The first reaction to the theory of agile is to think something like, ”great, now we don’t to pay business analysts and change manager”.
It is logical without a doubt. You are not going to interview stakeholders, try to merge all the information, improve the waste and perfect a new process or design like we did in the good old days are you?No, you are going to very carefully select knowledgeable, committed and influential stakeholders and make them part of the team. Then you are going to facilitate them while tey design the changes.
What a splendid idea that really is. In one fell swoop you have created champions, educated them and built their commitment. You have fed the grapevine, the only truly effective channel of communication, with positive accurate messages delivered with conviction and enthusiasm by respected influential people.
At the same time you have gathered the most important knowledge into one place and not only got their input but had it bounced around amongst them and built up in increments.
Welltheory is a fine and wonderful thing, but experience shows us a couple of important things: >
1. When analysts go about requirement the formal way and they interview everyone who could possibly be important to the project and hold workshops and demonstrations, it often emerges that:
a.
yes;”> Stakeholders are often deluded about what really goes on, they think big, but don’t do detail.
Senior stakeholders have imaginations just the same as programmers and when they suddenly get the feeling that they have box of lego and nobody
is watching, they begin to get creative in their thinking.
If this is allowed to happen in an agile project, then it will quickly begin to flounder
. Here’s where an experienced BA can test the theories, verify the processes and police the scope.
2. When change managers tackle a major change there are two forces in particular to be reckoned with:
a. The early adapters and champions that are encouraged and developed and who spread the word and are a generally positive force for change. Amongst these will often be people who resist and challenge things because they are taking ownership and are very serious about the project.
< b.
These people will wreak havoc left to their own devices and a strong experienced change manager is critical to identify and manage the threat in a safe and appropriate way.
So how agile is agile?
Agile is very clever stuff and it can deliver an awful lot very quickly and cheaply when used by an intelligent , experienced team, but is a methodology, not a wonder drug, so use it to the limits, but use it in the appropriate setting and don’t throw away all the safety nets.
Ed Taaffe