Agile Transformation: Strategic Framework for Conglomerate Companies

This report discusses the strategic framework for agile transformation in conglomerate companies. It explores the benefits, challenges, and best practices for implementing agile methodologies. The report also highlights the importance of selecting the right agile technology and provides an overview of various agile practices.

Agile Transformation
`
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing
School of Computing and Information Systems
MPhil to PhD Upgrade Report
Strategic Agile Transformation Framework
For
Conglomerate Companies
Submitted by: Muhammet Emin ERBAY
K1547147
Submission date: 07/01/2019
SEC Research Information Systems
1st Supervisor: Dr Islam Choudhury
2nd Supervisor: Prof Souheil Khaddaj
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Agile Transformation
Abstract
An Agile transformation strategy is one of the most advanced technology that has been
widely adopted by the current software companies to develop the strategic environment for
their software development. The Agile transformation strategy helps the organization to
develop their long term plan for achieving the long term goals to transform the values and
principles according to the concepts of the Agile transformation. This strategy guides the
principles to follow to achieve this goal along with this it helps to guide to select the best
agile practice or framework for the combination of the (techniques like –Scrum, Kanban,
Lean, TDD,XP etc.)is best suited for the organization .According to various study the agile
transformation strategy requires the great amount of the planning , assessment and
collaboration among the numbers of the organization and it is highly required to have an
extensive study for taking the decision for developing the strategy. The strategy must be
unique for the organization and it should be developed according to the environment of the
organization. Most importantly a proactive training program should be provided to the staff
members so that they become well prepared to work in this environment and most importantly
their mindset is ready to adopt this technology. This transformation strategy is helping to join
the technological strategies with the business strategies to achieve the long term goals that
help to improve the working environment of the organization. It is evident that there are
enormous amount of agile technologies and practices to implement this technology are
available but for organizations it is a big problem to select the best Agile technology as well
practice for their working environment. Here this report will highlight the significance of the
implementation of Agile transformation strategy in the companies especially software
companies. This will help to leverage the benefits of this technology in advancement of the
working manner in organization. Further the paper will present a brief detail of various Agile
technologies and practices to implement the transformation strategy.
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Agile Transformation
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................3
Strategic Agile Transformation Framework..........................................................................5
Problem......................................................................................................................................7
Literature Review..................................................................................3
Agile Transformation Process for Conglomerate Companies..............4
Strategic Agile Leadership....................................................................9
SAFe Lean Agile System....................................................................10
Lean Agile...........................................................................................12
Methdology...........................................................................................................................................13
Timeline of the PhD............................................................................13
Summary.............................................................................................13
References...........................................................................................14
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Agile Transformation
1.0 Introduction
Agile methodology has been considered as one of the major transformation strategies that will
ensure the management of the entire business processing that is related to the field of IT
organization. Various statements regarding the Agile methodology states that this terminology
of Agile methodology is not only a type of study but a methodology that endeavours the
functioning of the entire project that the business organization has undertaken. Hence it is
very important for the team members to be dynamic in nature. According to the study it is
observed that the composure of an entire business that is dependent on the employees of the
organization. This report will provide a literature review on the topic of Strategic Agile
Transformation for Conglomerate
Fig 1 : Agile Transformation approach : Source –www.quickscrum.com
According to the survey the Agile technology is one of the most advanced technology and
is widely accepted in the software companies due to its enormous benefits, but as there are
many technologies are available in this domain so it become difficult for the organizations to
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Agile Transformation
select an appropriate agile technology for their organization. According to the Software
research Institute the Agile Technology is defined as –“Agile technology helps the
organization to provide the capability to take decision quickly and think easily. “ The
main aim in Software development while adopting the agile technology is to develop an
appropriate working , quality oriented software product in the short duration of time by doing
the work in increment manner and bringing changes in it easily according to the
requirements. Agile technologies are mainly used in those environments where it is required
to adopt the changing requirements in the fast manner and have to bring the changes
according to it. Agile technology is mainly related to the project mangement of the software
development in the effective manner. The principles stated by researchers about the Agile
technology that gives the values that guide the software project team to work in the
effective manner to achieve the well set goals , these principles and values are published
in the Agile manifesto .
The main four values stated by the manifesto are as follows-
 In agile transformation the focus should be on the Individuals and interaction over the
processes and tools.
 It is required that the software product should concentrate on working of the software
product rather than the comprehensive documentation.
 To get the better results collaborate the customers for the contract negotiation.
 It is highly recommended to respond over change and work on it with proper plan.
2.0 Strategic Agile Transformation Framework
The agile transformation implies that all the team members and processes involved in the
organization should be agile and all the work tasks should be done accordingly. It requires to
consider on improving firstly on the structure of the organization that helps in developing the
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Agile Transformation
flexible , collaborative and self-organizing organization. Secondly it is required to concentrate
how the governance of the organization intake , it will help in analyzing how the decisions are
made at the organization. How the capacity at the organization is utilized and how the
coordination among the team is developed. Then thirdly it is also required to use a well
designed metrics for measuring the performance of the organization . In this process the
metrics are collected and improvement or degradation in various sectors are thoroughly
studied according to the features proposed by the stakeholders. Along with this a detailed
description of the areas where the changes have been reported are shown. After analyzing
these changes the vision for the organization is required to set along with the road map to
achieve this. It is essentially required for the team members to know the benefits of adopting
these techniques in the organization.
