Clare D'Netto

I’ve written quite a lot of articles regarding my 18 years of experience in Agile the below maps out all the critical things often missed in an adoption of agile ways of working, that essentially makes it work. If your adoption of agile is a bit wonky and not performing as expected it’s for you. No Business Agility programme was delivered by Agile Fanatics (Evangelists) and Framework users Extrapolating frameworks into reality is rather difficult, but it supremely better than attempting to cookie cutter businesses or organisations into frameworks. A transformation is symbiotic not a replacement of one incomplete and unresponsive working practice with another one. Transformation by its very nature adopts and adds to the existing, getting that balance is essential, least the essence of a business or organisation become lost. “Businesses and Organisations need some bad guys, that’s the role of external Business Agility consultants” #agile #waysofworking #optomisingagile #holistictransformation

9

To coincide with international PMO day, I thought I’d share some advice on the key capabilities of a vanilla PMO, meaning the basics I’d be looking at as building blocks for a strong lasting PMO. Setting Up Your Vanilla PMO for Success Before diving headfirst into establishing your PMO, it's crucial to lay the groundwork for success. Start by clearly defining your goals, assembling the right team and tools, and crafting a plan for implementation. But perhaps most importantly, you need to understand the key capabilities and resources necessary for your PMO to thrive. Key Capabilities for Your Vanilla PMO 1. Stakeholder Management: Keep your stakeholders in the loop and harness their valuable insights to keep your projects on track and on budget. 2. Planning and Design: Thoroughly plan and design your PMO to avoid stumbling blindly into chaos. Construct project lists, envision your goals, and craft a strategy for success. 3. Framework and Methodology Management: Choose the right framework and methodology to streamline project management, resource allocation, and project management. 4. Change Management: Anticipate and manage changes effectively to ensure minimal disruption and maximum agility. 5. Controls Management: Establish clear controls to provide structure, accountability, and assurance and compliance. …… Taking Your Vanilla PMO to the Next Level - Forming cross-functional teams to break down silos and foster collaboration. - Embracing flexibility in your approach to project governance to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. - Encouraging experimentation and embracing technology to stay agile and innovative. - Cultivating a culture of communication and feedback to keep everyone aligned and engaged. Setting up a PMO is no small feat, but with the right approach and understanding of key capabilities, you can set yourself up for success. And while there may be many flavors of PMO out there, starting with vanilla is a surefire way to lay a solid foundation. Everyone likes vanilla right? #pmo #intlpmoday

12

How does the change management function demonstrate value to executives? I thought I would ask Chat GPT this question. However, rather than asking this I thought I would position it from the angle of understanding what their priorities are, and then using this to align the services delivered. I wasn't sure that Chat GPT would know exactly what the Change COE (centre of excellence) should be doing to deliver value (and from previous testing, this confirmed my suspicions). So, the top priorities in managing change for executives. Some of the top priorities that came out from Chat GPT include: 1. Minimising disruption to operations 2. Maintaining customer trust and experience 3. Alignment with strategic goals and ROI 4. Clear and measurable success metrics These are actually quite close to with what our experience has been speaking to senior executives from various organisations over the years. However, in practice I'm not sure that most Change COEs target these exactly. The bread and butter work is usually: - Change project delivery: Support the change management streams of various projects being delivered - Change capability: Conduct various change leadership or management capability sessions, coaching and advisory services - Change portfolio management: Usually in the form of producing heatmaps and making recommendations on potential crunch points - Change methodology and frameworks: Developing and implementing various change management frameworks and tools What this means is there is an opportunity to directly demonstrate value to senior executives (who are the ones who determine if the Change COE is delivering value or not) through: 1. Minimising disruption to operations - Articulating potential risks in disruption to business in concrete business terms, such as hours of impact on capacity and operations (rather than just a high level indication of red, amber, green). 2. Maintaining customer trust and experience – explicitly map out and define the impact of changes on customer experience both directly and in some cases indirectly. For example, potential changes that impact the frontline staff can indirectly impact customer support and experience. 3. Alignment with strategic goals and ROI – How are the impacts of change being implemented based on strategic priorities? 4. Clear and measurable success metrics – Ultimately executives want to see how ready people are for change, and what the adoption rates are, at a portfolio level (and perhaps individual project level for select strategic initiatives). Again another focus for change portfolio management. This just shows how critical the work of change portfolio management is in delivering value from the eyes of executives. And not always what is currently being delivered. To read more about change management reports that executives want to see, check out our guide. #changemanagement #transformation #changeleadership

70

16 Comments

🚀 Only Three Weeks to Go! Join Our Implementing SAFe Class! 🚀 In just three weeks, from 24-27 September, Rick Barker and I will be delivering a live online Implementing SAFe class directly from the UK! 🌍✨ 🔹 Master the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to drive organisational success 🔹 Learn from an expert with real-world experience in agile transformations 🔹 Participate in interactive sessions with practical exercises and case studies 🔹 Enhance your skills and deliver significant value to your organisation Don't miss out on this opportunity to elevate your agile practices and make a lasting impact. 📈📚 👉 Sign up today! (Link in comments) #SAFe #Agile #ThreeWeeksToGo #ProfessionalDevelopment #ScaledAgileFramework #OnlineLearning #AgileTransformation

