Delivering technology business value efficiently and effectively;

Creating and sustaining innovation, creativity and productivity;

Adapting to the needs of an increasingly demanding world.

The heart of the Agile Adaptive Management Model depends on three levels of management focus: creating an Adaptive Organization, in which processes and outcomes are aligned with the corporate purpose, establishing a series of Effective Agile Practices to assure everyone understands their role, and selecting and developing the Collaborative Skills needed to sustain the organization’s collaborative environment.

• What does Agile and Adaptive Management mean?
• What should we look for in an Agile Leader/Manager?
• What are the minimal competencies expected?
• Where can we find people who understand Agile and Adaptive processes?
• What are the main reasons organizations fail to adopt Agile?
• How is AAM organized?

 

What does Agile and Adaptive mean?

Agile means the ability to swiftly sense and respond to changes in our environment (like a leopard changing course in a chase), while Adaptive suggests we are always looking for new and creative ways of doing things to emerge (like a lion overlooking the herd of gazelles). Similarly, AAM focuses on the organizational, leader/manager, and individual management skills needed to make and deliver business value “as soon as possible”, while also looking for ways to deliver better results in the future. (More – see paper entitled Agile Adaptive Management: building bridges between innovation and business value)

What should we look for in an Agile Leader/Manager?

The role of Leader/Manager in an Agile Adaptive environment is more akin to “cat herder” than the traditional mid-level manager’s role implies. The AAM definition generally requires someone who can simultaneously focus on being strategic and productive, while the person is also empathetic and a good communicator. (More – see the paper entitled Agile Manager Behaviors: what to look for and develop)

What are the minimal competencies expected in an AAM initiative?

The AAM competencies are defined in five broad categories: Organizing for success, Setting up the Game, Playing the Game, Closing and Setting up the next game, and Professional/Community Development . (More – see the paper entitled Competencies for participants, managers, and leaders of Agile and Adaptive initiatives)

Where can we find people who understand Agile and Adaptive processes?

You are encouraged to send AAM your resume and/or job outreach announcement – anyone we teach, coach or otherwise know personally will be connected appropriately. Please note the networks of individuals and organizations listed on our resource page for additional consideration.

What are the main reasons organizations fail to adopt Agile?

Organizations generally fail at integrating Agile and Adaptive practices for four reasons: they don’t involve customers/product owners sufficiently; their technical debt or highly integrated code base weighs them down; they don’t align other organizational functions (e.g., accounting, HR, Sales, and Marketing) with the expectations of Agile and Adaptive practices; and the most serious is falling back into bad habits of communication and decision making. (More – see the paper entitled Reasons why organizations fail to make the shift to Agile and Adaptive Management)

How is AAM organized?

AAM tries to practice what it preaches by being a community of consultants who assure their client’s needs are met iteratively and with measurable results. We like to begin our engagements with some form of an assessment that leads to a suggested iterative plan of work. That plan of work and associated measures of success then help us suggest an appropriate fee schedule based on what we jointly accomplish. (More – see our roadmap page)