Oftentimes organizations fall into the trap of thinking that change, such as agility, must start in specific areas. But not all agile adoptions/transformations have to start in IT. In this seminar, we will discuss agile adoption/transformation and its starting points in three different areas inside the organization: Product Portfolio – how we identify what work needs to happen and when Product Ideation – how agility can and should change the way we look at new products and their requirements HR – how we start to level up our current and future team members to be able to handle agility

1. Achieving Business Agility: Change Starts Here

2. About MATRIX
2
MATRIX blends professional staffing, consulting & delivery, and on-demand recruiting services to help companies solve tough IT and business
challenges in an increasingly complex and competitive world. Over the last 10 years, we’ve delivered more than 1,000 IT projects and filled
nearly 25,000 jobs with talented IT professionals for clients across the U.S.

3. Setting Expectations
3

4. 4

5. Today’s Overview
Oftentimes organizations fall into the trap of thinking that change, such as agility, must start in specific areas. But not all
agile adoptions/transformations have to start in IT.
In this seminar, we will discuss agile adoption/transformation and its starting points in three different areas inside the
organization:
• Product Portfolio – how we identify what work needs to happen and when
• Product Ideation – how agility can and should change the way we look at new products and their requirements
• HR – how we start to level up our current and future team members to be able to handle agility
5

6. What it isn’t
Defining “Business Agility”
• Just business involvement in IT agile projects or
teams
• More BA’s involved on teams
• Applying “scrum” to all things business-y
• Forcing business users to do things the “way we
do them in IT”
• Scratching “working software” out of the agile
manifesto and calling it a day
• Changing titles just to match agile terminology
• Providing agile training through LMS
• Doing agile things:
– Backlogs
– Ceremonies
– Other words
6

7. Defining “Business Agility”
• Agility that happens outside of or regardless of IT involvement
• Application of principles of practices around a core set of values:
– Collaboration
– Transparency
– Adaptation
– Flow
– Continuous Improvement
– More…
• Reducing the outputs we normally do to increase the outcomes that
modern-era workforces and clients require
• How we deliver value to our customers/clients (external) better
• How we work together better as teams and individuals (internal)
What it really is

8. Traditional Way Agility Has Moved Through an Organization
A few to a bunch
of teams do agile
Business sees smiling
faces and slower pace,
disruption in status quo
IT becomes good
at moving faster
Still doing half of the
wrong things
IT
"includes"
business in
decisions
Business is still viewed as
a part of the IT process
and only "does agile"
with IT
Business gets the idea
that they might be able
to apply some of the
“principles” for
themselves, maybe
8
OUTCOME
OUTCOME
OUTCOME
OUTCOME

9. Modern Way Agility Can Move Through an Organization
Organizational Agility
Agility in
People
Agility in
Strategy
and
Planning
Agility in
Design
Agility in IT
Sales
Agility
Agility in
Practices
and
Processes
9
Communication,
collaboration, and
value determination
begin before the first
product is sold.
Practices are mentored,
understood, questioned,
and changed as internal
and external drivers
demand.
Autonomy, mastery,
purpose motive stayed
“moored” to the profit
motive.
The outcome is an
organization that is growing
in agility and maturity
together; limited disruption

10. The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different – Peter Drucker
Business Agility in the Portfolio

11. What Does This Mean?
• Portfolio of work is more than the IT portfolio, it is the entirety of
product lifecycles in segments or entire organizations
• The portfolio should represent:
– Strategic Initiatives
– Organizational Change
– New Technologies
– New Processes and Practices
– Updates and Improvements
– New Products

12. MISTAKES COMMONLY MADE

13. Possible Practices for Business Agility
• Understand the products that your organization delivers and track work
against those products
• Visualize all work
• Maximize the amount of work not done
• Minimize the “lead time” of projects, initiatives, and other items
• Allow for variability and flexibility
• Adopt adaptive funding models
• Limit work in process
• Understand the matrix
• Increase feedback

14. STORY TIME:
FIXING THE PRODUCT OWNER PROBLEM

15. Questions
?

16. There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all – Peter
Drucker
Product Ideation

17. What Does This Mean?
• Product Ideation is around understanding, identifying,
proving, and delivering on new products
• Multiple approaches, frameworks, and tools
• Focusing on whether or not a new product,
practice, feature, or even process can produce
the needed ROI to be successful
• May or may not include an “IT” or digital
product component

18. MISTAKES
COMMONLY
MADE

19. Possible Practices for Business Agility
• “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution”
• Divergence over convergence is key
• Learn from prototypes (instead of building)
• Keep critical product development focused on “early in the product
maturity curve”
• Don’t overly invest in getting things perfect
• Increase feedback substantially higher than you think

20. STORY TIME:
NOT-SO-MUNDANE HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

21. Questions
?

22. “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will
take care of the clients.” – Richard Branson
Human Resources

23. What Does This Mean?
• A shift in thinking and doing - more than processes
• Rapidly responding to changing needs of the organization
• Continuous improvement of recruiting, onboarding, retention, etc.
• A move away from human “resources”
• Focusing on creating and nurturing a culture

24. MISTAKES
COMMONLY
MADE

25. Possible Practices for Business Agility
• Redefine the role of managers and leadership
• Teams are the lowest common denominator
• ”New-era” leadership techniques taught and reinforced
• Changes in incentivization
• Increase the number and impact of feedback loops (reviews)
• Focus on outcomes, not outputs
• Be part of the retrospective
HOLACRACY

26. “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people
and then tell them what to do; we hire smart
people so they can tell us what to do.” -
Steve Jobs

27. STORY TIME:
OUR OWN AGILE PRACTICE

29. Questions
?

30. Today’s Recap
Oftentimes organizations fall into the trap of thinking that change, such as agility, must start in specific areas. But not all
agile adoptions/transformations have to start in IT.
In this seminar, we will discuss agile adoption/transformation and its starting points in three different areas inside the
organization:
• Product Portfolio – how we identify what work needs to happen and when
• Product Ideation – how agility can and should change the way we look at new products and their requirements
• HR – how we start to level up our current and future team members to be able to handle agility
30