Then next important step will be creating the proper implementation plan to achieve this
objective. For this along with setting the vision the selection of right person to have suitable
help in implementing this program must be selected. The set team, should include senior
members from the organization so that their experience can be contributed in gaining the
success of the project. Along with this the Team leader should assign the specific roles and
responsibility to the team members of the project.
Then the team should undergo the similar projects done by the organization and the key
factors that helped in achieving the success of these projects should be included in the new
proposed project also. Not only these project study will help to determine the key success
factors but will also help in getting the detail of the critical work areas in the project and also
the ways to handle such scenarios. To achieve this along with studying the similar projects the
organization should develop standard practices and approaches that are mandatory for the
team members to work on an agile frame work. Most importantly the Agile transformation is
transformation of the mindset of the team members also so the continuous communication is
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Agile Transformation
necessary to reinforce the need for the Agile and its benefits for the organization to
implement.
Along with above the most important step in achieving this goal will be to have continuous
learning , seeking the innovative approaches for performing the process and striving for
providing the improvement in the work on the continuous path. Along with the continuous
feedback and working on improvement in the system should be provided. Along with this
self introspection is also highly required in viewing the weakness and factors that lead poor
performance in the work is also highly required. The adaptability to grasp new techniques and
procedures should be incorporated.
The Agile Transformation Framework provides a well structured format for the
organization in the form that is naturally able to embrace and thrive in the flexible ,
collaborative , self –organizing and in the fast changing environment. Agile adoption refers to
adopting the values defined in the Agile Manifesto in the working environment to develop
the high quality software even in the highly demanding situation. The agile transformation is
not only related to adopting the agile policies in the working pattern but it is also
transforming the mindset of the working individuals in the organization so that these practices
does not become a enforcement but a working habit in their working style so that the
benchmarks of the high quality software product could be achieved.
In this series one very important element is the Agile Lean Transformation while
implementing and recognizing the Lean practicing and values. Initially lean approach was
considered for the manufacturing but the advance features of this technology was later
adopted in software development. The key objective of the Lean transformation is to
maximize the customer value and minimizing the waste (Hardware /software , manpower time
, Cost , etc.). The organization has to focus on the principles of agility to obtain the successful
results.
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Agile Transformation
The seven Key principles to be adopted in Software development are as follows-
 Develop practices to eliminate the waste.
 Focus on amplifying the learning innovative practicing.
 Not to take decision early without analyzing all the associated factors.
 Work to provide fast delivery.
 Work on providing the Team Empowerment.
 Focus on Built – in –integrity.
 Focus on viewing the application as a whole.
The above given Agile values and principles provide the facility to create the high quality
software rapidly. It is also required to focus on eliminating the waste by eliminating defects,
non-productive meetings , waiting etc.
3.0 Problem
The key problems observed while transforming the agile framework is as follows-
 The major problem area with the organization in Agile transformation is
selecting the appropriate technology for their organization from the pool of
available Agile practices.
 Most importantly the objective of the agility can be achieved only when the
whole organization works in seamless manner by following the practices of the
agile manifesto only.
 Some results has displayed that the team is capable to work well in the Scrum
environment but in the business the incremental value from the investment
could not be obtained.
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Agile Transformation
 In some cases it was appeared that the high performance team can disrupt the
other functions when upstream and downstream processes do not work in
expected way.
 The principles that are applied at the team level do not work properly for the
larger organization.
 To effectively implement the agile practices it is required to use the broader set
of tools and techniques.
 Like in case several other scenarios the biggest problem is changing the
mindset of Team members in the organization as it is difficult to convince the
people to work out of their comfort note.
4.0 Literature Review
Methodologies generally adopted in Agile Transformation
According to Sertyesilisik (2014), Agile methodology is more often used to describe
the general personifications and this is the reason that the understanding of the terminology
has been declining. The term Agile was initially used to describe the methodology that is used
in the commencement of the software and business modulation processes. Agile methodology
implements innovation and processing of the entire business module with urgency and this
helps in better commencing of the project. The steps that are imbibed in the project incurs
understanding the requirement of the project. In case the proper understanding of the project
is not performed with efficiency it gets difficult for the mass to function in a proficient
manner. This is the reason that the projection of the data management data management gets
hampered. In case the requirement of the project is well understood it gets easy for the
management to proclaim the task with higher ease and this is rare so that the commencement
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Agile Transformation
of the project will be performed with higher efficiency. Again if the requirement of the entire
project is well understood, it gets easy for the project manager to commence the planning with
higher ease.
According to Leach (2014), after understanding the requirement of the project designing of
the framework is one of the most important aspects. This is due to the fact that the
commencement of the project gets completed with the help of the framework that is designed
for the better completion of the project. In case the project designing is made in an efficient
manner it gets easier to complete the project. This designing of the framework is completely
dependent on the understanding of the business. Agile methodology gains the projection of
the entire business module as the entire prosecution of the business projection incurs the fact
that the commencement of the project will affect the business organization that is
conglomerates in nature.
