Using the agile tree effectively in entrepreneurial projects

Using the agile tree for better understanding

Agile approaches in project management are riddled with a multitude of technical terms, the meaning of which must be known to all project participants. Otherwise, serious misunderstandings can quickly arise that have a negative impact on successful project implementation. For this reason, all stakeholders of an agile project should know which aspects are covered by agility and clarify all technical terms used in the framework. After all, all agile frameworks have individual practices, principles and values that can be described using their own technical vocabulary.

In order to ensure clear communication when working on agile projects, all stakeholders should be given a comprehensive overview of the technical vocabulary used and the existing relationships at an early stage. In the end, all project participants must have the same level of knowledge. The filled, agile tree also forms the basis for further use. The use of the agile tree helps to create a uniform picture of agile working methods. This approach helps to decide which aspects of agility are particularly relevant. The same applies to the values and principles in everyday project work.

The agile mindset as the core of agility

The breeding ground of the agile tree in corporate project management is the agile mindset that all stakeholders should have. These are convictions that are necessary for successful collaboration according to agile principles. Such an agile mindset includes fundamental perspectives and views, including an understanding of agile values and behaviors. The aim is to adopt an open yet collaborative mindset, which improves both the performance and attitude of teams and companies. The implementation of an agile mindset takes a long time and must be actively practiced by all employees in the company.

An agile mindset describes both the inner attitude and the awareness of each project employee that they can use their skills to shape their personal working environment individually. It is made up of two levels that are characterized by these two skills:

  • Ability to reflect: Project team members with an agile mindset are able to reflect on and analyze complex situations independently. They have a sense of which processes, actions of colleagues and managers and which practices can be classified as agile and which cannot.
  • Ability to act: People with an agile mindset constructively address any contradictions that arise, develop suitable solutions and put them into practice. Even in the event of initial setbacks, they are not discouraged. They keep at it and do their best to bring about necessary changes in a different way.

This dichotomy is due to the fact that individual team members often have a sound knowledge of agile principles, values and practices and also have an agile mindset. Nevertheless, they are often unwilling to take the initiative and actively bring about change.

An agile mindset supports a willingness to change and actively promotes innovation within the company. Companies can react more flexibly to market changes, while at the same time establishing a culture of continuous improvement. Many companies today are keen to make their working methods more flexible. This means designing an increasing proportion of projects using agile methods. However, the application of such agile methods is not enough, as it is also important to create a corporate culture that promotes both flexibility and adaptability. In this context, a distinction is made between two attitudes – “Doing Agile” and “Being Agile”.

“Doing Agile” and ‘Being Agile’ – a comparison

“Doing Agile” describes a methodology in project management that implements agile processes for handling projects. Teams use an iterative approach to projects. In this way, the project is divided into several steps. This approach supports the effective implementation of the project and helps to ensure the success of the project. To implement “Doing Agile” in the company, project teams are structured in an agile way. This means that there are no hierarchies within the team, but the roles – such as that of the product owner – are clearly distributed. Teams that work according to this principle are small, cross-functional and value collaboration. The workload is divided into subject areas, task units, user stories or activities.

“Being Agile” incorporates all the working methods and approaches of ‘Doing Agile’, but goes one step further. Companies that apply the “Being Agile” mentality – a mindset that emphasizes adaptability, teamwork and lifelong learning – to project management in order to effectively manage change are using this approach holistically. It allows teams to adapt to change on the fly, with individual team members always ready to learn something new. To operate in a fully agile way, the company must undergo an agile transformation. All employees must internalize the principles of agile action. However, this does not mean following fixed guidelines, but rather integrating the values and principles of agile action into everyday working life.

The main difference between “Doing Agile” and “Being Agile” lies in the presence of an agile mentality in all areas. It forms the basis for an agile way of working. For companies that have previously only used traditional methods in project management – such as the waterfall model – the switch to agile models means a completely new start. The classic hierarchical approach, which is characterized by rigidity and a lack of adaptability, must be completely discarded. Instead, the ability to act flexibly must be given a higher priority. Another difference lies in the implementation time. It can take years for a company to implement fully agile methods of action.