9

1 Comment

What Amber or Red flags do you have when working on a Transformation programme? 1. Poorly defined business benefits - Why are we doing this and who will it be the main benefactors? 2. Low sponsor engagement - Who has skin in the game and ultimate accountability for the success or failure of the programme? 3. New technology for the team taking over, but they aren't engaged - Not thought of round here. 4. Not in the top two priorities for the business that year - Competing priorities 5. No impact assessment - It's rare for a programme to benefit everyone. Do we understand the impact of the change on all stakeholders in the value chain. What's the plan for the people impacted? What would you add?

3

Would you say that the middle manager layer has always been a key target for change practitioners in terms of engagement? I remember that pretty much for most projects I've been involved in, significant effort is always placed on identifying, analysing, leveraging and influencing middle managers to lead and support change. Whilst strategy consultants tend only to deal with senior executives, for us working in change we work across multiple layers. And the middle and first-line managers are often the most critical as that's when we see action and results. The rest of the project team may also only interact with only certain business stakeholders. So, the change manager has a very critical role to be able to read and influence the middle layer. How the change takes shape within particular teams can often be shaped by the middle manager. They can be engaged, influential, rigorous, empowering, or a vacuum that sucks all your energy with no real output or action. What has been your experience in working with middle managers in driving change results? #changemanagement #transformation #middlemanagers https://lnkd.in/gBbUCi4A

8

4 Comments

Enhancing accessibility for passengers with disabilities entails employing creative approaches such as utilizing holograms for guidance, possibly with subtitles or sign language translation. Participating in dialogues and forums, such as the Independent Gatwick Accessibility Panel, to exchange ideas and insights can greatly enhance the travel journey for disabled passengers. Embracing technology and ongoing refinement through practical implementation are vital strides in this direction. #AccessibilityInnovation #DisabilityTravel #HologramAssistance #InclusiveTravel #AccessibilityPanel #TechForInclusion #ContinuousLearning #TravelEnhancement

1

Expertise and empathy 👈🏽 are we fully using both? At the right times? 🧠💓 When people approach retirement with trepidation, with confusion, or they simply refuse to acknowledge that they’re near retirement at all… how can employers and the pensions industry support them? Fascinating discussion with a pensions Dream Team this morning, over a Quietroom breakfast. #pensions #comms #retirement #video #AI

50

13 Comments

Big demand for this one!!! It's just dropped! The latest episode of The Transformation Leaders Podcast, featuring Ash Gawthorp is now released. Watch the video here - https://lnkd.in/eBxAKQC7 or listen via your favourite Podcast app #TheTransformationStrategist #Podcast #ChangeLeadership #Transformation

50

13 Comments

📢 NORTH EAST GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 📢 Investor Partnerships in digital technologies, North East: Rd 1 UK registered SMEs can apply for grant funding for projects that grow their innovation activities in the digital technologies cluster in North East England (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham), alongside investment from selected investor partners. Competition opens: Monday 4 November 2024 Competition closes: Wednesday 11 December 2024 11:00am To apply your business must: ·      be a UK registered micro, small or medium sized business (SME) ·      carry out all of its project work in the UK ·      intend to exploit the results from or in the UK ·      be invited to apply by your investor partner ·      have agreed your proposal with your investor partner before submitting be able to complete the aligned investment before the start of your project, through the issue of new shares or convertible debt ·      have sufficient capital resources to enable you to meet all your project’s eligible costs, including through the grant funding and the aligned investment For all projects, your project must: ·      not start before 1 May 2025 ·      end by 31 December 2026 Your project’s total costs will depend on your research category and must be between; ·      £50,000 and £300,000 for feasibility studies ·      £100,000 and £1 million for industrial research, ·     £250,000 and £2 million for experimental development. The projects will be led by ambitious UK registered micro, small or medium sized businesses (SMEs) who will use the funding to grow their innovation activities in the digital technology cluster in North East England, both during and after the project. The aim of this competition is to provide support for your research and development and access to the capital investment that you need to develop and commercialise your innovations and grow your business. Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, has selected investor partners who have demonstrated the credibility, capability, capacity and appetite to invest in innovative, technology-led businesses in areas that align with our objectives in programme areas. A full list of our investor partners is provided at Innovate UK Investor Partners – UKRI (https://lnkd.in/eXiSfiS3). You will need to gain traction with one of these investor partners before you apply, and you must identify them in your application. For more information about how Ryan can support your application, please do reach out. #grantsfunding #northeastfunding #funding #grants #innovateuk #ukinvestorpartners

6

1 Comment

Getting change right has never been more important. An increasing number of our clients at Freshminds are dialling up their focus on execution and delivery when it comes to change programmes. A few of my thoughts on how organisations can measure the effectiveness of change, and improve value capture. https://lnkd.in/dnKivxJd #changemanagement #Freshminds #Strategy #Consulting #OnDemand