Agile Transformation Process for Conglomerate Companies
Again according to Marchewka (2014), verification of the entire project must be
performed in order to achieve an efficient design. In case the design is verified, the main
advantage that will be enjoyed includes the fact that the prosecution of the project can be
performed with the least risk present in the project. After verification of the framework that is
present in the course of management of the organization constitutes the fact that the
management of the project will be commenced with the help of the data management the main
aspects that are taken into consideration include the fact that the completion of the business
management in between the organization that are conglomerates in nature. Maintenance of the
project during its execution is also considered as one of the most important aspects of the
management system.
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According to Kiely, Kiely, and Nolan (2017), when considering the strategic agile
transformation the example of the Deloitte is the most appropriate. The main method of the
strategic agile transformation is the building the blocks. In the transformation increasing the
operational speed of the organization is a big factor. To increase the speed flattened structure
of the organization can help in this case. This agile transformation is a long-term plan of an
organization which actually aims to transform the culture of the organization and the delivery
method of the software that practices the principles and values of the agile manifesto. This
strategy also includes the type of agile framework which is best for a specific type of
organization. To develop the agile transformation strategy for a conglomerates company it
requires so much of planning. Also, collaboration and assessments between the organizational
members are very much required in this case. The community of the agile is very much large
that there are so many contributors that provide a different type of perspective on a particular
type of subject. While an organization or a company is using the agile transformation strategy
for the conglomerate company, there are few factors to consider.
According to Martinelli and Milosevic (2016), the first and the basic thing of the strategic
agile transformation is understanding why the transformation is needed in the organization.
The second is the assessment of the transformation of how the transformation will impact the
organization. The peoples of the organization need to understand what meant by the agile
transformation and for that reason proper training is necessary. Retrospection is another
important factor as the strategy of the agile transformation requires a frequent inspection. The
last factor is the coaching factor which is the key factor for an agile transformation strategy.
The coaching actually gives a piece of practical information about the strategy to the
organizational peoples.
According to Verzuh (2015), the publication of the Tata Consultancy Services, there
are some recent trends in the agile transformation of the conglomerate companies. They have
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stated that many of the organizations have presented the practices of the agile in the SDLC for
the AMS (Application Managed Services). In this case, the success factors are the laborious
empowerment of the workforce with the add-on of the agile methodologies and support from
the agile coaching, and the strategy of the top down which consists robust multiyear roadmap.
This trend also includes the plotting of the agile practices at the level of the project in a
specific type of portfolio. There are also some decision factors for agile transformation. The
main aim of this decision factor is to make this agile transformation for the conglomerate
companies beneficial. This transformation becomes beneficial for the organization when the
major portion of the application managed services constitute enhancement. This enhancement
is largely classified based on the business value and the effort. This publication on the agile
transformation also consists of the structure which is required for the agile transformation.
Basically, a structure has been used by the organizations which have already gone through an
Agile transformation which is aligned with the business lines and the boundaries between the
technologies and the application used by the organization.
According to Stettina and Hörz (2015), the principles that must be followed in order to
implement the agile methodology for and appropriate functioning of a business organization
that is conglomerates in nature are as follows:
1. According to Kerzner (2018), Agile methodology depends on the constant change in
accord with the terminology of the requirement that defines the project. This is the
reason that the commencing of the project requires better implementation of the
methodology of the Agile terminology in a more efficient manner. This leads to the
fact that the management of the project will be performing with much higher
proficiency and the completion of the project will increase.
2. The change in requirement must be well achieved in order to commence the project in
accord with the change in the requirement of the project. The change that is required
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in the completion of the project must be accepted and the job that is performed must
be completed with the innovations brought in and this helps in increasing the agility of
the project. This acceptance of change in the prosecution of the project incurs the fact
that the clients enjoy the competitive nature of the project completion. This is the
reason that the proclamation of the project will be performed with the help of
transcription of data management of the project.
3. Again according to the Drury-Grogan (2014), the deliverable must be well provided to
the clients who are responsible for the completion of the project. This ensures the fact
that the completion of the project will be one of the major aspects that will proclaim
better functioning of the project. in case the project is to be performed with the highest
efficiency with the help of agile methodology, the conglomerates business
organization must ensure the fact that the management of the entire project is very
transparent and this is the reason that accessibility of the project in accord to the client
needs.
4. Conforto and Amaral (2016), states that the people who are indulged in the processing
of the business and the developers must coordinate together in order to commence the
complete the project with the highest efficiency. This is the reason that the projection
of the data management will be performed with the help of the better combination of
the developing team and the business setting team. This will help the business
organization that is conglomerates in nature to thrive in a better place.
5. The agile methodology also depends on the coordination of the higher authority as the
commencement of the project will insist on procuring better management of the
situation and creating a better environment for the prosecution of the business
proclamation. In order to commence the project, the main aspiration that is required
for better management of the project. The environment that is created by the higher
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authority of the organization is responsible for the projection of the entire
proclamation of the management of the business modulation.
6. The agile methodology also believes in the fact that the business that is to be
completed depends on the projection of the face to face conversation that facilitates
the functioning of the business organization. In order to commence the project with
instant activity and imbibing innovation to it incurs the fact that the projection of the
management of the data can be conveyed in a better manner.
7. According to Pope-Ruark (2015), Sustainable development is one of the major reason
that insists on the functioning of the entire business management. The conglomerates
business organization gets accustomed to completion of the project as the business
management is dependent on the instant action and innovations that are brought in as
per the requirement of the project. This is the reason that the implementation of Agile
terminology gains high stature. This is the reason that the commencement of the
project gets performed in a better manner.
8. The agile methodology also describes the fact that the commencement of the project
requires simple and efficient management of business management. In order the
business management is not steady in nature, implementation of innovations will not
affect the conglomerates business organization in any positive manner. This is one of
the most important principles that is followed by every business organization that is
conglomerates in nature.
According to Nicholas and Steyn (2017), the reflection of the entire working process is a must
in order to follow the Agile terminology. Reflecting the progress at a regular interval to the
customer's acts as one of the most important principles that are needed to be followed in order
to complete the entire business management of organizations that are conglomerates in nature.
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This reflection of the entire project in regular interval helps the designing unit to understand
the needs of the clients and this acts as a primary reason for better execution of the job.
Strategic Agile Leadership
After completing several testimonies 5 issues were estimated in the course of management of
lean-agile leadership. The main requirement that is to be fulfilled will incur the methodologies
of HR policy development for better functioning of the project. Another man obstacle that is
present in the course of management of strategic agile management includes combining the
terminology of the project with lean-agile structures. Decision-making issues are also
considered to be one of the most important concerns that affect the implementation of
strategic agile leadership in projects. Setting up of the organizational culture is also
considered to be important in the course of completing the strategic agile leadership process.
Having a leadership mindset will include better completion of the project. This is the reason
that the commencement of the entire project will lose its efficiency in case the project lacks
these leadership qualities. To get over these problems the main steps that are needed to be
taken includes the motivation of the team that is under the leader. In case the leader is capable
of creating competency in project management. With the implementation of the innovation
and encouraging the implementation of innovation that helps in better completion of the
project will help in better completion of the project. Managing backlogs are one of the main
instances that are present in the better completion of the project.
According to Serrador and Pinto (2015), Perfectionists are those who are not liberal to the
change and the acceptance towards influential and innovative project management is not very
high. This fact of lack of acceptance of the change sometime costs the business organization
on a high scale. In case the business organization is conglomerates in nature, it gets very
important that the prosecution of the project is performed with instant activities. In case the
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acceptance towards change is increased it gets easier for the system to provide better quality
projects, this is the reason that commencement of Agile methodology has been increasing at a
very rapid rate. Replacement of waterfall with the Agile terminology. The main reason for
replacing waterfall methodology with Agile methodology is that in the case of implementing
waterfall methodology in business organizations that are conglomerates in nature, entire
planning is done initially.
According to Binder, Aillaud, and Schilli (2014), the entire project is performed with the help
of the planning that was initially done by the higher authorities. Even if the project that is
commenced gets failed or the completion of the project is at stake, the operation team is
recommended to stick to the initial plans that were designed by the higher authorities. This, in
turn, acts as a reason for failure for the project. This terminology cannot be performed for the
business organizations that are conglomerates in nature. As in the case of conglomerates
business organizations, the main aspect that is taken into consideration is the multiple idea
sanction system. This is because the number of managerial heads in the business organization
is very high. This is the reason that there is a huge conflict in deciding the ideology that needs
to be accepted in the processing of management of business organizations. In case there is a
conflict during the functioning of the project, it gets difficult for the management for
completing the project. This is where the emergence of Agile methodology comes in. In the
case of Agile methodology, there is permissibility of constant change in the functional
methodology. This relates to the fact that the management of the project will not be confined
only to the initial planning that was done by the higher authorities of the business
organization. This aspect of the Agile methodology acts as a help for the business
organizations that are conglomerates in nature. This increase in flexibility of planning for the
project will help in better completion of the entire task for the business organization.
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SAFe Lean-Agile System
In the case of implementing the SAFe Lean-Agile System instils the process by taking the
economic view of the entire project. Application of system thinking helps in better
commencing of the project (LeadingAgile 2018). Performing the integrated learning cycles
will ensure the fact that institutes a better understanding of the integrated learning cycle Base
milestone projection helps in better evaluation of the working system as well.
There are many advantages of implementing the Agile methodology, they are namely:
1. Fast movers: In the case of implementing the Agile methodology the main advantage
that is present in the course of implementing Agile methodology is that the initial stages of
planning that must be performed is least. This leads to the fact that the commencing of the
entire project gets faster. This gives an edge over the other competitors (Kudievskiy 2018).