The four core components of the agile tree

The four different agile values, principles, frameworks and practices of project management are located in the agile tree. At the root of the tree are the agile values, which provide the basis for the principles and practices. These are ideas that are generally considered desirable and provide orientation for those involved. In an agile context, the values describe an established, common basic attitude that is shared by both the company and its employees. The decisive factor here is the joint negotiation and regular reflection process.

The agile principles are located in the tree trunk, especially face-to-face communication, customer centricity and self-organization within the team. This should be aligned with what is important for collaboration and organization within the group. In this context, it is important to recognize that adherence to agile principles is a valuable prerequisite for agile practices to be fully effective. For example, if a team works with the agile scrum methodology but disregards the principle of focusing on the customer, the work result will be unsatisfactory.

The frameworks are located in the middle branch of the agile tree. These frameworks combine different practices in a more precisely described process model. The Scrum framework, for example, consists of an interlocking of roles, artifacts and meetings. Working with task boards, for example, has its origins in lean management, while user stories are more closely associated with extreme programming. Due to their excellent functionality, these practices have become part of the Scrum framework over the course of development.

Agile practices are located in the crown of the tree. Some agile practices – such as working with task boards or short daily meetings – are standard practice in agile project management, although it is irrelevant whether the work is actually agile. The practices that are followed usually originate from the agile frameworks, in which their process is defined in more detail. In most cases, different approaches are combined with the aim of making agility more tangible and easier to implement. They represent a collection of sensible procedures that support teams in the iterative development of products.

Clarify technical terms in advance in a workshop

The agile tree is a valuable tool for illustrating the idea of agility, agile values and principles as well as the resulting relationships. The design of the agile tree with the cooperation of all those involved in the project creates a valuable basis that gives everyone involved an understanding of the technical vocabulary used and illustrates the existing relationships in the form of a tree. In particular, teams that have a very heterogeneous level of knowledge regarding agility in projects should organize such a workshop in advance in order to find a common knowledge base. At the same time, such workshops help to establish a general understanding of the topic of agility in projects.

The best time to organize such a workshop is during the preparation or planning phase of a project. At this point, the team and project manager can still agree on the use of the appropriate agile framework and the practices to be used. However, even in the early phase of the project, it is still worthwhile to develop the agile tree in a joint workshop. The scrum master, agile coach or project manager uses this to convey a shared understanding of what is behind agility, what core ideas – i.e. what values, principles and mindset – are behind it and what methods and practices are to be used in the implementation of the project.

Optimal organization of such a workshop

If you want to organize such a workshop to clarify the technical terms of agile working within the team, all you need is a large whiteboard and several pens in different colors. You should also plan around one hour for the workshop. In preparation, the agile tree with all its core components should be drawn on the whiteboard. For a better overview, each core component should be given a different color. There should be a horizontal axis on the outer edge that reflects the change in mentality from “Doing Agile” to “Being Agile”. Overall, it is also important to allow sufficient space for notes and comments.

At the beginning, it is important to encourage the participants to actively participate. This can be done, for example, by posing open questions to the group or asking them to share their own experiences. The keywords mentioned are taken up and assigned to the individual core components. The meaning and context of the most important terms collected should now be discussed in more detail. The focus should be on the level of knowledge and individual concerns of the individual participants. The structure of the agile tree and the relationships between the individual core areas should be explained in detail. At the end of the workshop, the areas should be identified that the participants want to deal with more intensively in the course of the workshop.

The agile tree developed together in the team gives all participants a clear structure that is easy to understand and reconstruct. The simple, visual representation in the form of a tree makes it much easier for participants to highlight the connections between the different areas. At the same time, a visual representation is remembered for longer. The whiteboard used for collecting and explaining terms can also be reused – for example, to expand or refresh the collected knowledge in further meetings. The regular meetings serve to reflect on the individual elements of the agile tree. Agile values are discussed within the team to check their relevance or to determine which agile practices are currently being implemented.

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