Agility in
Large Complex
Transformation
programs,
An Oxymoron?
Yashasree Barve

About me
Agile coach & Transformation consultant at
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Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Road construction IN a local neighbourhood
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Mega highway connecting multiple states
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Transformation Program
Transformation programs change how organizations use
people, processes, technology, and physical infrastructure to
develop capabilities to meet their mission. These programs are
driven by a sense of urgency, are broad in scope and impact,
and are typically done in parallel with ongoing operations.
Source: PMI
Saliunas, J. (2007). Transformation program management. Paper
presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007—North America, Atlanta, GA.
Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs - Yashasree Barve

AGILITY
The quality or
state of being
agile :
NIMBLENESS
DEXTERITY.
Source: Merriam-Webster dictionary
AGILE
: marked by ready
ability to move with
quick easy grace
: having a quick
resourceful and
adaptable character
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

The agile test
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve
Source: https://youtu.be/rybS3VJCqsc?t=77

industry data on
large programs
McKinsey says
25 to 40 percent of
programs exceed
their budget or
schedules by more
than 50 percent
Source: McKinsey Insights; Forbes
A PwC study of over
10,640 projects found
that a tiny, tiny
portion of companies
– 2.5% – completed
100% of their projects
successfully.
Gartner estimated
that 60% of big
data projects
fail. The real failure
rate? ‘C]oser to 85
percent.’
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Which barriers have
you seen to agility in
large complex
transformation
programs?
Go to www.menti.com and use the
code 5640 0382
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Scope SAGA
DEEP dependencies
For large programs,
dependencies can quickly
start impeding agility
tea,m dynamics
Dynamics across multiple
teams, vendors, and such can
make or break a program
Never ending scope
changes often dent large
program’s progress
Three barriers
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

The Dark Dungeons of Dependencies
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

• We can not do anything before they complete it
• Whether we can deliver this story this sprint or not depends on
when they give us the finalised interface
• The design is stuck as it’s dependent on business taking a
decision
• This module is at the heart of the process and it has 15 systems
dependent on it
• 300+ downstream systems depend on data from our system
• Ours is a reporting system, we depend on getting data from them
• This decision needs inputs from Jenny, so the discussion
scheduling depends on her availability
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

People part of the program team
Departments that are involved in decision making
200+
Upstream and downstream applications impacted
300+
10+
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Transparency
Dependency Maps
Inspect and Adapt
Early flags
RAID Management
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Too many people involved
FOMO
Consensus based
Decision making
delays
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Source: Innolution
Dependencies Are Killing Your Agility: Learn
to Fight Back: Ken Rubin
Structural and Instantiated dependencies, modeling,
improvement strategies
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

The Dark Dungeons of Dependencies
Team structures
RAID Governance
Dependency Modeling and Maps
Focus on closing decisions on time
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Scope Saga – The Silent Sabotage
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

• This is SAP, we always do Big Bang releases, go live either on 1st Jan
or 1st July
• This story would take at least 2 months to be completed, we don’t
even know what’s expected
• It’s not possible to break this story, it doesn’t make sense in parts
• The product doesn’t support this, we need a customisation, not sure
how much time it may take
• The requirements should freeze at some point of time, how can we
keep taking those in?
• They only create a high level epic and keep adding new stories all the
time, how will we achieve the milestone?
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Which techniques
have helped you to
prevent scope being
a sabotage to
progress?
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 5640 0382
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

People part of the program team
Schedule overrun resulting in frustration and mistrust
350+
Teams with multiple stakeholders giving requirements
30+
50%
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Stakeholder
management
STRONG
Product
ownership
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

The viability of an MVP
Wave planning
Traceability
Prioritize, prioritize and
prioritize
Vertical slice
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Scope Saga – The Silent Sabotage
Maintain Traceability
Strong product ownership
Focus on MVP; Prioritize
Vertical Slicing
Strong product ownership
Vertical Slicing
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Barriers of ‘we/us/ours’ vs ‘they/them/theirs’
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

• They only want to increase their head count
• They do not understand the system at all, look at the flaws in the design
• They bring a waterfall mindset, it’s very difficult to work with them
• They want to be involved in decision making, but do not give us time
• They always wake up at the last moment, we are 1 year into the project,
how can they come up with a critical requirement now?
• They have rather complicated our lives with new system with manual
workarounds rather than simplify
• They say everything is critical, they do not understand the MVP concept
• The delay is because of them, we did everything we could
• Our contract ends at this, they need to work on the rest of the part.
• How can they add a new dependency on our name without even
checking with us? Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

“THEY” Could be a different department or
vendor or role or skill or team or region
and so on…
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Alignment
to the
vision
Leadership
and
culture
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Team norms
Roles and Responsibilities
Escalation path
Change Management
Working model
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Barriers of ‘we/us/ours’ vs ‘they/them/theirs’
Change management
Leadership support
Working model
Alignment to Vision
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

Scope
SAGA
DEEP
dependencies
RAID Governance
Dependency
Maps
Decision making
Team Structures
tea,m
dynamics
Alignment to vision
Change
Management
Working Model
Leadership support
Strong Product
Owner
Vertical Slice
MVP, Prioritize
Traceability
In summary
Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve

THANK YOU
Let us connect at:
https://www.yashasreebarve.in
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashasree-barve
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Agility in Large Complex Transformation Programs, an Oxymoron? - Yashasree Barve