Accelerating Digital Transformation using Kanban, #NoEstimates and Continuous Discovery
Many organizations struggle to achieve the business outcomes intended from their digital transformation. Stuck between organizational bureaucracy and traditional ways of working organizations end up moving too slow and often losing track of the business goals of their transformation.
This is the story of how a major utility in Australia used Kanban, #NoEstimates and Continuous Discovery to deliver its digital transformation creating what the CEO of the organization labelled “A template for the change for the organization”. Shifting the teams’ mindset from focus on scope and timeline to a continuous search for value and from activity measures to business outcomes, creating a culture of experimentation, the organization managed to deliver and achieve business value orders of magnitude faster that it has ever before.
In this talk we explain the beginnings of the story and the drivers behind the approach. We then deep dive into the details of the implementation, team structure and ways of working. We discuss the key challenges met and ways to overcome them in addition to key lessons learned from an ongoing successful journey. We also discuss Agile contracting to support the model and provide practical advise for anyone interested to follow the same approach.
Outline/Structure of the Case Study
Introduction - The Cargo cult
Context - How the story began
Moving to the new ways of working
Brief on Kanban, #noestimates and continuous delivery
Team structure
The mechanics - How it actually works
Governance - Managing the Steering Committee
Contracting Approach
Challenges
Key Success Factors
Open Discussion
Learning Outcome
Understanding of how to implement Kanban, #NoEstimates and Continuous Discovery
Business outcome driven development using an experimental approach
Target Audience
Developers, Agile coaches, leaders of agile projects and intiatives
Prerequisites for Attendees
Good understanding and experience with Agile
Links
I have presented in several places before:
- Delivered and co-delivered several Agile Scrum / Kanban Training
- Lean Startup for corporations, ElMohanned Mohamed and Ali Zewail, Agile 2018 in San Diego (Presentation)
- Agile Adoption Case Study, Pains, Challenges & Benefits, Second Africa and Middle East Conference on Software Engineering, 2016, Asmaa Anwar, Amr Kame and ElMohanned Ahmed (Article on ACM)
- 25% Ahead of Schedule and just at “Step 2” of the SAMI, ElMohanned Ahmed and Ahmed Sidky, Agile 2009, Chicago (Article on IEEE).
- Delivered a training program on RUP, OO Analysis and Design, UML, Java programing and OO programming under IBM and MICT SETA workforce development program in South Africa.
- Volunteer, Agile 2010, Orlando and Agile 2012, Dallas
- System Thinking, Introduction and Reflections on Software Development, IIBA Cairo Chapter, 2011
- Agile Adoption in the Egyptian Cultural Context, ElMohanned Ahmed and Ali Zewail, Projects to the Point P2P – Conference & Exhibition 2a010
- Acceptance Test Driven Development, Agile Software Gathering of Egypt, 2010.
- Agile Adoption, Raya Software, a local experience, ElMohanned Ahmed and Ali Zewail, Agile Egypt 2009
- Delivered many technical and not technical talks as part of my work at various firms.
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