Understanding where you are as an organization and where you want to go is essential to transformation. Understanding that creating the conditions for teams, backlogs, and working tested product to exist is the real work of the transformation is critical. The next most important aspect of transformation is being able to demonstrate progress through tangible metrics that will resonate with executives. Often, Agilists rely too heavily on things that don’t demonstrate real business value. They’ll point to the number of people who have undergone training or team morale as indicators that the tra ..read more

Agile is really about designing a System of Delivery that can produce the business results that matter to your executives and key stakeholders. But, in most large organizations, there are a ton of underlying issues that end up getting in the way. And a cultural shift in mindset or an even more dogmatic approach to Agile practices aren’t going to fix the organizational impediments that prevent organizations from adopting Agile and establishing a high-performing System of Delivery. The Elements of a System of Delivery First, let’s take a look at what a System of Delivery needs to have to be su ..read more

Not every agile transformation looks the same. To ensure that your transformation is heading in the right direction, you must first understand the value system of your business and the demands of the markets you serve. This understanding will enable your organization to tailor the methodology to meet your specific business needs and ensure that you deliver valuable increments of working-tested products into the market. Predictability vs Adaptability First, let’s look at your company’s value system. I know it might be a hard pill to swallow for many Agilists, but not all companies value respo ..read more

We’re back with an all-new episode of SoundNotes where we discuss the nature of products. What are they? How are they different from services and experiences? And does it really even matter? Watch this week’s spirited conversation to see how we’re thinking about and defining products, and discover how your organization might be spinning its wheels by even having the debate. Want to Listen Instead? LeadingAgile · Product Development: Using Systems Thinking to Achieve Better Business Outcomes Contacting Mary Lloyd If you’d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at: LeadingAgile: www.leadinga ..read more

A big part of becoming a truly product-driven organization is getting better at understanding the needs of your customers, and improving your products to meet their needs. In this video, Mary, Dave, and Lance take on the topic of customer journey mapping and show you how this tool can help you align around the needs of your customer. They’ll explain how this technique can identify the customer experience and put specific actions in place to court correct and wee out any of the negative experiences customers are having with your product. Want to Listen Instead? LeadingAgile · How to Align Yo ..read more

In this third installment of our value stream mapping series, Mary shows Lance and Dave how to apply the technique of value stream mapping to your business architecture and capabilities so that you can make more informed, intentional, data-driven decisions to improve your business. Want to Listen Instead? LeadingAgile · Using Value Stream Maps to Identify Improvement Opportunities Contacting Mary Lloyd If you’d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at: LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloyd/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-lawson-lloyd/ Email: mary.lloyd@leadingagile.com ..read more

Nobody sets out to adopt agile just to adopt agile. Companies invest in agile because they think it will help them solve a business problem. They hope Agile will help the delivery teams work more efficiently, decrease defects, or provide a more collaborative working environment. But many times, when the rubber meets the road, agile gets relegated to another thing the teams do. It’s seen merely as a set of practices, ceremonies, and artifacts that improve team cohesion and morale and provide local improvements to things like throughput and velocity. Still, agile often doesn’t make the big spl ..read more

Dave Prior is back again with Lance Kind and Mary Lloyd to talk about value stream mapping. In the last installment of this miniseries, the team gave a high-level introduction into what a value stream map is and why they’re important. On today’s episode of SoundNotes, they discuss how use value stream mapping to demonstrate the economic benefit of reducing waste in the system. Want to Listen Instead? LeadingAgile · Quantifying Waste Reduction Using Value Stream Maps Contacting Mary Lloyd If you’d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at: LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloy ..read more

Dave Prior sits down with LeadingAgile consultants Mary Lloyd and Lance Kind to discuss value stream mapping. What is it?  Why use it at all? And when should you use this technique? Together, they answer these questions, dig into an example of value stream mapping, and explore some use cases for the technique. Want to Listen Instead? LeadingAgile · An Introduction to Value Stream Mapping Contacting Mary Lloyd If you’d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at: LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloyd/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-lawson-lloyd/ Email: mary.lloyd@leadi ..read more

We’re going on record to tell you that dependencies will be your biggest challenge along your Agile Transformation journey. Dependencies reach far beyond the delivery teams and have most likely taken root in all aspects of the business. Your organization probably looks something like the picture below. When you try to apply Agile in an organization that looks like this, it creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for the people in the organization because these dependencies are incongruent with what Agile teaches. So, people resist the change, and you start breaking Agile to fit your current s ..read more