in the business who are impacted, but whose day job continues to be a
“business as usual” role.
Designed to appeal to a broader audience, beyond those that identify as a Change or
Project Manager
– Provides practical understanding for managers and staff
– Entry for those who know about Agile but want to know about Change
– Entry for those who know about Change but want to know about Agile
Designed to bridge the gap between those that have studied the formal theories, models
and methodologies of Agile project management and/or change management, and those
who are looking for the practical application of effective agile and change management
techniques.
About the course & certification

Developed to address the increasing demand for those within organizations to understand
agile working and its role in successfully implementing and adopting change.
Not based on IT-driven change; suitable for all types of change.
Emphasis is on building capability using pre-prepared checklists, questionnaires and
models that can be tailored to specific change scenarios.
Assumes no prior knowledge, but if candidates have prior knowledge, care has been
taken to ensure that what they learn enhances - not contradicts - what they know already.
About the course & certification

Supporting publication
Agile Change Management
A practical framework for
successful change planning
and implementation

Provides a practical framework for successful
change planning and implementation
A comprehensive resource for anyone who wants
to build the capabilities of an effective change
manager written in an easy-to-follow style.
Offers pioneering tools to ensure change
initiatives are embedded, adopted and deliver
benefits throughout the organization.
Using examples and best-practice advice, it
enables the creation of an effective roadmap to
manage any type of change initiative in an agile
way.

Enables responding to different needs as they arise,
reducing time spent on planning for unnecessary
resources.
Enables individuals and organizations to:
– Manage change for both large-scale
transformation and micro-level business change
projects
– Create a change that is lean and flexible
– Realize benefits earlier on in the process
– Build strong relationships with a variety of
stakeholders
More info and a selection of free supporting resources available at.
www.koganpage.com/agilechangemanagement

Chapter 1: Concept
Explaining agile working
Evolving solution
Business need
Iterative process
Iterative development
Collaboration
Agile Change Management:
what’s in the book?
Chapter 2: Principles
Five guiding principles
Chapter 3: Roadmap
Introduction
Developing a roadmap
Considerations for use
Using the roadmap
Applying the roadmap to your change
Iteration 1
Iteration 2 and subsequent iterations

Chapter 4: Business need
What is business need?
Assigning information to type
Bringing the elements of business need together
Aligning business need to the roadmap
Developing your business understanding
Understanding who to involve
Generating information about the change
Identifying requirements and acceptance criteria
Agile Change Management:
what’s in the book?
Chapter 5: Relationship building
Understand yourself before understanding others
Personal awareness
Personal leadership
Building relationships with others
Who to build a relationship with
Steps in building relationships
Chapter 6: Environment
Setting the scene
Environment needs to provide reassurance
Environment needs to provide encouragement
Building a sustaining environment
Environment needs to provide motivation
Appendices
Appendix 1: Change roles
Appendix 2: Change management documents
Appendix 3: Communication activities
Appendix 4: Change activity index
Appendix 5: Change capabilities index

Based on the publication: “Agile Change Management: A practical framework for
successful change planning and implementation”
– Offers practical guidance on planning and delivering change using Agile principles of
incremental and iterative delivery
Developed to address the increasing demand for those within organizations to
understand agile working and its role in successfully implementing and adopting
change.
Course is divided in to 4 parts, reflecting chapters in the book:
– Concept and Roadmap
– Business Need
– Relationship Building
– Environment
Supports existing Agile/Change courses & certifications
Course content

Provides insight into how to plan and manage all the activities needed to design,
deliver and adopt change in an Agile way.
As well as the structural techniques for creating the plan and prioritising the work,
this course includes techniques for the people side of change. We look at ways to
build productive, respectful relationships with those we need to persuade to work
differently.
Course is focused on practical ability and application, rather than lots of theory on
theories, frameworks and methodologies.
– Less academic emphasis; suitable for all levels of ability
Very practical, fun & engaging course; lots of activities & collaboration
– Focus is on learning HOW to do things, not just WHAT you need to know
Course content

Concept and Roadmap
Business Need
Relationship Building
Environment
About the course: four parts

The roadmap is a simple yet effective mechanism for defining how and when work will be completed.
It is a flexible set of activities that can be applied to any type of change. It divides all the work into two
phases: set-up; evolving solution.
The phases are called iterations, reflecting the repeatable, agile nature of our work, creating some
change and seeking out feedback before deciding what to do next.
You will have a chance to create the contents for Iteration 1 – establishing your change. You will
define the information you need to manage your own change initiative and understand how the
techniques from other sections of the course contribute to this content.
In Iteration 2 you will be shown a plan you can use for each wave of your change and the factors to
consider when working out how many waves are needed i.e. how many iterations of change you are
going to deliver.
About the course: Concept and Roadmap

This section makes the connection between understanding the benefits of the initiative and creating
the motivation to become involved. There are questionnaires and checklists to help you consider your
change from different perspectives, drawing out a wide range of benefits, relevant to all those
impacted by your change.
You will develop your own map of benefits, categorising them and considering how strongly these will
be felt in the business areas most impacted by your change. You will have the chance to assess your
own motivation making the change happen and identify ways in which you can strengthen the
support for your change.
About the course: Business Need

