Ripping Off The Band-Aid: The Transition From Waterfall To Agile

Technology is constantly changing. Are you keeping up?

If you haven’t taken a good look at your project management methodology in a while, it might be time to learn more about the options available to you and how they could work for you. Agile methodologies like Scrum or SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) can help you collaborate more effectively as a team, adapt to changing requirements, and produce working software within tight deadlines.

If you and your team are making the switch to Agile, jumping in with both feet is the way to go.

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Don’t try to straddle the worlds of Agile and Waterfall or fall into the trap of using a hybrid methodology (Scrummerfall, anyone?). Instead, it’s time to rip off the band-aid and give Agile a real chance by fully committing to a new way of project management. When starting out it can help to have someone on your team get certified and work with an experienced Agile project manager who can guide you through the process.

Here are 3 things you can try to help make the adjustment more successful for you and your team:

1. Meet Daily
Shorter, more frequent meetings are critical to successful Agile projects. Scheduling a daily standup meeting with your project team will help raise issues more quickly, and keep communication flowing. If you find your standup meetings are lasting longer than 15-20 minutes, you’ll want take another look at your meeting agendas.
 
Remember - keep your agendas simple:

• What did we do yesterday?
• What are we doing today?
• Are there any roadblocks?

2. Before and After - Measure Progress 
Welcome feedback from the team, and record their initial perceptions, thoughts, and concerns about implementing Agile. Encourage everyone to be “all in” and fully committed to the new project management methodology for a set period of time before passing judgment. Once you have a few sprints under your belt, collect people’s feedback again and compare it to the original baseline. What are the team’s original worries that turned out to be non-issues? Are there any concerns that are still valid, and how can you adjust the process to accommodate them? This can help you continue to get the team’s buy-in and start to celebrate Agile wins! 

3. Celebrate Agile Wins!
Remember those “Before and After” metrics you’ve captured? Take a look at your list and separate out any wins you've had as a result of your new Agile way of doing things. Did your team meet their deadlines? Is your communication improving? Are customers able to get their hands on working products or software more quickly? These are just some examples of the benefits you might experience with Agile. Celebrate these wins with your team and use them as success stories to continue getting buy-in from other members of your organization.
 
Still unsure where to start? We have experienced project managers who can guide your team through the transition to Agile.   Contact us today!