Over the years, companies across industries have been emphasising more flexible and fast decision-making models alongside a focus on digital transformation. According to a report by Net Solutions in 2020, 50.7 percent of leaders expect to increase their spending to invest in digital transformation initiatives. The recent pandemic has also highlighted the urgency of adopting agile practices for adaptability, efficiency, and speed. Some companies may be in the midst of their agile transformation journey, while others may just be getting started to keep up with the pace.
While the agile way of working started in IT software development teams, this has transformed over the years to be applied at the enterprise level, integrating business and IT across all departments. This two-minute video by KPMG explains why the agile digital operating model is the chosen approach by leading organisations.
What is an Agile Transformation Office
An agile transformation office is responsible for leading and coordinating the transition to a responsive way of working across the company. The office develops and executes the transformation plan and communicates progress and results to stakeholders, ensuring that it is aligned with the company's strategic objectives. For example, training and support are provided to teams and individuals, so they learn how to perform according to agile practices. This structured approach to building an agile transformation office will help deliver value whether it is aimed at remodelling the entire organisation or part of it.
Setting Goals of the Agile Transformation Office
A company requires organisational agility to adapt quickly in response to changes in the market. An agile transformation office will have to clearly define what the company is trying to achieve and recreate the processes and structures needed to reach these goals.
When a business decides to adopt agile practices, many changes must occur throughout the company. These changes require significant coordination between multiple departments and individuals. For example, if a team is adopting new software, the IT department will need to work closely with the development team to ensure that their systems are compatible with the new process. Similarly, if the business uses a new workflow management method, the operations side must collaborate with the sales team to ensure that the backlog is managed appropriately. An agile transformation office in the organisation ensures that the necessary communication occurs among the various groups involved in adopting these practices.
Setting the Agile Transformation Office Purpose and Mandate
The importance of aligning the transformation's overall objective with an agreed-upon purpose cannot be overstated. It is important that the agile transformation office be given a clear and defined goal from senior management down through each level to succeed.
For the office to lead with a clear purpose and rally the whole organisation behind its goals, a mandate is essential. To drive the adoption of agile practices across the entire organisation, a mandate is defined in five ways:
1. A Transformation Roadmap to Help Organisations Become More Agile
As the agile transformation office is responsible for rolling out the changes, a roadmap will be helpful to communicate when and how they will be implemented. This also determines the support mechanisms to be put in place during each phase of the transformation.
2. Advancing Talent Capabilities
Organisations are facing a more complex and business landscape, which is why it's more important than ever to have a workforce that is equipped with the right skills and capabilities.
This means identifying the skills and capabilities needed to meet the company's goals and then designing and implementing programmes and initiatives to help employees develop these skills. This ensures that the workforce can meet current and future demands and helps make the organisation more agile and responsive to change.
3. Championing Culture and Change
The agile transformation office should embody its principles and behave in a way that reflects those values and set a good precedent for other departments in the organisation to inspire change.
4. Guiding Senior Management
Guiding senior leaders is essential so they can champion the transformation and lead by example.
5. Implementing Best Practices
Recreating new best practices or improving existing ones to standardise a behaviour the organisation should adopt.
Defining the Agile Transformation Office's Reporting Structure
Once the agile transformation office's purpose and mandate are established, the next step is determining its reporting structure. A common approach is to start from the highest level of the hierarchy and move downwards till it is agreed upon by all levels. This provides clear lines of communication between them and other parts of the business.
Determining the Agile Transformation Office's Roles and Responsibilities
Having a reporting structure means the enterprise is ready to decide on the roles and responsibilities within the agile transformation office. Many different roles can be involved in one, depending on the size and scope of the changes. Some common roles include Scrum masters, product owners, coaches, change agents, trainers, and business analysts. The roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined so that everyone knows their part in the change.
Success with Agile Transformation Office
An agile transformation office is not required to successfully implement agile practices, but having an organised structure that facilitates collaboration and communication is crucial to ensuring success. By providing a clear line of sight between strategy and delivery, facilitating change, and providing governance, the office can help any company embark on its agility journey.
While the journey is never simple, companies can start by identifying the challenges and goals of the organisation to determine the most suitable agile solutions and frameworks. Organisations may also look to professional services firms, such as KPMG in Singapore, who can offer an experienced viewpoint and objective advice to help businesses in their change processes. From an improved collaboration to a unified organisation responsive to change, an agile transformation office offers many benefits that help transform companies into more well-equipped, forward-facing organisations, accounting for their ability to take on current and future challenges. Thus, companies are urged to make a decision to adapt or get left behind by fast-growing technology.