This added time that is gained with the help of the data management and innovated planning
helps the conglomerates business organization thrive in a faster rate. During the time the
business organizations that implement the waterfall model will be busy planning and
indulging perfection to the project, and the conglomerates business organization that has
implemented the Agile methodology will gain a prior edge over their business organizations
2. According to Conforto, Salum and de Almeida (2014), the growth in speed that is
provided by implementing the Agile methodology imbibes the fact that the projection of the
data management can be performed with the help of Agile methodology helps in gaining a
result in a quick succession of time. This gaining result in faster succession helps in
motivating the employees of the organization. Another aspect that helps in gaining motivation
indulges the fact that the commencing of the project will imbibe innovation in the project
(Denning 2018). This is the main aspect that commencing of the project will get better and the
employees of the business organization will stay motivated. This aspect also includes the fact
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that the growth of the employees as per the requirement of their carrier growth curve will be
very highly efficient in nature. In case the employees of the organization seek carrier growth,
it will get easy for the business organization for retaining the employees of the organization.
This retaining of the employees in the business organization will provide higher efficiency in
the functioning of the project.
3. According to Špundak (2014), the clients of the business organization can keep a track
on the functioning of their business deliverable. This includes the fact that the commencement
of the project will be capable enough to satisfy the requirements that are stated by the clients.
This aspect also helps the employees of the business organization to understand the
requirement of the project. This helps in better commencing of the project. In case the project
that is performed by the employees of the business organization was not aligned with the
requirements of the clients the entire project would have to be redone. This would have
decreased the efficiency of the entire project. The resources lost would also have been one of
the major reason for accomplishing the project. The conglomerates business organization
would have to bear the lost possession. This is the sole reason that the projection of resource
management gets highly benefitted by implementing the Agile methodology.
Lean-Agile
The Goal value that is set for the completion of the project includes the terminologies
regarding the Respect for people and the culture that it possesses. Understanding the customer
base is also important and this helps in better commencing of the project. Not overloading the
employee is also one of the main reason. Building a long-term partnership is based on the
client helps in better commencement of the entire project (Anon 2018). Understanding the
flow of the entire business will help in the commencement of the project. Innovations are also
needed to perform better management of lean Agile project management. Implementation of
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relentless improvement will help in better management of the Lean-Agile management of the
project.
According to Kerzner and Kerzner (2017), Methods that are required for better implementing
of Agile methodology are as follows:
1. Providing higher autonomy to the employees of the conglomerates business
organization.
2. Leading the team by example.
3. Understanding the requirement of the project.
Challenges and success factors for large-scale agile transformations: A
systematic literature review
According to Kim. D , Maria.P, Casper. The benefits observed by adopting the agile
technologies have led several other companies to adopt it to achieve the success in their work.
In fact the Agile technologies were developed for small and individual teams only. This
feature creates a big challenge while adopting it for larger organizations. It is required for the
team to synchronize their activities and they need to interface with the organizational units.
The most important factors required for success of the organization to adopt the agile
technologies are consistent management support , choosing and customizing the agile model,
training and coaching , training and coaching and mindset and alignment. The methods of the
agile are both criticised and advocated as there are several factors that lead to success and
failure to the orgnization. The proposed solution for this problem is that each organization
seeks its own balance of agile and the plan driven methods.
In this approach the two popular agile methods used are Extreme Programming and
Scrum. The Scrum method is focusing on the view of the project management view point of
agile development, prescribing the time boxing , continuous tracking of project management
and customer centricity. The most important difference in adopting the agile technology in
small and larger organization is that larger organization requires to have more dependencies
between the team and project. For achieving the success in larger organizations it is required
to focus on the processes , team management and consistent training and guidance is highly
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required for achieving this.
The Agile Journey : Four stages of Agile Adoption and transformation
According to the CA (2014) the transforming the current business framework in the Agile
is a challenging task , it is a multi-stage process tasks and these tasks intersect , overlap and
support each other. Each process has its own challenges in transforming in the agile. Most
importantly Agile is not mere a methodology but it is a mindset that helps in transforming the
business functionalities in the better way. It changes the perception of the team members on
several issues. To get the best results it is required to remove these barriers and by selecting
the right persons in team the set goals can be achieved . But before adopting the agile in the
organization it is required to understood in the complete sense that Agile transforming will
require lot of efforts to be included in the work area and most importantly it is required to
have a systematic designed plan for this. It is required to have focus , dedication and
preserving in adopting the agile in system . The stages that are generally adopted while
transforming the Agile framework in the organization is as follows-
Stage 1 : Understanding and discovering the Agile technologies suitable for
Organization
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The first step in this process is evaluating the current working processes in the organization
and finding out the loop holes in this process and then developing the long term project goals
to be achieved so that objectives and improvement in the work area can be achieved in the
well structured way. The agile transformation in the organization helps in many ways such as
–
 It helps in delivering the projects more quickly with less- complications.
 It guides the usage of resources in more tactful manner so that not only cost
effectiveness is achieved but also the customer satisfaction can be achieved in the well
structured way.
 The systematic step in the agile framework is provided to understand the weak factors
in the current work structure and how to implement these processes in the work
profile.