15

1 Comment

Vulnerability is a very hot topic from the FCA right now, particularly given the impact of the cost of living crisis is still very much an issue for so many across the country. We all know that Financial Services is heavily regulated in this area, but a great deal of what the industry must do is relevant to other sectors, lessons can be learned across sectors. #financialservices #fca #energy

6

A few places left - book your slot now & discover how to use Lean to supercharge your organisations performance now. 🚀 If you’ve been before and loved it then a repost is hugely appreciated 🙏

1

Two webinars for you to be aware of. Please share with your friends and colleagues that are interested in building a career in organisational change and transformation. 'Your Roadmap to Leading Transformation: Master these 9 Pillars for Success' promises to be an insightful and engaging event - we have two dates available; 12th November - 18:00 - 18:45 13th November - 17:30 - 18:15 Book on to either via the Eventbrite links in the comments below #TheTransformationStrategist #transformationleaders #organisationaltransformation #changemanagement #businesstransformation #webinar

14

2 Comments

Glad I (virtually) attended this evening's Financial Times Non Executive Directors (NED) Conversations session with Neil Tinegate speaking on 'What Every NED Should Be Thinking About Digital Technology'. Neil raised the following important points/ reminders: 1️⃣ The NED role in an organisation involves guiding the vision, shaping strategy, fostering cultural support, innovation and a continously learning organisation. 2️⃣ Technology initiatives need appropriate scrutiny from the Board - especially with the upward trend in cyber security incidents globally. We need to understand the threats and manage the risks. 3️⃣ The most successful digital transformations start with a clear vision of what is to be achieved (not how). Leaders across the organisation must also be appropriately involved in refining and shaping the strategy. Loved the quote attributed to George Westerman (MIT Sloan School of Management Senior Lecturer and pioneering researcher on digital transformations): "When digital transformation is done right, it's like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a really fast caterpillar."

6

2 Comments

UNLOCKING INVESTMENT USING DESIGN THINKING APPROACHES Every start-up and scaling business needs investment - to develop products & services, markets, infrastructure and teams. Design thinking approaches have a great deal to offer any entrepreneur or start-up founder seeking to secure investment for their enterprise. Yesterday working with fellow Innovate UK Design for Growth (DfG) lead coach Sally Brazier and Magnetic's Design for Growth Team, Sarah Lazell & Kate Gledhill we delivered the programme's fourth Unlocking Investment Through Design WORKSHOP. We had a great turnout for the session with lots of opportunity for start-up and scale-up leaders to discuss their own investor journeys, in particular, what had worked well and what had been challenging. The workshop explored how Stakeholder Mapping and Service Design approaches such as Persona Building and Journey Mapping can be used as very valuable methods for helping time pressured entrepreneurs navigate the investment process from initial stages of awareness building through to agreement of terms. Three great new templates were shared with the group to help develop investor readiness, each focusing on how to get inside the head of future investors and ensure business branding and touchpoints are all aligned to support the investor journey.

15

3 Comments

If you know folks struggling with utilities, then share freely

1

Week Two of my reflections on project delivery and governance, and I thought I'd focus on the dynamic between two roles that I often see confused in an organisation - the project manager and product owner. I know that to the outside eye, these might fill a similar space, but when you stop and think about it, each provides a unique component to the overall delivery of any service, tool or technology that a business might undertake. Suffice to say, it is my opinion that both are critical to the success of any initiative, big or small. - The Product Owner (PO) maintains the strategy and road map of the delivery, whether this is a new service, updates to an application or functional change. More importantly, they provide the Subject Matter Expert's view of the delivery. - The Project Manager (PM) manages the implementation of the change within the parameters set and with the resources provided. They ensure the success of the delivery, manage its risks and benefits, and, its costs against budget. It is not a stretch of the imagination to think of these two roles as somewhat symbiotic; without the ownership you get an ever-changing set of goals, risks and issues, while without a PM you cannot separate the operational and aspirational from the work needed to deliver success. Over the years I have seen too many initiatives flounder either because the PM is stuck delivering something that has no home or perceived benefit beyond the desires of the Sponsor. Likewise, I've witnessed too many changes fail to gain traction as the PO gets mired in the day-to-day of the business, or is stuck in a world of ever-changing priorities. So what does this have to do with governance? Well, it is my opinion that a key building block of any leadership is to define who is responsible for these two roles upfront, and ensure that they are separated - i.e. not held by a single team member (even if this is a new initiative to the business). Governance, at all levels of the business, should be able to rely on these two roles to, not only deliver the project but also maintain the integrity of the product (which must have a lifecycle beyond the change being delivered). As you can probably see I'm pretty passionate about this topic and the benefits each brings to any initiative within an organisation. Trust me, no PM wants to be the 'go-to' person months or years after the project is completed, and likewise, no PO wants a project to deliver outcomes that lessen, or worse constrict, the benefits or functionality of the product. If I could say one thing to a newly formed governance group - it would be that you can ensure a good portion of success just by defining these roles and within whom they are invested! Oh and yes I'm still on the hunt for my next contract!

20

1 Comment