The document presents a roadmap for agile adoption, emphasizing the transition to agile methods over traditional project management, which is critiqued for its limitations in fostering continuous value delivery. Key recommendations include establishing cross-functional teams, obtaining stakeholder feedback, and ensuring organizational commitment to agile principles. The guidance is informed by a 2012 GAO study across multiple government agencies, highlighting the importance of patience, continuous improvement, and adapting contracts and oversight requirements to support agile practices.

1. The Agile Adoption
Roadmap
Presented by Tim Abbott

2. Agile Adoption Roadmap Agenda
AA Ground
Rules
GAO
Guidance
Why No
Projects
GAO AA
Issues
Discussion

3. Agile Adoption Ground Rules and General Advice
Some initial guidance will help as guiding principles to keep everyone focused and grounded
DON’TDO
Use big name consultants with
no Agile adoption experience
Hide the goal or information
Use component or
functional teams
Command and control what
happens
Use projects to manage
delivery
Embrace Learning and
experimentation
Coaching is critical
Organize by cross
functional feature teams
Be extremely patent
Train the teams,
management, and executives
j

4. Using Projects for Long Term Technology Products is Wrong
• Projects assume we know the answer at the beginning
• Projects have a specified end date with a fixed scope
• Project teams are temporary, when we know that team
development improves over time (forming, storming,
norming, performing)
• Projects are successful if they are on time and on budget
without thinking about value captured from the projects
• We know less at the beginning of product development than
we know at any other time after that
• Products and services prove their viability by solving real
world problems
• We need to track and measure outcomes, not completion
• The world is changing rapidly and the ability to maintain
value to customers by changing is a strength, not a
weakness
THE DREAM THE REALITY
“It’s not just semantics. If you need to start a project, you’ve probably already failed.”
Agile is for long term technology products that provide increased benefit over their lifetimes

5. Why Projects are Bad for Continuous Value Delivery
Future state not
known
Imagine needing
to maintain project
artifacts for all of
these versions,
releases, etc.
Technology has releases that capture additional value that is not known at the beginning

6. Why Projects are Bad for Continuous Value Delivery
Traditional Project Management forces organizations to know at the beginning guaranteeing waterfall execution

7. Effective Practices and Federal Challenges in Applying Agile
MethodsAgile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies
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Start with Agile guidance and an
Agile adoption strategy
Enhance migration to Agile
concepts
using agile terms
Continuously improve Agile adoption
at both the product level and
organization
level
Seek to identify and address
impediments
at the organization and product levels
Obtain stakeholder/customer
feedback frequently
Empower small, cross-functional teams
Include requirements related to
security and progress monitoring in
the backlog of unfinished work
Gain trust by demonstrating value
at the end of each iteration
(delivery kills negativity)
Track progress daily and
visibly
Track progress using tools
and (outcome-based)
metrics

8. Strategic Planning Recommendations from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies
Gradually Adopt Agile
Allow for gradual migration to Agile
appropriate to your readiness
Benchmark Others
Observe and communicate with other
organizations moving to Agile
methods
Use Change Methods
Follow organizational change disciplines,
such as establishing a sense of urgency and
developing a change vision
Be Agile
Strive to be more Agile, rather than
simply following Agile methods and
steps. Change your mindset
Agile Guidance
Start with Agile guidance and an
Agile adoption strategy
Be Patient
Be prepared for difficulties,
regression, and negative attitudes
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9. Organizational Commitment Recommendations from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies
Ensure all teams include
coaches or staff with Agile
experience
Identify an Agile
champion within senior
management
Empower small, cross-
functional teams
Ensure everyone involved in
Agile projects are committed
to the organization’s Agile
approach
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10. Preparation Recommendations from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies
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Make contracts flexible to
accommodate your Agile
approach
Ensure that the definition of how a
requirement will be determined to be
done is comprehensive and objective
Negotiate to adjust oversight
requirements to a more Agile
approach
Identify measurable outcomes, not outputs of what you
want to achieve
Train the entire organization in your Agile approach and
mindset, and train the Agile practitioners in your Agile
methods
Ensure the subject matter experts and
business team members have the
required knowledge
Enhance migration to Agile
concepts using Agile terms and
examples
Create a physical environment conducive to
collaboration

11. Execution Recommendations from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies
Use the same duration for
each iteration
Test early and often throughout
the iteration
Expedite delivery using automated
tools
Capture iteration defects in a tool
such as a backlog
Combine Agile frameworks such as
Scrum and Extreme Programming
Enhance early customer
involvement
Use emergent design methods and
Test Driven Development
Include requirements related to security and
progress monitoring in the product backlog
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12. Continuously improve Agile
adoption at both the project level
and organizational level
Gain trust by demonstrating
value at the end of each iteration
Track progress using tools and
metrics
Obtain stakeholder / customer
feedback frequently and closely
Seek to identify and address
impediments at the organization and
project levels
Track progress daily and visibly
Determine project value based on
customer perception and return on
investment
Evaluation Recommendations from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies

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Teams had difficulty collaborating closely
Teams had difficulty transitioning to self-directed work
Staff had difficulty committing to more timely and frequent
input
Agencies had trouble committing staff
Timely adoption of new tools was difficult
Technical environments were difficult to establish and
maintain
Agile guidance was not clear
Procurement practices may not support agile projects
Customers did not trust iterative solutions
Teams had difficulty managing iterative requirements
Compliance reviews were difficult to execute within
time frame
Federal reporting practices do not align with Agile
Traditional artifact reviews do not align with Agile
Traditional status tracking does not align with Agile
Challenges Noticed During Agile Adoption from GAO
Agile Guidance Advice from US Government Accountability Office 2012 Study Across 5 Government Agencies

14. Product
Process
People
Customer Centricity
Adapt it to your needs and capture
your audience's attention.
Service / Business Model
Product business and service
models need constant refinement
Agility
The ability to rapidly change
directions to capture much higher
value opportunities
Measurable Outcomes
We want outcomes, not output that
doesn’t add value
Learning and Development
Assess, train, challenge, and grow your
people so they can be exceptional
Attitude and Mindset
Adaptive and collaborative people
that work hard and strive to learn to
improve, generally achieve more
Compensation & Rewards
Adapt it to your needs and capture
your audience's attention.
Reboot Traditional Processes
HR, Legal, Audit, Finance, and Procurement
(governance) will need to adjust
Continuous Improvement
We’re never perfect or done
improving and neither is our Agility
Agile Adoption Perfection Goal for Continuous Improvement
Every aspect of an organization should improve the more Agile the organization becomes