 Most importantly it provides a mechanism or stage that is ready for accepting the
current and futuristic challenges in the advance form. It will have capability of
responding to the change quickly and developing the high quality products for the
organization.
 It provides a clear path for customer satisfaction achievement , enhancing the work
visibility , clear predictability of the work status in the current working environment.
Consideration of Agile transformation in the organization
In this stage the convenience the other team members and stakeholders to adopt the Agile
technologies in their organization by stating the benefits of agile technology in the organization and it
should be done so that all the team members are ready to accept the agile and they work in seamless
manner to achieve the goals of the organization. This can be achieved by following these steps-
Identification of the problem in the current approaches
To do the identification the analysis of the work approaches and strategy formulated has to be
done, in order to do this the connectivity of the strategy with the work execution has to be done. Then
to discuss the weak points with team members , it is important to make aware each and every member
of the team the consequences of these weak points and how the rival companies are taking advantage
of these problems. Further the opportunities with the members should be discussed to provide the
benefit to the organization.
Communicating the Vision of the project clearly
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This will help in eliminating the environment of confusion and dissatisfaction among the team
members. This provides a healthy working environment to the employees and it also saves the time.
The vision of the project in the documented form should be circulated to all the team members. This
vision should clearly describe the impact of the formulated strategy on the future growth of the
organization.
Acknowledgement of the culture shift in true sense is essentially required in the organization
To provide the agile framework formulation in the organization a complete support of whole team
and all the employees of the organization is highly required.
Agile Selection and Adoption
In this phase the adaption of the best practices in the agile technologies is adapted for organizing,
collaborating , communicating and streamlining the work in the organization. Then the analysis of the
agile methodology- Scrum, Kanban, lean and other methodologies are done and according to the
requirement the appropriate technology is selected. Along with this various agile software and tools
are analyzed and then the focus is done on those approaches that meet the required criteria. The key
features that are required to be considered are as follows-
 It is required to determine the status in the project work in detailed way.
 Does the current processes allow the mechanism for the improvement and rapid
response to the problems .
 It is required to determine the productivity and predictability of the deliverables .
 Then the quality of the current software products is evaluated.
 Then the methods for inspiring and motivating the team members are considered.
Stage -2 Learning Better techniques to implement the Agile
According to various reports the main problem that arises for the new agile team is as follows –
1. Most of the new team members do not follow the standard practices of the agile
framework.
2. They do not utilize the agile software completely.
3. In many companies it is viewed that the team members have not prepared the required
mindset for the work.
Because of the above problems the work hierarchies , flows and other significant aspects does
not let to achieve the complete objective of using the Agile technology in the organization. Along
with this comp0lete analysis of various factors related to risk areas are not covered. In order to
overcome these problems it is required for the companies to follow these steps-
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Agile Transformation
Analyze the weak areas in more analyzed way
In this step the complete analysis of the applied technologies in case if agile technologies are
adopted in the organization then various key reasons are researched why the goal is not achieved.
This can be done by reviewing the work , measuring the progress , using the various metrics to
analyze the applications and focusing on time consuming tasks . By doing all above mentioned
points the scope of viewing the loop holes and weakness in the system cannot be ruled out. This
will also help in understanding if we are using correct software as per requirement or not. Then the
focus on providing the improvements of these weak areas should be considered.
Providing the good training to the team members
As discussed in the previous sections too the major problem in not achieving the goals of the
agile technology is that the staff members are not completely trained and are mentally prepared to
achieve the goals of the agile technology. This can be done by taking help through the –
Agile coaches
The trained and experienced Agile Coaches help the organization to facilitate the agile
environment within the organization. These coaches teach their new roles and explain them the
best approaches of the agile technologies. Along with this these coaches help the team members to
leverage the benefits of well designed templates to follow the work. A coach is very instrumental
in providing the effective training to its staff members.
Agile Transformation consultant
In case the organization is comparatively large and the project is also complex then the help of
Agile transformation consultant within the organization as it includes multiple teams and various
departments to focus . . They help in aligning the transformation of the agile technology by using
the standard and well researched practices.
Providing the Educational classes
While providing the training it is essentially required to provide the detailed information about the
agile principles , concepts and practices to all the candidates undergoing the training. Most
importantly the training should be provided by the practitioners having the extensive real life
experience in this domain.
Assign the leadership quality in the team member
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Agile Transformation
This can be achieved by making the team members to understand that for success every
member has some specific roles and they have to accomplish the tasks in well versed form. This
can be achieved by making them realize the key benefits of adopting the agile technology.
Follow the steps –Plan, build , measure , improve and repeat
It is required to understand that practicing is very important in achieving the goals of the
organization. Not every -one is completely trained at starting it is required to develop the skills by
doing the extensive training in this domain. Every time it is required to adjust the processes and
improve the work profile.
Stage 3 : Perform the Scaling of the Agile
The biggest challenge after adopting the agile technology is scaling it and sustaining it in the
organization on the continuous basis. This can be done by following these steps –
By understanding, prioritizing and utilizing the data
Every department requires a set of data to perform its functions. To get the best agile results it is
required to develop the visibility of the data , to project and initiate the tasks by following the
understanding, prioritizing and utilizing the data in well structured way. Agile teams in large
organizations must utilize a consistent enterprise-wide software solution that provides the help in
getting the real time transparency in the work profile. Along with this proper reporting of the data is
required for smooth functioning of the work. This increase in flexibility of planning for the project
will help in better completion of the entire task for the business organization.
