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Oftentimes, when organizations bring on Agile Coaches, they want to be (or expect to be) taken on a linear path with Agility (AKA point A to point B). However, there is a lot that happens along an Agile transformation journey that interrupts this path of \u201cpoint A to point B.\u201d

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Today\u2019s guest, Quincy \u2014 a Director in AgileThought\u2019s Innovate Line of Service \u2014 refers to these as \u201cexcursions.\u201d In an Agile transformation journey, it is crucial to explore these excursions and understand all of the pieces that you should put into place to ensure their success.

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In this conversation, Quincy explains what excursions are, why they are important; the different types of excursions that can occur during an Agile journey; the key areas of sustainability, consistency, competency, and maintenance in an excursion; and the important pieces that leadership support and communication play in an excursion\u2019s success.

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Key Takeaways

What are \u201cexcursions?\u201d

Excursions are detours that happen along an Agile transformation journey

These excursions often involve many different facets

An excursion could be taking a business outcome (such as \u201cbetter speed to market\u201d) and getting more specific and nuanced on it

An excursion is still part of the transformation journey (so you can\u2019t isolate it from the work that the teams are doing)

Several excursions can occur at the same time

What are some of the types of excursions that can occur during an Agile journey?

Clarity of desired business outcomes

Better speed to market

Introducing a new product

Introducing a product that you already have into a new market

Quincy\u2019s advice about excursions:

Sometimes you may have to bring on a new expert during an excursion that specializes in that specific area and bring them into the journey (in cases like these, it is important to acknowledge your and your team\u2019s knowledge barriers)

Really consider who should be a part of each particular excursion

There are many aspects to the Agile transformation and many different types of excursions \u2014 it is important to not box things in and know that it is a multifaceted journey

Advice around the Agile approach to excursions:

Sometimes Scrum might not always be the best fit for your organizations so it is important to have an excursion that serves as an evaluation to figure out which Agile approach is best for the team/s (and which approach is best where \u2014 because there may be more than one approach [alternatively, agility might not even be the right approach at all])

Excursions should also be taken to discover which methodologies and frameworks should be used

Some organizations, when they\u2019re new in their transformation journey, tend to make assumptions rather than take excursions (but it\u2019s crucial as an organization to take excursions because no two companies are alike and one company\u2019s approach may not work for yours)

Experimentation in and of itself can become an excursion

Areas of sustainability, consistency, competency, and maintenance in an excursion:

In aiming towards sustainability, it is important to ask whether or not you have put the pieces of the puzzle in place so that the system can run on its own

You can\u2019t reach sustainability without consistency

It\u2019s important to have a consistent definition of \u201cdone\u201d (if every team has a different definition, it will be hard to consistently deliver quality)

Leverage the strengths that are already within the teams and company

Though the maintenance is part of the journey, it\u2019s more so post-journey and is becoming more and more critical for companies to do

Maintenance is really critical \u2014 Ask yourself: How do you maintain what has now been transformed? How do you maintain the culture that you\u2019ve now built, the consistency that you have put in place, and keep a freshness to the cadences of the workflow?

If you don\u2019t have a maintenance piece in place, many of your efforts will be derailed

Your excursions need to have sustainability, consistency, and an understanding of what maintenance is going to look like from the get-go

The important pieces of leadership support and communication in an excursion:

Consistency and sustainability need to be supported by leadership

Leadership has to let everyone know periodically that everything is okay or \u201cEverything will be okay, but these are the things we\u2019re dealing with right now\u201d (Communication is key)

Active leadership is key in a transformation journey

As a leader, you can\u2019t negate sharing the bigger picture so that the teams can consistently correlate what they\u2019re doing on a daily basis to the bigger business outcomes

Quantity does not always equal value (as a leader it is important for you to consistently support your team/s on a regular cadence in an active way)

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Quincy Jordan

McKinsey\u2019s Three Horizons Model

The Cynefin Framework

Agile Coaches\u2019 Corner Ep: \u201cSpotify, Schmotify: Do Your Own Agile Thinking\u201d

Agile Coaches\u2019 Corner Ep: \u201cExploring an Experimental Mindset with Adam Ulery\u201d

The Reengineering Alternative, by William Schneider

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