Organizational change is unpredictable but we tend to still run these programs like we run projects. The change program is given a scope, budget and a deadline and then we're shocked when it doesn't work! If you're forced into running a change initiative within the constraints of a project, you can use Agile practices to help you manage the uncertainty.

1. E X ECUTING C H ANGE
P ROJECTS WITH A G I L E
P RACT I C E S
JASON LITTLE
WWW.L E A N C H A N G E . O RG
@JASONLITTLE

2. 3 AGILE PRACTICES FOR MANAGING CHANGE
EXECUTING THE CHANGE USING SCRUM
EXECUTING THE CHANGE USING KANBAN
TREATING YOUR ‘CHANGE’ LIKE A ‘PRODUCT’

3. WHAT IS SCRUM?
Product Owner: prioritizes
the work
The Team: Figures out how to
do the work
Scrum Master: facilitates the
process
ROLES
1 -USING SCRUM TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS
planning:
team pulls
work
backlog:
list of work
to do
sprint:
period of time where
the team works on stuff
demo:
team shows
what they did
retrospective:
team adjusts
based on
feedback
PROCESS
- iterative
- fixed time boxes
- meet daily for 15 minutes
- review/update strategy
as necessary

4. REQUIREMENTS IN SCRUM
1 -USING SCRUM TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS
User Stories:
as a <user> I want <this
feature>
so I can <get this benefit>
Acceptance Criteria:
how do you know when this
story is “done”? A user story about change:
as a manager, I want to know how my
role changes with Agile so I can
support my team Acceptance Criteria for the change:
This change is ‘done’ when the team’s
happiness index increases

5. APPLYING SCRUM TO CHANGE PROJECTS
User stories put the focus on the people affected by the change over
inventing changes the change team thinks are the best.
Daily standup meetings keep the change team in sync.
Time-boxes and demos show progress sooner.
Retrospectives allow the change team to adjust to stakeholder and system
feedback.
to do in progress done Big visible information radiators keep the team aligned and act as
a communication tool
1 -USING SCRUM TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS

6. CHALLENGES WITH APPLYING SCRUM TO CHANGE PROJECTS
Extremely difficult to define “done” for a change versus “done” for a software
feature.
Can be confusing to refer to everyone as “team member”, some team
members may need to be more specialized.
Change is unpredictable, difficult to commit to “finishing user stories” within a
sprint.
Frequent changes can lead to thrashing and change fatigue.
to do in progress done
Changes that drag on can lead to a stale big visible wall.
1 -USING SCRUM TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS

7. WHAT IS KANBAN?
1 - Start where you are
2 - Model your existing process
3 - Limit your work in progress
to do analysis build done
2 - USING KANBAN TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS

8. APPLYING KANBAN TO CHANGE PROJECTS
User stories aren’t prescribed in Kanban. Refer to changes as “experiments”
or “work items”
Daily standup meetings focus on keeping work moving across the big
visible kanban board.
Progress is shown as “work items” are completed, not at regular intervals.
Retrospectives can still be used at regular intervals.
to do in progress done Big visible information radiators keep the team aligned and act as
a communication tool
2 - USING KANBAN TO EXECUTE CHANGE PROJECTS

9. COMBINING IDEAS FROM BOTH
quarterly objective
January February March
sprint 1 sprint 2 sprint 3
2 - COMBINING IDEAS FROM BOTH
Use Scrum release
planning to set quarterly
goal. Break down
changes into monthly
“sprints”
Use Kanban within each
monthly “sprint” to focus
the change team.
Later Next Month This Month Planning Executing Feedback

10. TREATING YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
Start with a change team Vision Canvas…
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
Team vision
Vision canvas created by Roman Pichler
Users and
Customers
Customer
Needs
“Features”
Value for the
Organization

11. TREATING YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
…but tweak it a little
Team vision
Vision canvas created by Roman Pichler
Who is
affected by
the change?
What
problems are
we trying to
help solve?
What
changes will
help solve
those
problems?
What
business
outcomes will
show the
changes
worked?

12. TREATING YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT

13. TREATING YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
Dig deeper into your ‘customers’ with personas
Name, title, picture
(be safe!!)
About this persona
This personas goals
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
What would they fear
about this change?

14. TREATING YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
map your personas on the Rogers’ adoption curve
innovators
and
early adopters
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
early
majority
late
majority
laggards
likely support likely resistance

15. BUILD. MEASURE. LEARN
Apply Lean Startup Thinking
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT

16. BUILD. MEASURE. LEARN
Always. Be. Measuring.
How many people are reading your communications?
3 - TREAT YOUR CHANGE LIKE A PRODUCT
!
How many are visiting your Sharepoint site? (hint: none)
!
What is the communication preference of your innovators and early
adopters?
!
How happy are people with the change team?
!
How well supported do people feel by management to participate in the
change?
These measurements help shape future changes

17. lIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
"This is a key piece of work for further advancing
agile, lean and change management. It's a must read
for anyone starting a transformation" - Jamie
Longmuir, Agile Practitioner
!
Lean Change Management is a collection of innovative
practices for managing organizational change. It
combines ideas from Lean Startup, Agile, Neuroscience
and traditional change management to create a
feedback-driven approach to change that can be
adapted to any organization.
Get the Book

18. WANT TO SEE MORE?
BUILDING YOUR OWN CHANGE
FRAMEWORK
(SLIDESHARE)
APPLYING LEAN STARTUP TO CHANGE
(SLIDESHARE)
VISUALIZING COMPLEX CHANGE
(SLIDESHARE)

19. WWW.L EANCHANGE.ORG