Setting the data reporting standards within the organization
By setting the data reporting standards within the organization will help in analyzing whether
the process is rightly refer to , read out and analyze the data within the organization. Without
developing a centralized database the organization will continue to work in such loop hole condition.
By establishing a data schema at the team-level, day-to-day work within a centralized system will
help in achieving the good results on time.
Applying the Agile Portfolio within the organization
This can be achieved by concentrating on the entire delivery cycle – ideation, authorization,
funding , team allocation , development process , customer deployment and implementation. This can
be done by performing the value based analysis of the tasks in standard way. A well stated strategy
should be implemented to achieve the good results of the data by following a well designed strategy.
Stage -4 - Transformation to provide the agility
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Agile Transformation
Along with above key points as discussed in above sections it is highly required to concentrate only
on those sections which are weak and require to be optimized. This can be achieved by continuously
optimizing the investments , providing the complete mechanism to operate the agility within the
organization. To do this the extreme levels of transparency is required to be given. The delegation of
work -responsibilities and establishing the structured flexibility with adaptable funding mode is
required to achieve. As discussed above by taking the help of agile consultant within the organization
the stream line work flow and facilitation of the work in proper way can be achieved. They help in
assisting the team and executives in working faster and ain well result oriented manner.
6.0 Methodology Recommended- Grounded Theory Methodology
The grounded theory is a well structured methodology that helps extensively in the
gathering and analysis of the data, it is mostly used in scientific and technical research. It
works in the inductive manner. This methodology is helpful in collecting the qualitative data.
In this method the researcher collects the data, focus on repeated ideas used, concepts of the
elements and codes extracted from similar types of the projects. This theory combines the
concepts of the positivism, sociology and symbolic
The grounded theory is a systematic theory that involves the methodological gathering
and analysis of the data. This methodology works in the inductive manner. This requires
collecting the qualitative data. In this method the researcher collects the data, focus on
repeated ideas used, concepts of the elements and codes extracted from similar types of the
projects. Grounded theory combines the concepts of the sociology , positivism and symbolic
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Agile Transformation
interactions.
Fig2: Grounded theory framework : Source –www.research gate.com
Grounded theory follows the dynamic approach. In this method a systematic
generation of the data that contains both the approaches from inductive to the deductive
thinking is applied. Here the hypothesis is constructed based on the conceptual ideas.
Along with this the hypothesis is constructed by constantly comparing the data on
different levels of the abstraction of the concepts and deductive thinking is done by constantly
making the comparison between the abstracted ideas. Along with this in this theory the review
of the approaches of different peoples in this problem area are studied. The concepts of the
empirical study are also included in it. Here the application of open coding is also utilized, in
this method the written data and transcripts are conceptualized line by line. In the beginning
of the project the approach used for coding is to focus on problem of the case study and
giving solution to it. Then the approach of less fit and more fit is applied and coding is
selected from this created code. Now according to the requirement the changes in the coding
is applied and used in the software application.
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Agile Transformation
7.0Timeline of the PhD
Some best approaches proposed by the Professionals and Researchers
Through their extensive study and experience the team of professionals and practitioners
have given following suggestions to adopt the agile transformation at their organization such
as-
 Developing a well structured Organizational Structure to provide speed in the
work
To obtain this it is required to empowered the business roles of the team members , developing a
smaller number of team structure and new models to provide the agility in the environment should be
provided. A proper system for allocating the role and responsibility should be provided and along
with this the system for monitoring the performance of the organization should be enabled.
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Agile Transformation
 Providing the consistent training and communication system to the team
members
Providing the training to the team members related to new methodologies and according to the real
world requirements in the work place and industry requirements will provide the great support in
achieving the objectives of the agile transformation framework at the work place. While adopting the
technologies the immersive and simulation based components should be included. Along with this
it is required to develop the high level of teaching system in these training programs to deepen the
knowledge in the candidates.
 Adopting the methodologies that help the team to move fast and in secured
manner while working
This can be achieved by adopting the Agile technologies such as Scrum /Kanbon life cycle and other
agile tools that have proved success rate in comparison to other technologies in the ongoing projects in
the organization. Most importantly it is required to adopt the need-based agile and other engineering
practises in the work area.
Source : www.2.delloite.com
 Developing a Operating System model that helps to cover out futuristic needs
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Agile Transformation
It is required for the organization to study and evaluate the requirements that could arise in near
future and developing the operating model that helps in providing the alignment to these
requirements. To achieve this it is required to develop the model for obtaining the requirements to be
filled of the end-to-end transformation of the system with the help of interaction modelling. Along
with this the scaling of the portfolio layer and release train should be developed according to
requirements of the future needs should be developed. The Business case scenario on the basis of these
requirements should be developed.
