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Organizational alignment is the activity needed to ensure the systems and processes within the organization support the Agile/Scrum methodology and do not undermine it.

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Quick reference

Organizational Alignment

Organizational alignment is the activity needed to ensure the systems and processes within the organization support the Agile/Scrum methodology and do not undermine it.

When to Use Organizational Alignment

There will be a significant amount of organizational alignment activities when first implementing any Agile methodology. Once it is in place, there will still be a low level of activities to continuously improve the methodology and maintain organizational alignment.

Instructions

  • Any project management approach must leverage and work with other business processes. Since Agile/Scrum is often used for developing products and services, the business processes associated with system and product development must be aligned with Agile/Scrum in order for the project deliverables to be incorporated into the business.
    • Development processes such as Test Drive Design and Rapid Prototyping are often used within the Agile/Scrum methodology. However, Scrum Team members may need training in some of these practices.
    • Design documentation is often the deliverable part of an Agile/Scrum Story. The Scrum Team must have individuals who are trained in the applications and tools used to generate the design documentation.
    • Configuration management procedures are necessary for design and process control.  These procedures are often on a set calendar cycle and are viewed as a Roadblock by some Scrum Teams. The configuration management procedures may need to be updated to accommodate the timing of an Agile/Scrum Sprint.
  • Although management procedures may need to be updated in some cases to be compatible with Agile/Scrum, there is no reason for waiving or suspending Standards.
    • Safety and Security standards are still applicable.
    • Quality performance standards are still required from customers.
    • Compliance and regulatory standards must be followed for legal reasons.
    • Environmental standards also have legal implications in addition to cost implications.
  • Another management policy or procedure that often must be modified for Agile/Scrum teams is the approach used for bestowing rewards and recognition.
    • Agile/Scrum is team based environment, not individualistic.
    • Individual rewards or recognition create competition between Scrum Team members – therefore rewards and recognition is team based in Agile/Scrum.
  •  In Agile/Scrum the performance appraisal system shifts focus from the effort or seniority of the individual to the business impact of the project results.  Unless the project provides a measurable business impact, it doesn’t matter who the individual is or what the individual did.    
  • Some organizations place a high value on employee’s participation in activities that are outside their normal work assignments. During the Sprint, Scrum Team members are not able to participate in these other activities. The organization needs to support the Scrum Team members during the Sprint and not “punish” them for failing to participate in the outside activities during the Sprint.
  • An element of maintaining alignment is the ongoing evolution of business processes and procedures through the continuous improvement processes and systems.
  • Agile/Scrum processes enable continuous improvement through the Sprint Retrospective and the Backlog Refinement steps.
    • As the organization or market transforms, the Agile/Scrum methodology can adapt and the Product Backlog can reflect the new conditions.

 

