We’ve spent a lot of time talking about Waterfall and Agile methodologies and best practices for both. One thing that I wanted to highlight is the process and challenges that can arise when transitioning a team from one to the other. Like most, my team had been using waterfall for years, as it was the most common and well known practice. When our leadership had the bright idea to move to Agile we spent a great amount of time navigating the challenges that arose while also trying to retrain our brains to a new way of thinking.
Some advice I’d to those making the transition:
- Make sure that ALL stakeholders involved in the project have taken Agile training. – From the CEO to the developer (or person producing the final product) it is important that they have been trained and understand what Agile truly means and how it works. This will eliminate confusion and level set expectations.
- Build your team based on the Agile roles and responsibilities. – A major mistake that we made was trying to build an Agile team using the old team structure and roles that we already had in place (several business PM’s, Analysts, etc.) instead of assigning Agile roles (Scrum Master, product owner, etc.). This caused a lot of confusion because it was hard to define roles and responsibilities for each person involved.
- Plan time for the learning curve. – Just because the team has taken training, it does not mean that the transition will happen overnight and they will suddenly be Agile experts. Build in a buffer at the beginning of the first project to allow everyone to get comfortable.
- Agile does NOT equal to fast. – A huge misconception (mainly from those who have not taken any Agile learnings) is that Agile means that a project that normally takes a year will miraculously be completed in 2 months (or in a few sprints). Agile allows for teams work more closely and see progress during each step of the project but it does not mean that the progress will happen faster than waterfall.
Has anyone else participated in a team that transitioned from Waterfall to Agile and have similar experience or advice?
Hi Shakia, this is a fantastic post and greatly appreciated! I have been wanting to recommend that our business take agile training and I’m so glad you just confirmed that we need to do this! Our IT team went through it, but no one on the businesses themselves. Which, doesn’t make much sense to me. Also fantastic advice about giving time for the learning curve. I also wonder if there are certain things that project teams tend to make mistakes with when transitioning, and if they can be avoided by knowing to look out or plan for it.
Hey Mallory!
I’m glad that you found this helpful! We made ALL of these mistakes plus some but training was the biggest one! My leadership sent 2 people (myself and a co-worker) to be trained and expected us to teach everyone else on the business and IT sides! Big Mistake! There are also different types of training based on specific project team roles that I think are really beneficial. I went to Scrum Alliance but I’m sure others are just as good! I would also suggest starting with a small project to practice and taking time to complete the retrospective at the end. They seem pointless but they really do help with eliminating repeating the same mistakes.
Hi Shakia,
Great post! You have provided excellent advice to assist with the challenges of transitioning from Waterfall to Agile. As with any company change or transition can be difficult and it is essential to have the buffer that you mentioned for those employees that are having trouble with buy in. It is also important that while employees are being trained, they are also learning the “why” behind the change and what’s in it for them. I find that to be helpful as well.
Hey Shakia –
I am so glad you wrote about Waterfall to Agile methodologies. My company is currently malfunctioning (not working) through a broken waterfall method. Waterfall + regulatory government bodies + creativity does not mix well, especially when it comes to creating graphic design pieces or digital landing pages/newsletter templates for the corporate side of the business. Having to watch three-week old pieces skip, jump, and hop over their deadlines is dreadful, and I blame it entirely on the waterfall method that my company has been running on for as long as they’ve operated. The problem with switching from one way of doing business to the other is the stubbornness of senior management that believe in a philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That, coupled with their unwillingness to see the greener grass on the other side leaves the marketing/digital department with stressed out employees and dysfunction in the workplace.
Agile is definitely the way to go – especially when it comes to businesses that have a lot of regulatory bodies behind the scenes.