What is important not to forget when you implement Agile in a large company

Initially, Agile was associated exclusively with the IT industry and start-ups. A flexible development methodology is ideal for IT products and it easily fits into the foundation of young projects that are just entering the market.

And what about the big traditional companies that have lived in WATERFALL projects for years and in order to agree on a new button seven circles of bureaucratic hell pass on the site?
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Now we are seeing Agile spreading in new areas: banking structures (and this is not only about fintechs), transport services, etc.
Some companies apply a new methodology to individual products, some transfer entire departments into this format.

What you should not forget and what can help with the implementation of Agile in a large company?

Not all at once

The most important thing is to keep the balance. In any large company there are limitations that should not be forgotten when introducing flexible methodologies. You need to understand that part of the units will continue their usual work and will not go into Agile. It is important for managers to prioritize and sequence actions.

It is necessary to answer the question: how many flexible commands can we run and maintain?

Where is the golden mean between employee interests and company limitations?

The number of agile teams will increase the level of flexibility of the company, but do not forget how the teams interact with the rest of the organization.

Begin with yourself

Great responsibility in introducing new methodologies lies with the management of the company. Here all the leadership qualities will be useful. Only by setting a personal example and changing his attitude to the conduct of business and business processes, a manager will be able to cascade to all employees the significance of changes and their necessity.

It's simple, you want to change something, start with yourself.

If a manager comes to Stand Up in one of the teams and deathly silence hangs in the room, then something is wrong here.

Strengthen the team

The team in this story is perhaps the most important point. And this is worth thinking about from the very beginning.
It is necessary to conduct staff training with full immersion. Now on the education market there are quite strong players who specialize in the topic of Agile implementation.

Accelerators are also gaining much popularity, in which companies send their employees. Accelerator allows you to make several important measurements for managers. For example, how much an employee is motivated, to look at practical tasks, and not just to give a theory, to understand with whom not along the way, but who should be encouraged and developed.

Hiring the right people is not the most important thing for success. More important in time to dismiss the wrong.

If the company currently has no employees that are necessary for the full work of the team, you need to strengthen the team.

If a company has a part of employees that toxicly affect the work of others and interfere with changes, you need to say goodbye to such people.

Learn to delegate for real

The big problem of large companies is to double-check someone else's work. Dozens of coordination circles, endless edits ... as a result, a person does not feel responsible for his work. What problems? I still get rechecked!

An important task for management is to learn how to delegate for real.

Managers are fully responsible for business results, but rely on more customer-oriented agile teams.

Leader says WHAT to do, not HOW.

All waterfall in the head

Often, the result of the work of employees in large corporations is measured by milestones of road maps.
A roadmap of the product with milestones for 5 years ahead is drawn up and it is necessary to follow it, to report on each milestone. And at the head of creating a product, it’s not profit from the product, its usefulness, goals for important product metrics and so on, but strict adherence to the roadmap.
What do the staff do if they fail the task? That's right, carry the milestone.

What do employees do if they completed the task in 2 weeks, and not in a quarter? Correctly, report on overfulfilment at the end of the quarter.

Over the years, a certain way of thinking has been created. It is with him that one must fight when introducing flexible methodologies.

Adjust values, learn to take on and share responsibility, have common understandable goals.

“Why doesn't Agile work in large companies?
Stickers come off in 6 months. ”

Let this thing be not about your business.

Becoming flexible, creating more adaptive solutions, hearing the needs of our customers and developing in the new pace of the modern world - these are the challenges we receive every day.