This is a section all about you. Through games, checklists and questionnaires you will identify how
you prefer to work, using this to consider how others might have a different perspective. Use this
knowledge to plot how you engage with others including what information you share, how you share it
and what opportunities you give to others to make change happen.
You will create a “Community Map” identifying all the key relationships you need to build and their
links with each other. If you have studied Stakeholder Management, you can use your knowledge for
this work, but the emphasis is new because this course examines how to build these effective
relationships, by understanding how you appear to others and how others want to engage with you.
About the course: Relationship Building

In this section, the term environment is used to describe the culture you create, based on how you
work. You are given insight into the latest thinking on the impact of positive psychology, and the steps
needed to create an atmosphere that builds empathy with those impacted by change. There are
checklists to consider how to build your own resilience to keep going when you experience push
back, and ideas for creating motivation that inspires everyone to take personal responsibility for
making the change happen.
You will use your understanding of this resilience to plan your communications with all those in your
community impacted by your change. You will be given guidance for how to use conversations, active
listening and feedback to provide reassurance, encouragement and motivation.
About the course: Environment

Benefits
 Become an agent for change in an Agile environment!
 Understand how agile approaches impact the way change is managed and delivered,
and the impact on those involved in and affected by change.
 Create a roadmap consisting of all processes, activities and information needed to
manage a change initiative in an agile way.
 Apply techniques to identify the benefits of your change and how each of these benefits
are dependent on each other.
 Make decisions about how to allocate the available time to deliver greatest value.
 Understand how to prioritise activities according to their business value.
 Define the information you need to manage your change initiative.

Benefits
 Benefit from a toolkit of checklists, techniques and dashboards so you can start
managing your change projects using what you have learnt from the moment you leave
the course.
 Understand who you need to involve and how to best engage with them through
empathy and trust
 Identify your preferences for how you do your work and how this might impact those
you are working with.
 Develop strategies for building resilience in motivation in yourself and others.
 Provides an understanding of and the theory behind Agile and effective change
management
 Facilitate effective interaction with project/change teams

Learning outcomes
Successful candidates should, as a minimum, be able to recall, recognize and demonstrate
understanding of the Roadmap, Business need, Relationship building and Environment concepts
outlined in the text, including terms used and process steps.
Specifically (s)he should be able to:
 Roadmap: explain the processes, activities and information needed to plan and manage any
type of change initiative.
 Business need: understand what business value really means and how to acquire the
information to ensure your change is making a beneficial contribution.
 Building relationships: understand how to build trust and develop supportive relationships
between all those impacted by change.
 Creating the environment for change: explain how to establish a supportive environment
that motivates people to participate in change.

This course will benefit anyone who has to plan, manage and participate in
creating change at work. The course doesn't assume any prior knowledge of
change management or agile approaches so is suitable for all.
If you have knowledge of these areas the course will explain how what you
already know fits into the structure of an effective change initiative whilst at the
same time developing new skills and abilities. If you have a background in
project management or business analysis this course will enable you to see
where you fit into the wider community of change and where you can best
apply your skills.
Training and certification will be particularly beneficial to those participating in
Agile or transformational change, but aren’t necessarily responsible for leading
it.
Who is it for?

The course does not assume that you are in overall charge of projects /
change initiatives, but recognizes you are part of a team tasked with creating
and successfully embedding new ways of working.
The course and certification are relevant if:
 You are responsible for the creation of new ways of working as a result of a
project investment.
 You are in a change management role, where you are identifying what
needs to be done by those who are going to have to work differently
 You have been selected as a “change agent” or “change champion” to
create the new ways of working.
Who is it for?

Target Audience
Change Leaders
(e.g. Senior Responsible Owners)
Change Implementers
(e.g. Project / Programme /
Change Managers)
Operational Line Managers/Staff
would also benefit from a higher
level of understanding
Change Support
(e.g. Programme Office)
Change ‘Agents’
(e.g. Business Change Managers)
Course and certification are designed
for any individuals involved in change
planning and implementation and
require a working knowledge of the key
principles of Agile and Change
Management.

5 reasons to attend
Add a qualification to your CV that evidences you
have skills in Agile and Change Management - two of
the hottest topics for recruiters.
Develop an ability to create change management
plans for Agile change, where change is achieved
through the frequent implementations of new ways of
working.
Practice techniques under the supervision of an
experienced Change Manager and learn from the
examples of everyone else on the course.
Be able to analyze, prioritize and schedule ideas
according to their business value using the popular
and effective technique of the Benefits Dependency
Network.
Get inspired by lots of techniques, checklists and
questionnaires so you can run workshops that help
your colleagues design new ways of working.
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Agile Change Agent syllabus
Four key areas:-
– Roadmap
– Business Need
– Relationship Building
– Environment for Change

Exam
Agile Change Agent
Multiple-choice format
50 questions
50% pass mark (25/50)
40 minutes
Closed-book
No pre-requisites

Available via Training Byte Size Ltd
We offer a range of course options
– Public / in-house
– Tutor-lead, blended or fully online
APMG accredited processes, courseware and trainers.
Recommended learning option
Accredited training

Find out more….
https://www.trainingbytesize.com
learning@trainingbytesize.com
+44 (0)1270 626330

Introduction to Agile change agent

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