WHAT WILL AGILE MEAN TO YOU? Agile development is becoming increasingly popular in both public and private organisations – and many have an ambition to become even more agile. But what does it really mean, and what will it entail for you in your role as middle manager? The role of middle manager is not immediately apparent in the agile world. So does that mean that you have to start looking for a new job? No – the middle manager is more important than ever – however, the role is completely different and will require a change in both actions and mindset. WHAT DOES AGILE MEAN? The concept of “agile” originates in agile development in the IT business where focus is on splitting the software development up into smaller chunks and making so-called incremental value creation. This means that you analyse, design, develop and test small chunks of software that are completed and tested. This offers a number of advantages such as reduction of risk and complexity, a sense of achievement, quick test on the market, ability to make adjustments on the go, etc. These are advantages that are not only desired in the IT industry, which is why this approach has become popular across industries. If you simply replace the word software with solution, you will see that the concept can be transferred almost 1:1 to any other business context, in particular in a time when speed and complexity in our societies are only increasing. We are probably all feeling the need for fast adjustments in the extreme during these months. ROLES IN THE AGILE WORLD In the agile world, there is a fundamental belief that the best solutions to complex issues – whether we are talking development of software or another kind of product or project – are created in cross-functional teams. Teams that consist of all the expertise required to solve the issue at hand. If a piece of software is to be built, the team will include people with knowledge of the content of the solution (e.g. a subject matter expert), the coding language/development, architecture and testing. This way, the team will be able to fulfil its purpose from beginning to end without having to wait for other departments or offices. In other words, the team is key – it is the team that we need to enable to deliver value. In order to enable teams to work efficiently, there are two leadership roles in the agile world: • LEADERSHIP OF PROCESS AND WAY OF WORKING • LEADERSHIP OF CONTENT AND PRIORITIES LEADERSHIP OF PROCESS AND WAY OF WORKING In the agile world, specific roles are allocated responsibility for the work process. In the teams, it is often the so-called Scrum Master who is responsible for processes. The most important task of the Scrum Master is to continuously optimise processes to ensure that the team can spend their resources on development. We sometimes use an analogy from the world of curling – the Scrum Master is the person who runs ahead of the team to sweep their path and enable the team to glide on as smoothly as possible. And a good Scrum Master will not just optimise processes but will also act as coach to the team and work actively on creating efficient teams. 3
Download PDF file