Global
With the Digital Economy and newer technological trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) encircling us, organizations are looking to implement Agile methods to optimize the delivery processes and reduce costs. Having a seasoned Agile Coach can really make a difference in an organization’s Agile journey regardless of whether it has just embarked on the journey, is trying to scale at the enterprise level, or is targeting to take the implementation to newer heights.
Let us take a look at some of the facets of an Agile coach and how the coach can bring value to the organization:
Coach as a Leader – The role of an agile coach encompasses the complete lifecycle of Agile transformation with the coach focusing on the process, people and technology that can enable teams towards working cohesively and delivering better results. A coach will be able to look at the current situation of the organization and will be able to map the organizational target state with a pragmatic implementation plan. A coach will focus on the behavioral, managerial and engineering aspects of Solution delivery and will be able to suggest the appropriate solutions to the leadership for long-term results.
Coach as a Communicator – To encourage teams to adopt, scale-up, and thrive on Agile methods, communicating a vision on the need for Agile methodology is important. A coach crafts out a vision showcasing the merits of Agile, how it improves the process, and cements the engagement with customers. A coach will reinforce the need for communication as the basic foundation of Agile methodology.
Coach as a Collaborator – A coach brings cohesive methods, particularly with teams working across geographies and distinct cultures, and encourages a common Agile terminology to establish an effective communication channel throughout the company. Coaches are known for ensuring common understanding of Agile methods and flavors and eventually facilitate arriving at a suitable flavor that suits the team.
Coach as a Trainer – Every company requires rounds of rigorous training and hand-holding for teams that are transitioning to Agile. A coach designs and customizes training modules for talent deployed across organizational ranks. As opposed to short-term training programs, a coach provides consistent and continuous training that results in deeper understanding of the Agile practices at large.
Coach as a Mentor – A coach helps teams get to up to speed with Agile by deploying the right set of activities to accelerate adoption, identify and plug knowledge gaps. Companies need communities that provide a platform for Agile practitioners to innovate and build new ideas, air queries, and resolve issues collaboratively. Coaches nurture and develop such communities, a prerequisite in Agile cultures.
Coach for Continual Improvement – Equal in importance to Agile implementation is regular monitoring to gauge the organizational progress that Agile adoption is bringing about. A coach builds a set of metrics to evaluate the extent of Agile adoption and also continuously looks at improving the practices. That’s how teams can become high-performing Agile units.
A coach is a sound investment for companies in terms of time and money. Since Agile coaches bring tried and tested, as well as brand new practices and processes, there is significant value addition to the organizations. Benefits of coaching are experienced even by early Agile adopters. At times, enterprises aren’t able to fully exploit the value of Agile. A coach analyzes areas for improvisation and develops customized methodologies to address those areas.
Ness brings Adaptive Agile delivery thinking into everything we do and our clients value the speed of an iterative roadmap to get to viable products, using a rigorous methodology and constant feedback throughout the process. Ness works seamlessly with our customers as partners to help them co-innovate and deliver value to the market.
