The document discusses how organizational dysfunctions can negatively impact software development projects and how adopting Agile practices can help alleviate these dysfunctions. It identifies common dysfunctions like lack of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. The document then examines each dysfunction in more detail and outlines how elements of the Agile framework like cross-functional teams, daily stand-ups, prioritized backlogs, and focus on working software can help address the underlying issues driving the dysfunctions. Adopting Agile is presented as a way to establish a new "social contract" that fosters greater collaboration, accountability and focus on results within teams.

1. Organizational Dysfunctions – Agile to the Rescue
Vinod Malhotra
Sr. Director, Misys
Agile India 2012 Conference
Feb 18, 2012
experience, solutions, results 1

2. It takes
Two to tango…
Three for politics to kick in…
A x-functional team for dysfunctions to breed…
And SW development is a team activity…
experience, solutions, results 2

3. Common Dysfunctions
Inattention to results Lack of accountability
Lack of trust
Us vs them
Poor communication
Groupthink
Cynicism
Lack of commitment
Personal agendas
Hiding bad news
Artificial harmony
Analysis paralysis Resistance to change
Not my problem
experience, solutions, results 3

4. Agile and Organizational Dysfunctions
Fix organizational dysfunctions first for successful Agile adoption
Or
Adopt Agile to help alleviate some of organizational dysfunctions?
experience, solutions, results 4

5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Inattention to
Results
Avoidance of
Accountability
Lack of Commitment
Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
experience, solutions, results 5

6. Absence of Trust
• Unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group*
• Manifestation
– Silos
– Us v/s them
– Information control and massaging
• Agile to the rescue
– Concept of team - breakdown of dev/test/business silos
– Face to face interactions
– Pair programming
– Inter-changeable roles – better appreciation for other functions
experience, solutions, results *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
6

7. Fear of Conflict
• Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and
passionate debate of ideas*
• Manifestation
– Superficial discussion
– Analysis/paralysis
– Bad news is suppressed
• Agile to the rescue
– Involvement of all team members in planning and estimation
– Time-boxed decision making
– Daily updates on progress and periodic retrospectives
Picture courtesy of: Moose on the Table by Jim Clemmer
experience, solutions, results *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
7

8. Lack of Commitment
• Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and
open debate, team members rarely, if ever, buy in and commit to
decisions*
• Manifestation
– Everything is high priority!
– Resistance to change
• Agile to the rescue
– Strong emphasis on team commitment – from sprint backlog to delivery
– Prioritized backlog helps with change management
experience, solutions, results *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
8

9. Avoidance of Accountability
• People often hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that
seem counterproductive to the good of the team
• Manifestation
– Lack of ownership
– Not my problem
– Schedule chicken
– Blame game
• Agile to the rescue
– Clearly defined product owner
– Focus on impediment removal than blame game
– Team accountability on sprint commitments
experience, solutions, results *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
9

10. Inattention to Results
• Team members put their individual needs above the collective goals
• Manifestation
– 90% done
– Process instead of results become the end goal
– Dashboards, checklists, reviews, blame-game decide the outcome
– Bad quality and usability of end product
• Agile to the rescue
– Focus on customer value and working software
– Clearly defined done criteria for sprints
– Working software is the primary measure of progress
experience, solutions, results 10

11. Agile – A new Social Contract!
experience, solutions, results 11

12. Questions?
experience, solutions, results 12