The Quest for agility

What do organisations need ?

Organizations require numerous elements, but primarily, they seek to meet their short-term and long-term goals, striving for financial stability and growth, customer satisfaction and loyalty, market leadership and competitive adavntage, operational efficiency and effectiveness, employee engagement and development and adaptability and resilience. This underlines the significance of projects and programs, which are essential in accomplishing these objectives.

So, why do we spend valuable time focusing on less critical matters, like the endless quest for a universal framework that is supposedly effective in all situations? Fortunately, there are some promising new perspectives emerging, though one might wonder if these are simply old ideas being rediscovered.

It's crucial that we don't allow project leadership to fall into the hands of gurus, dogmatic leaders, and those driven solely by profit. Their primary interest often lies in financial gain, not the true success of the projects.

Agile and the erosion of trust

In recent years, there has been growing skepticism and disillusionment among practitioners and organizations. This shift in perception is largely attributed to the exploitation of Agile values, principles and frameworks by certain individuals and groups for personal gain, rather than adhering to their core principles.

The Erosion of Trust

1.Commercialization and Misrepresentation

2.Dogmatism and Rigid Interpretations

3.Exploitation and Conmen

What mindset and skills are required ?

Currently, a growing number of professionals are recognizing that a universal approach isn't feasible. They understand that strategies should be tailored to the specific nature of the project, the team involved, and the organizational environment.

What, then, do organizations truly require?

From my perspective, I believe they need individuals, capable of achieving results that propel the organization towards both its immediate and long-term objectives, thereby ensuring competitiveness, sustainability, and innovation. This calls for practitioners, not theorists – individuals who are adaptable, rely on their experiences, and are willing to blend best practices while looking beyond standard frameworks. These are people who grasp the organizational context, comprehend customer needs, and are ready to tackle various challenges.

What about the roles and responsibilities ?

A good project leader is often characterized by a balanced blend of solid project management knowledge and a thorough understanding of agile practices and principles. This combination equips them with the necessary skills and insights to navigate the complexities of modern projects effectively.

Also the project managers were blinded by methodologies and didn't look further. The agile principles and practices hopefully have openend their eyes, so they are open to reflect and learn new practices also to become stronger to cope with difficult challenges.

Retrospective ?

What about the Scrum Master role?

I think it can remain. Knowing that a Scrum master's role isn't necessary for a long time, I would recommend that the scrum master guides and coaches the team members, the product owner and the project manager. When the scrum master believes that the team is mature enough to work without a scrum master, the scrum master can start with a new team.

What about the Product owner's role?

Also here, it can remain. A project manager has other interests than a product owner/manager, so we need a role that thinks about the direction of the product in the market and challenges the project manager.