Abstract: Millions of dollars are spent every year on training at Accenture to make our coaches and consultants world class. The name of the organization with this mission is called Accenture Learning, and nearly two years ago they embarked on the journey towards agility. They, like many large organizations, are at the intersections of scale: they have a heavily distributed team and want to be more Agile in their approach.
Co-location has been seen as by some as a litmus test for the seriousness of an Agile transformation, but is it? Can a coach enter the engagement with integrity, knowing that co-location is largely out of the question? I've coached many teams that have had remote aspects to them, so when faced with completely distributed, non-software teams, I jumped at the chance. I saw this as a unique opportunity to learn about remote work and advance my own company by influencing them in an Agile direction.
There are two questions at the heart of this engagement. One, what sort of benefits can a distributed organization expect from an Agile transformation? Second, how did I modify my approach (and continue to) in the year I've been there? I hope you rush to this session to find out!
Lessons Learned from Your Experience: - The approach I've taken has evolved and continues to. Normally my stance leans heavily on Facilitating, but with 100% distributed teams I had to rely more on a Teaching and Mentorship stance. Constant change was and continues to be a common theme during this engagement:
- Travel budgets are always changing - Often remote implementations of agile come with some allocation of travel money, but its a mistake to assume all the budget will be there. Make alternative plans.
- Your training material has to change - Don't try the same training material you used in class for a virtual training or you'll lose them fast.
- Coach, your schedule will change - Supporting a global team from my home office has resulted in changes to my personal life.
- Your approach has to change - Fully remote implementations of Agile require even more patience than co-located implementations. "Everything will be slower" was the advice that I got when entering the engagement.
- Aggressive Pursuit of Connection - As an in-person coach it's easy to walk and visit the teams, attend their ceremonies, build relationships and gain trust.
Attachments:
