Taking on a new scrum team or entering a new organization can be both exciting and challenging. At Kenway Consulting, we emphasize a clear scrum evaluation process within the first two weeks to set a solid foundation for improvement.  Our agile transformation services are designed to assess and elevate key Scrum practices, focusing on critical areas such as story quality, retrospectives, and team dynamics. By emphasizing continuous improvement and addressing the common challenges teams face, we enable organizations to move beyond initial adoption and thrive in their agile practices.

Agile Adoption & Maturity Levels
Most organizations have adopted agile methodologies like Scrum, but often struggle with low maturity and a lack of focus on continuous improvement. One of the key reasons Scrum teams stagnate is that they are often asked to do more than their capacity allows. The demand for work exceeds their ability to deliver, and once teams adopt Scrum, there’s a common misconception that they've "arrived." This leads to a halt in pursuing continuous improvement, leaving teams stuck in their current state instead of evolving.

Key Focus Areas for Evaluation
We begin by assessing the team’s Scrum practices across three key areas: stories, retrospectives, and team collaboration.

1. Evaluating Stories
   High-quality user stories are foundational to any successful Scrum team. We assess:
   • Are developers consistently seeking clarification after sprints start? If so, the stories may be lacking necessary detail.
   • Are reference documents and discussions properly linked and documented within each story? This ensures all stakeholders are aligned and developers have the full picture.

Tactical Recommendation: Implement a “Definition of Ready” checklist. Before a story is brought into a sprint, ensure it includes all necessary acceptance criteria, reference materials, and dependencies. This practice guarantees that developers can work without confusion, and it minimizes the need for mid-sprint clarifications.

2. Optimizing Retrospectives
   Retrospectives are another crucial element for any scrum team. We look at:
   • Is the team consistently holding retrospectives?
   • Is the conversation collaborative or dominated by a Scrum Master or lead developer?
   • Are successes celebrated alongside areas for improvement? Do all team members participate?

Tactical Recommendation: Introduce a rotating facilitator role in retrospectives. Each team member takes turns leading the retrospective, which fosters inclusivity, reduces dominance by a single voice, and encourages broader participation and ownership in the process.

3. Observing Team Dynamics
   Beyond processes, we assess the scrum team’s overall vibe and collaboration. This “soft skill” evaluation takes time but is essential:
   • Does everyone have a voice, including developers, product owners, and business partners?
   • Does the team feel ownership over its work and decision-making power in how it operates?

Tactical Recommendation: The Scrum Master should take an active facilitation role by ensuring balanced participation in discussions, using techniques like “round-robin” or “silent brainstorming” to give quieter team members space to contribute. They should also model open communication and guide the team toward collaborative problem-solving, helping foster a culture of shared decision-making and accountability.

Where We Start
We prioritize improving stories, retrospectives, and teamwork. A scrum team that excels in these areas is positioned for success, driving higher-quality output and continuous improvement.

By focusing on these elements from the start, we help teams establish strong foundations, fostering a culture that not only delivers value but also thrives over time.  Contact us today tofor learn more about our agile transformation services.

In the realm of project management, the evolution towards agile methodologies, particularly through the adoption of Hybrid Agile approaches like Scaled Scrum, marks an important shift for organizations aiming to navigate the complexities of large-scale project and program execution. Scaled Scrum extends the conventional Scrum framework to coordinate multiple teams' efforts, enabling a cohesive approach to managing expansive projects emphasizing collective effort and phased development. This methodology is especially pertinent for organizations that have experienced success with individual Scrum teams. However, many organizations still need the sequential nature of the Waterfall model due to the demands of staying coordinated with the strategic and operational objectives of the organization. Individual Scrum teams emphasize the need for ownership and autonomy. While these are important qualities of a successful Scrum team, cross-team dependencies, timing, and architectural scalability require communication and coordination.  Transitioning to a Scaled Scrum environment through a hybrid model provides an opportunity to leverage this success on a broader scale, introducing agility while maintaining the structural benefits of traditional waterfall program management practices.

ACHIEVING BALANCE THROUGH A HYBRID SCALE SCRUM

Integrating Scrum practices into the Waterfall model as part of a hybrid approach allows a melding of bottom-up and top-down approaches using now familiar structures. By blending the predictability of the Waterfall model with the flexibility and responsiveness of Scrum, organizations can achieve a balanced project management approach. This balance is crucial for navigating project challenges effectively and delivering complex projects successfully. However, the foundation of this success lies in the correct organization and optimal sizing of Scrum teams, underscoring the principle that organizational structure is the bedrock upon which agile methodologies can flourish.

OPTIMIZING SCRUM TEAM SIZE IN HYBRID AGILE ENVIRONMENTS

For this transition to be effective, organizations must first ensure they are correctly structured. A crucial aspect of this structure is the formation of Scrum teams that are optimally sized to maintain a manageable span of control This discussion thread on this topic summarizes  observations made in many hybrid agile environments. This foundational step is essential for creating teams that can function efficiently and with a high degree of responsiveness within the Scaled Scrum framework. Only with teams that are properly organized and sized can organizations begin to address the dual objectives of maturing their Scrum practices and interconnecting these teams within a hybrid program, especially when these teams are collaborating on a common product or striving towards a shared goal and fully recognizes the benefits of agile.

The tendency of organizations to perceive challenges as stemming from personnel issues rather than underlying structural problems is a common pitfall. This perspective often overlooks the importance of organizational design in facilitating effective team dynamics and agile adoption. Proper organization is a prerequisite for accurately assessing the capabilities of a team, identifying potential skill and behavioral gaps, and implementing targeted improvements. It is only within a well-organized framework that the true potential of each team member can be realized, and the collective strengths of the team can be directed towards achieving project objectives.

EXPLORING AGILE SUCCESS WITH KENWAY

Are you prepared to harness the potential of Agile methodologies for your business pursuits? Whether you are embarking on your Agile journey or seeking to refine established practices, our experienced team is poised to provide steadfast support. Navigate the complexities of Agile alongside us, as we work together to revolutionize your business landscape. Connect with us today to embark on a journey towards transformative success.

FAQs:

What is hybrid agile?

Hybrid agile is a project management approach that leverages both waterfall and agile methodologies. It aims to provide the predictability and structure of waterfall while benefiting from the flexibility and responsiveness of agile practices at the team level. 

While Scrum teams focus on delivering value within their sprints, program management oversees the project's overall direction, setting milestones and monitoring progress against predefined schedules and budgets. The project is divided into phases, with each phase representing a significant milestone or deliverable. At the end of each phase, there's an integration and testing phase to ensure the work completed by different teams aligns with project objectives.

Throughout the project, mechanisms are in place to gather feedback from stakeholders, customers, and end-users. This feedback loop allows for adaptation of the project plan, refinement of requirements, and necessary course corrections. Once all phases are completed and the product is ready for release, there's a final deployment phase where the entire product is integrated, tested, and deployed for production use.

What is the difference between agile and hybrid agile?

Pure agile methodologies are favored when projects require maximum flexibility, rapid adaptation to changing requirements, and a high degree of collaboration among cross-functional teams. It's typically employed in scenarios where the end product is not clearly defined upfront or when the market demands quick releases and frequent updates. Startups, small teams, and projects with dynamic or uncertain requirements often find pure agile approaches beneficial.

However, in larger organizations with more complex projects or those operating in highly regulated industries, there's often a need for a degree of predictability and structure that pure agile methodologies may not inherently provide. This is where hybrid agile comes into play. Larger organizations may opt for a hybrid approach when they want to leverage the benefits of agile practices while still maintaining some level of predictability and control over timelines and deliverables.

In essence, the decision to use pure agile or hybrid agile depends on the specific context of the project, including its size, complexity, regulatory requirements, market dynamics, and organizational culture. Pure agile is best suited for projects where flexibility and adaptability are paramount, while hybrid agile is preferred in situations where a balance between agility and predictability is necessary to meet organizational objectives effectively.

What is a hybrid Agile team structure?

A hybrid Agile team structure when scaling with Waterfall Program Management and individual Scrum teams typically involves a combination of traditional waterfall project management practices at the program level and Agile methodologies at the team level. Here's how it can be structured:

• Program Management (Waterfall):

At the program level, a traditional waterfall project management approach is employed. This involves detailed upfront planning, sequential execution of phases, and a focus on predefined schedules and budgets.

Program managers oversee the overall direction of the project, setting milestones, monitoring progress, and ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.

Requirements are typically defined upfront and undergo a formal change control process to manage scope changes.

• Individual Scrum Teams (Agile):

Within the program, individual Scrum teams operate in an Agile framework. These teams are cross-functional and self-organizing, focusing on delivering value in short, iterative cycles known as sprints.

Each Scrum team works independently, with its own Product Owner responsible for managing the product backlog and prioritizing tasks.

Scrum teams hold regular ceremonies such as sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives to facilitate collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.

What is large scale scrum?

In large organizations, balancing top-down planning and dependency mapping with Agile principles at the team level is crucial for successful execution of complex projects. While the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is gaining prominence as a widely adopted approach, it's important to note that SAFe is not the only Scrum at scale methodology. However, SAFe stands out for its structured approach to scaling Agile practices across multiple teams.

At the top-down level, SAFe emphasizes the importance of strategic alignment and planning. This involves defining clear objectives, prioritizing initiatives, and allocating resources effectively. By establishing a shared vision and roadmap, leadership ensures that all teams are aligned with organizational goals and priorities.

Simultaneously, SAFe recognizes the importance of Agile principles at the team level. Agile teams operate in short iterations, delivering value incrementally and responding quickly to change. They are empowered to self-organize, collaborate closely, and make autonomous decisions to achieve their objectives.

To reconcile these two perspectives, SAFe introduces mechanisms for dependency mapping and coordination. Teams identify dependencies early on and work collaboratively to address them. Regular synchronization events, such as PI Planning and Scrum of Scrums, provide opportunities for teams to align their work, resolve dependencies, and ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction.

By maintaining a balance between top-down planning and Agile principles at the team level, organizations can achieve agility at scale while ensuring alignment with strategic objectives. This enables them to respond effectively to market changes, deliver value to customers, and drive continuous improvement across the enterprise.

Does the term “Agile flexibility” sound redundant to you? To those familiar with Agile project management, it is implied that Agile practices will allow for flexibility… in theory. In practice, there is often resistance to being more flexible after transitioning to Agile. It’s common for teams to push back against modifying Scrum ceremonies to meet a project’s unique circumstances or adding more traditional waterfall approaches in a hybrid approach.

• “We can’t extend the sprint, that’s not how we run Agile here.”
• “You can’t set a hard deadline, this is Agile!”
• “All team members, regardless of their IT division, need to be involved in this sprint.”
• “Where is my project owner? Why aren’t any business people in this Scrum?”
• “You can’t run multiple sprints at the same time.”
• “We don’t do Agile; we only use the Waterfall Model.”
• “This project is all or nothing, Agile just doesn’t make sense.”

These are real phrases that we have heard at client sites while managing projects using the Agile methodology. However, their projects may actually require a more flexible hybrid Agile methodology. The Agile waterfall hybrid approach allows you to cater to the needs and capabilities of the team working on the project. It also enables you to take advantage of the strengths of Agile and waterfall methodologies while minimizing their weaknesses.

Hybrid Agile or Agile Flexibility?

What is the difference between hybrid Agile and Agile flexibility? Agile is, by definition, flexible. It was designed for speed and adaptability, which businesses need to compete in today’s fast-moving landscape. 

How Agile’s Flexibility Helps Companies Remain Relevant

As businesses struggle with the demands of compiling, scaling, and managing their data, Agile practices offer flexibility that can help them adapt. For example, when a telecommunications firm wanted to incorporate more data-driven processes in their business, they were stifled by constantly changing requirements and business priorities. Kenway took a multi-pronged approach to helping them leverage their data more effectively, with Agile transformation being a key component. 

First, we created a more robust data governance process for their reporting applications to minimize data quality and availability issues caused by the high velocity of change in their environment. We called this the “front door.” This streamlined and organized the process for submitting requests for new applications. 

Next, we collaborated with their team to build a continual, iterative approach to development. After a request was submitted, we interviewed each client to gather their high-level requirements for each application, with the goal of building out more detailed requirements while setting the expectation that there would be future changes in subsequent interviews. This Agile approach allowed for faster development while prioritizing the firm’s most critical needs first. 

Because requirements and features of applications may change from our initial interviews, Agile workflows ensured that our process and applications were built with the idea that there would never be a “final” product. These applications needed to be updated quickly as the business needs evolved. Agile’s flexibility enabled the firm to make requests on a day-to-day basis and achieve quality results in a timely manner without worrying about the effects of continual change.

Why Hybrid Agile Is Needed

Despite the success of companies like the telecommunications firm, using Agile alone may not be suitable for every project at every organization. Transitioning from a traditional waterfall to Agile can result in gaps in vision, planning, and coordination, which often bring frustration and an unwillingness to blend approaches in a way that meets the unique needs of the environment. Often, the most fervent Agile evangelists are hesitant to try a hybrid approach due to the belief of regression or the scrum team losing control and being directed from the top. Deviating from tried and true Agile methods in the eyes of the converted presents a cavalcade of risks. 

The hybrid Agile approach allows for teams that are currently using Agile to continue using Agile and gradually blend in any waterfall teams or practices to ensure alignment and the ability to stay in sync with the needs and objectives of the organization. This Agile waterfall hybrid approach can be especially useful for large organizations that want to scale Scrum beyond a small team. 

For example, multiple longer-duration, concurrent sprints can be used at the onset of a project. This works well with the waterfall-experienced teams. Eventually, these sprints merge into combined sprints as the project progresses, molding into a more traditional Agile structure. With large projects, a “Scrums of Scrums” can be leveraged in the early stages of the project, to keep teams aligned. A “Scrum of Scrums” or Program Meeting is a regularly occurring forum that brings together representatives from the various sprints and scrum teams in the same meeting which allows for information sharing, collaboration, and planning.

Hybrid Agile in Practice

Kenway was tasked with implementing Agile on a large, complex project that involved five independent IT teams: two that used traditional waterfall methodology and three that used Agile development. The project was on an 8-month (32-week) timeline.  

In order to cater to the different teams that used different development methodologies, the initial sprint structure for the first six months had Agile and traditional waterfall teams on concurrent sprints schedules and a program manager. The three Agile teams used traditional, two-week sprints, and the waterfall teams were allowed to run individual, concurrent sprints with longer lengths of four to six weeks. 

This gave the teams new to the process (i.e. the two waterfall teams) time to learn Agile tools, become familiar with daily Scrum and stand-up meetings, and the stakeholder reviews of requirements, retrospectives, plans, and backlogs. By extending sprints to four to six weeks, the learning curve around Agile meetings and tools was much easier to handle. Over the final nine weeks, the last three sprints were positioned as a final merge or blend of all of the teams. 

Amazingly, the traditional waterfall teams embraced the Agile methodology about two months into the project (roughly midway through the second sprint), and by the time the sprints were merged, several of the traditional waterfall team members became such strong supporters and became “Agile Evangelists.” That is, instead of taking the expected six months to adopt Agile, the traditional waterfall resources embraced it within two! 

By allowing extra time and presenting Agile in small steps, the traditional waterfall teams not only had the time to learn the tools and the methodology, but were also able to experience the value of Agile Development—concise design documentation tools and processes, more rapid QA cycles, immediate feedback, and regular interaction with business teams.

The Benefits of a Hybrid Agile Approach

So, what are the benefits of embracing a hybrid agile methodology?

1. Employee morale and motivation often increase in Agile, because this reward of production-ready code is frequent (monthly or even weekly) as opposed to the longer traditional waterfall cycles. To see your work moving into production using timely software releases following manageable blocks of effort is measurably rewarding. 
2. Furthermore, increased communication between technical and business teams, often a challenge at first, becomes rewarding and enjoyable. The Agile waterfall hybrid approach using program management with multiple Agile teams not only breaks down the communication barriers that often exist between business and IT teams, it allows leadership the ability to influence and guide the efforts in keeping with the strategic and operational objectives of the organization. Agile groups quickly realize that the two organizations are working together toward a common objective. Scrum and stand-up meetings, as well as the backlog grooming, retrospective analysis, collaborative planning, and regular stakeholder meetings, allow personalities to shine and bonds to form that may not have previously occurred. On many occasions, I have witnessed programmers and business managers that had been sitting on the same floor for years without speaking become trusted work partners, even fostering friendships and socialization outside of the workplace! Agile breaks down social barriers as well as business and technical barriers. Yes, cats are playing with dogs, and now white coats and blue coats can eat lunch together!

Finding the Ideal Agile Partner

Undergoing an Agile transformation to improve your organization’s processes is no small undertaking. Kenway can help your organization make the transition and ensure alignment between various teams and stakeholders involved in your processes. Our experts can guide you through the most challenging aspects of Agile transformation, including determining whether and where to incorporate a hybrid Agile approach. 

To discuss how Kenway can help with your Agile development concepts and Agile transformations, connect with one of our consultants to learn more.

Hybrid Agile and Agile Flexibility FAQs

What is hybrid waterfall Agile?

A hybrid waterfall Agile approach combines practices from Agile and traditional waterfall methodologies. The hybrid Agile waterfall can help companies ease the transition to Agile and use development practices that are more suited to their projects and business needs. 

Can Agile and waterfall be combined?

Yes, Agile and waterfall methodologies can be combined into an approach called Hybrid agile.