Hints and Tips

  • Organizations do not stay static so this is an ongoing activity, don’t be surprised and don’t consider it a failure if you need to make modifications every few months.
  • Beware of initiatives within the business that change performance appraisal, rewards, recognition, or promotion that would undermine Scrum Team cohesiveness.
  • Once Agile/Scrum becomes part of the “culture” of the organization, organizational alignment becomes much easier.
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  • 00:04 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 Another aspect of managing the agile/scrum methodology is obtaining and
  • 00:10 maintaining organizational alignment with key agile/scrum principles.
  • 00:15 Let's start with a discussion of management processes or procedures, and
  • 00:19 the use of engineering standards.
  • 00:22 The business has many management procedures and
  • 00:24 practices that are not impacted by agile/scrum methodology,
  • 00:28 things like hiring and firing practices, or financial reporting procedures.
  • 00:32 But in the area of development, there's some practices we do need to talk about.
  • 00:36 First, there are some practices that readily lend themselves to the agile/scrum
  • 00:40 methodology, and if not already in use, should be considered for
  • 00:43 incorporating into the business.
  • 00:45 These include test-driven design and rapid prototyping.
  • 00:49 Second, there are some management procedures and practices, such as
  • 00:52 design documentation and configuration management, that are important procedures,
  • 00:56 but could be major roadblocks if the process forces the scrum team
  • 01:00 Into a traditional approach with extensive submittals, reviews, and approval cycles.
  • 01:06 They can be modified to be compatible with the agile/scrum methodology, but
  • 01:10 it will likely require a process change.
  • 01:13 Let's contrast that with the engineering standards.
  • 01:16 By that I mean internal, customer, or industry standards that are things such as
  • 01:20 safety, security, quality processes, environmental, or compliance documents.
  • 01:25 These are not something that we would ever consider changing because of agile/scrum.
  • 01:30 The teammates suggest that they are road blocks.
  • 01:32 They are not, rather, they're a business constraint that must be accommodated.
  • 01:37 We are not going to relax safety, security,
  • 01:39 or environmental standards just because we find them to be inconvenient.
  • 01:44 An area that is a huge cultural difference for some companies, and requires
  • 01:48 a realignment of organizational practices is that of rewards and recognition.
  • 01:53 First, let me explain why.
  • 01:55 In some companies, there is no reward or recognition for
  • 01:58 anything other than seniority and professional certifications.
  • 02:02 This doesn't work for agile, because agile rewards performance, not status.
  • 02:07 Second, in some companies, the rewards and
  • 02:10 recognition are a competition between individuals.
  • 02:13 For one person to be rewarded, they must beat someone else.
  • 02:17 Again, this doesn't work for agile, because the whole team is accountable, and
  • 02:21 the team succeeds or fails as a team, not by pitting teammates against teammates.
  • 02:27 So agile may force a cultural change on the organization in the areas of rewards
  • 02:32 and recognition.
  • 02:33 When that is the case, there will be a challenge implementing agile.
  • 02:38 So in an agile/scrum project, the sprint demo and
  • 02:40 retrospective are the performance appraisal.
  • 02:43 That is where the project results are evaluated, and
  • 02:45 the project team performance is assessed.
  • 02:47 There's no other performance goals or management objectives for
  • 02:51 the scrum team members.
  • 02:53 The rewards are team-based.
  • 02:55 Remember, it was a self-organizing team that decided how best to use their
  • 02:59 collective talents.
  • 03:00 The entire scrum team was responsible for the sprint backlog.
  • 03:04 One team member can't sit back and say, well, I did my job.
  • 03:07 That person is the one who let us down.
  • 03:09 It's all for one and one for all.
  • 03:12 Generally, the team's performance is measured against the product performance.
  • 03:16 Since the sprint is timeboxed, schedule performance is not an issue.
  • 03:19 And since the scrum team membership is fixed before the sprint,
  • 03:23 the team doesn't really control any major project costs.
  • 03:27 That addressed the rewards and recognition for the team,
  • 03:29 with respect to the agile/scrum project.
  • 03:32 But what about with respect to things that are not part of the project?
  • 03:35 For instance, some organizations go out of their way to recognize people who
  • 03:39 are in various volunteer activities or corporate initiatives.
  • 03:42 It's fine to recognize those individuals, but don't punish a scrum team member for
  • 03:47 not participating if they were full-time dedicated to a sprint.
  • 03:53 A key element for maintaining organizational alignment
  • 03:55 is the organization's approach to continuous improvement.
  • 03:59 In today's business environment,
  • 04:01 most companies have an active continuous improvement program.
  • 04:04 The business environment, both internal and external, are changing so
  • 04:08 fast that the companies must have processes for identifying issues and
  • 04:11 upgrading the business practices.
  • 04:14 These changes could be market or customer-based,
  • 04:17 like the recent focus on customer experience and customer value creation.
  • 04:22 The changes could be due to regulatory changes.
  • 04:24 Countries around the world are constantly changing their business requirements.
  • 04:28 And the changes could be internal strengths and weaknesses due to mergers or
  • 04:32 acquisitions, and new products or processes.
  • 04:36 Add to that many companies are regularly trying to improve their
  • 04:38 business management practices.
  • 04:40 In fact, the implementation of agile/scrum may be one of these improvements.
  • 04:45 As the new processes and procedures come online,
  • 04:48 there is often a ripple effect into other management processes and procedures.
  • 04:52 We see this with the roadblocks due to organizational constraints.
  • 04:55 These issues don't exist until the agile/scrum methodology arrives on
  • 04:59 the scene, which gets us to how we do the continuous improvement.
  • 05:03 The keys here are the sprint refinement and the sprint retrospective.
  • 05:07 The sprint refinement is where the project can quickly react to changing market or
  • 05:12 business conditions.
  • 05:13 The backlog is updated, and within a few weeks the project is redirected.
  • 05:18 This leads to a continuous improvement in the product definition.
  • 05:22 The sprint retrospective can be used to highlight the areas in the business that
  • 05:25 need to be upgraded.
  • 05:27 A roadblock is a good place to start.
  • 05:29 Was it a one-time problem, or
  • 05:31 is it a systemic problem that is likely to be present on other projects?
  • 05:35 A systemic is a great candidate for continuous improvement.
  • 05:40 A principle in agile was to be adaptable.
  • 05:43 Now, that works in our favor for organizational alignment.
  • 05:46 We can work with the organization to help them became more agile and
  • 05:50 stay adaptable in the current business conditions.
  • 05:53 But keep in mind, organizational alignment can also imply cultural change,
  • 05:59 which takes a long time to achieve.

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