Dude, where's my impact?

We screwed up as an industry.

Over the last few months, we've seen a number of large organizations cancel their Transformations, get off the hype train, and accept their losses. And we can only look at ourselves. We were able to sell transformations, shift mindsets to a new way of working, and deliver output, but in almost every case, we failed to deliver the outcomes and impact that were promised at the start of the transformation. Frustrated executives are left with no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

Before writing this article, I read through a number of articles published since 2012. These articles explain how to sell transformations and get board approval. I became somewhat frustrated when I realized how little had changed since 2012. We've been promising industry slang like "closer to your customer" and "focus on business needs" for more than a decade. However, even today, there are few Product Managers or Product Owners who have direct access to customers, data, and empowered engineers. Proven ingredients for an empowered, high-performing team.

But we made a difference. We introduced new ways of working, sliced responsibilities, new organizational structures, and, as a result, new ways of governing and leading organizations. Furthermore, we've implemented KPIs, currencies, and progress dashboards that do not meet corporate standards and require an unexpected administrative dedication to translate back into something the business understands. Finally, new titles such as "Release Train Engineer," "Agile Coach," and "Scrum Master" were introduced, further confusing executives. None of these things would bother a board member if we, as an industry, delivered on the one thing they signed up for in the first place: tangible outcomes. Tangible impact and results that can be easily reported in an annual report.

A typical consultant response to the question about a lack of tangible results is, "That depends on how you look at it. We've already benefited greatly from the transformation and the efficiencies it introduced along the way." This may be true, but we no longer deserve to get away with such an answer when discussing transformations and the outcomes. Organizations that are cutting their losses, jumping off the hype train, and abandoning Agile should serve as a wake-up call to all.

Life After the Wake-Up Call

What happens next is completely up to us. Let's introduce a platitude and divide the industry into two categories. In the first bucket, we'll find professionals who are unconcerned about the fact that, with the exception of a few organizations, no organization has benefited from transformations. Sourcing organizations who are particularly irritated by the fact that they will soon be required to create new job profiles (Prince 2 Product Owner, anyone?), consultants who feel no obligation to provide advice, and parties in general who are purely interested in making a profit. I don't expect much from these companies, other than blogs and LinkedIn posts in which they professionally describe how Agile Transformations are no longer relevant.

However, there is hope on the other side of the spectrum. In the other bucket, we'll find a group of professionals who believe in Agile, have seen it work, and understand how to improve things incrementally. Hands-on professionals eager to prove their point. New ways of working can result in tangible outcomes and impact, and never use the word "transformation" again.

Personal Game Plan

Personally, as you might expect, I fall into the second category. As a result, I decide to handle the situation myself. In the coming weeks, I plan to speak with several executives, IT managers, and transformation leaders to gain a better understanding of the problem space; collaborate with industry experts on tangible solutions to this problem; publish a white paper on the subject; give presentations; and launch two workshops to empower organizations to take the next step forward.

If you feel you could contribute or know someone I should speak with to gain a better understanding of the industry, please leave a comment or send me a direct message.

Enjoy your weekend!