Page - 226 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

226 R.van Solingen departments or other companies in the same ecosystem. This is often forgotten, causing senior management to make the wrong interventionsat the wrong time. Thisinturnisahindranceandcounterproductive.It is thereforenecessarytohave active support from at least two management layers higher than the place where agile is implemented.But therecomesatimewhenit is theCEOhim/herselfwho will lead the transformation. Ultimately, an agile transformation is an integral transformationof the entire organisation. It can’t really succeed without the full supportand involvementof the highestexecutive. • Pitfall4—Theimpact isheavilyunderestimated.Transformationstoagilearefar- reachingandusuallyrequireadjustmentsfarbeyondtheareainwhichtheybegin. Agile teamsareset up, forexample,and the individualassessment ofemployees is quickly called into question—after all, it’s all about the team’s result, right? Beforeyouknowit, HRsystemsandassessment processesare transformed. It is thereforeworthwhiletolearnfromtheexperiencesofotherorganisationsthrough company visits, for example. In this way, it is possible to anticipate what is yet to come. It is also advisable to include, involve and inform top management. Ultimately, agile will affect the entire organisation. And not only in terms of workingmethods,butalso in termsofprocessesandstructuresandevenculture. • Pitfall5—Fearof failurerules,andthereare toofewexperiments.Agileworking requires short cycles and is therefore able to handle the unknown well. This does requireanorganisationto learnhowtoworkwithuncertainty,mistakesand experiments. A fear culture makes it extremely difficult to implement agile. As longaspeopleare afraid to makemistakes, experimenting is extremelydifficult. But it is precisely experimentation that is needed to be able to work in an agile manner. After all, the faster one learns, the more agile one becomes.A focuson learningexperiencesand the future in the case of mistakes is then important.As long as there is a fear of failure or in the case of failure, the culprit is sought in the past, an agile transformation will prove difficult. This is because agile is all about learningbydoing,andsuccessful learning is impossiblewithoutmistakes. Fear oferror isperhaps thegreatest assassin inanyagile transformation. • Pitfall6—Theimportanceofanewrhythmisnotunderstood.Rhythmisessential for agile working. Many organisations have a hard time with this and add agile meetings as an extra, whereas they should be the basis of everything. The organisation then remains very ad hoc and there is less time for the real work. By establishing a rhythm of recurring meetings, adjustment is provided for. If something unexpected occurs, escalation is no longer necessary, and questions and problems can be dealt with in existing rhythms. This provides security and structure. It does require a new rhythm to schedules and the structural cancellationof theusualmeetingsas theywereheld. • Pitfall7—Attention ispaidsolely to theprocess.Witha focuson themechanical process, toomuchattentionispaid to theproceduralsideofagileandnotenough to the side that has real impact. Agile working requires much more than a set of meetings and working arrangements. It requires a different approach to organisational issues. Agile transformations require a change of culture, beliefs