Avoiding the Dilbert Syndrome

Home , Catbert, Dilbert, Dilbert (character)

What Does the Agile Manager Actually Do?

agile husband start-up technology newly-minted Canadian executive leanstartup outsourcing father Dave Sharrock enterprise transitions [email protected] data analysis seismology PhD twitter: @davesharrock B2C kanban Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) Certified Scrum Trainer™ (CST) scrum organizational excellence

the pointy-haired boss…

and Dilbert.

agile42 | We advise, train and coach companies building software www.agile42.com | All rights reserved. ©2017 Accenture survey of 1,770 frontline, mid-level and executive-level managers from 14 countries How do managers spend their time?

7% Administrative coordination and 10% control

Solving problems and collaborating

53% Strategy and innovation 30%

Developing people and engaging with stakeholders https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-artificial-inte llige nce-will-redefine-ma nage ment

•Form groups of 2-4; Think about what managers did before agile… •Make a list of 5-10 core responsibilities of a manager in your organization

Leadership Functional Management • Providing strategic direction • Training and support to new hires • Cross-training employees • Provide necessary tools and education • Engaging with other managers • Establish standards and best practices Line Management • Monitoring performance vs targets • Recruitment Project Management • Resource management • Tracking project progress • Coaching and performance feedback • Managing tasks and priorities • Reporting on performance indicators • Identify and address inefficiencies

Leadership Functional Management Team • Providing strategic direction • Training and support to new hires CoP/Guild Team • Cross-training employees • Provide necessary tools and education CoP/Guild • Engaging with other managers • Establish standards and best practices Line Management • Monitoring performance vs targets Team • Recruitment Project Management PO • Resource managementTeam • Tracking project progress SM Team/PO • Coaching and performance feedback • Managing tasks and priorities SM • Reporting on performance indicators • Identify and address inefficiencies

All that’s left… 7% Administrative coordination and control 10% Leadership Solving problems and • Providing strategic direction collaborating • Engaging with other managers Line Management 53% Strategy and innovation 30% • Reporting on performance indicators Functional Management Developing people and engaging with • Monitoring performance vs targets stakeholders

•The goal is to come up with 1-2 options (Option Catbert, Option PHB) •Write each option on a 4x6 card or post-it note •If you have time place your 2-3 options on the Dilbert Scale

expecting iterative and incremental change

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7573/15708839377_1cfef5571c_b.jpg

expect iterative and incremental change

focus on flow and value delivery

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Kowloon_Waterfront %2C_Hong_Kong%2C_2013-08-09%2C_DD_05.jpg

provide guidance and visible progress

shield the team (to allow risk-taking)

enable problem solving, not solving problems

https://d.justpo.st/media/images/2014/03/1c4a756623a5a9527c3899191ef49685.jpg

enable problem solving, not solving problems

share your knowledge

https://d.justpo.st/media/images/2014/03/1c4a756623a5a9527c3899191ef49685.jpg

•Now come up with a final Dilbert Option, based on: • Maintain visibility • The importance of safety • Encourage learning •Write it on a 4x6 card or post-it note and add it to Dilbert Scale

The major web relaunch project has been started We are about a third of the way through the using Scrum. The project has a fixed deadline with project timeline, with only 20% of the executive bonuses tied to successful delivery on expected scope complete. or before the hard deadline. Your stakeholder committee is getting The web team have agreed the expected scope nervous, and would like an update in next for the project. However, the delivery of the teams week’s Steering Committee meeting. is significantly below that needed to meet the deadline. What would you suggest?

While the productivity of the teams has grown, it has not yet doubled as required to meet the project deadline.

The team formation and chartering exercise went Several sprints later, things had got worse. well. Right from the outset, one of the senior Even though the retrospectives kept developers was far outperforming the rest of the focussing on how to share work across the team. He finished most of the stories, and always team, the developer refused to change his took on a lot more work than others. behaviour. Something had to change.

However, none of the rest of the team knew what Eventually the Scrum Master comes to you he was doing. Sometimes stories finished as asking for help. planned, sometimes they were carried over into the next sprint. What would you suggest?

After several months of working as small, Without the regular one-on-ones with his testers dedicated Scrum teams, I asked the Quality he was unsure what the team was doing, or how Manager how things were going – was the team product quality had changed. increasing the quality of their work? Was test He was still meeting with his functional team automation progressing as planned? How regularly, but wasn’t sure how to make sure comfortable was he with the work the team was quality was where it needed to be. doing?

He said he had no idea what the team was doing, What would you suggest? let alone how good the quality of the product was.

• manage by objectives • take risks and allow risk-taking decisions to take place at lower levels in the organisation

• be able to make strategic decisions

• be able to build an integrated team with team members capable of managing and measuring their own performance and results in relation to overall objectives

• be able to communicate information quickly and clearly, and motivate employees to gain commitment and participation

• be able to see the business as a whole and to integrate their function within it

• be able to relate the product and industry to the total environment, to find out what is important and what needs to be taken into account

https://mbsportal.bl.uk/taster/subja reas/busmanhist/mgmtthinkers/drucker.aspx agile42 | We advise, train and coach companies building software www.agile42.com | All rights reserved. ©2017 Managing Agile Teams

• Maintain visibility • Expect iterative and incremental change • Focus on flow and value delivery • Importance of safety • Provide guidance and visible progress • Shield the team (allow risk-taking) • Encourage learning • Enable problem solving, rather than solving problems • Share your knowledge