 Taking the support of the technical team to bring the change in the current
system
This can be done by taking support through experienced technical architects that have experience
of aligning the architecture of new agile system according the business requirements. It will help in
providing the support for getting the automated and continuous delivery outline of the project in the
quality oriented form. This can be achieved by following the Dev and Ops integration.
 Developing the mindset of the team members with continuous improvement in
their learning approach.
This can be achieved by providing the training through the trainers who have
experience on the embedded technologies and agile technologies. This will provide the support for
performing in the identification and re-routing the transformation leadership of the employees. Most
importantly the mangement to coach the coaches in the advance form is highly required.
Integral Agile Transformation framework (IATF)
The integral Agile Transformation Framework (IATF) is described as a “meta-
framework “ as it does not provide the completion to other agile technologies but it provides
the facility of addressing system for such frameworks , approaches , models and techniques.
Most importantly it creates the important distinction between different types of approaches
and helps to identify the outcome of these approaches in it. It provides the outcome of these
approaches and models in both internal as well external perspective along with individual and
collective approach.
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Agile Transformation
Fig: Integral Agile transformation Framework source : www.citerus.se
The distinctions are given through four quadrants in this framework. Each part describes about
individual - parameters. The parameters that are considered in this framework are –Organizational
Culture & Relationship , Leader ship &Mindset , Practice &Behaviour and Organizational
Architecture. Another important feature of this framework is that it provides the support in addressing
how the evolution proceeds in each of the four quadrants. The description is given from complex to
the simple words . The more detailed explanation is as follows-
1. Organizational Culture and Relationship
Here the culture refers to the way how certain issues are considered and accepted to get the
success in these matters. Here personality refers to individual and culture refers to the organization in
which an individual work. In fact culture is the sum total of the actions how we think and work on
particular issues while working in the organization. The culture has systematic and emergent
properties that works as the force field in the actions and thinking of the individual elements within
the organization.
2. Leadership and Mindset
According to this framework the Leadership and transforming the mindset of the people cannot
be delegated it can only be led to perform. The leaders hip is just not only taking the decisions but it is
also a human activity that includes the making a vision, acting on this vision and developing the
integrity in the team.
3. Practices and Behavior
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Agile Transformation
To enable the Agile Technology framework there are certain practices to create the products
in the highly collaborated environment. Along with this it is highly required to focus on the
customer requirement while designing the Agile framework for the organization. It is also
required to concentrate on delivering the value added services on the scheduled timing. A
systematic approach is required to be developed for providing the support for the having the
product innovation and to provide the facilitation for collaboration for providing the support
for operating the team. This framework focus on providing the skills, competencies,
and performance to the organization.
4. Organizational Architecture
In this process those things are arranged that have tangible presence in the business and reporting
structure, organization charts , diagrams , policies etc. The focus of this quadrant is to provide the
support to the system, architecture and value flow.
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Agile Transformation
Summary
Agile methodology is one of the most evolving technologies that is being achieved in the
processing of the data management system. This leads to the aspect that the data
management of the business organization that implements the methodology of Agile gets
affected in a better prospect. This methodology also helps in completing the project with
the highest efficiency. The phenomenon of Agile terminology is very hard to implement
in the business organization especially when the business organizations are conglomerates
in nature. The implementation of the Agile terminology is basically dependent on the
functioning of team members. The fact that the efficiency that is gained by the entire
group of the project is due to the fact that with the help of implementation of the Agile
methodology, the employees of the project stay connected with the clients and this affects
in a better understanding of the project requirement. In order to perform better
management of the project that is allotted to the employee incurs the fact that the
completion of the business is performed with the highest proficiency. This report has
provided a literature review on the topic of Strategic Agile Transformation for
Conglomerate business organization. transforming the current business framework in the
Agile is a challenging task , it is a multi-stage process tasks and these tasks intersect ,
overlap and support each other. Each process has its own challenges in transforming in the
agile. Most importantly Agile is not mere a methodology but it is a mindset that helps in
transforming the business functionalities in the better way. It changes the perception of the
team members on several issues. To get the best results it is required to remove these
barriers and by selecting the right persons in team the set goals can be achieved . But
before adopting the agile in the organization it is required to understood in the complete
sense that Agile transforming will require lot of efforts to be included in the work area and
most importantly it is required to have a systematic designed plan for this. It is required to
have focus , dedication and preserving in adopting the agile in system . As discussed in the
previous sections too the major problem in not achieving the goals of the agile technology is that
the staff members are not completely trained and are mentally prepared to achieve the goals of the
agile technology. While providing the training it is essentially required to provide the detailed
information about the agile principles , concepts and practices to all the candidates undergoing the
training. Most importantly the training should be provided by the practitioners having the
extensive real life experience in this domain. Along with above key points as discussed in above
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Agile Transformation
sections it is highly required to concentrate only on those sections which are weak and require to
be optimized. This can be achieved by continuously optimizing the investments , providing the
complete mechanism to operate the agility within the organization. To do this the extreme levels
of transparency is required to be given. The delegation of work -responsibilities and establishing
the structured flexibility with adaptable funding mode is required to achieve.
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