Agile Is Not Enough

Leaders need to support agile development by fixing problems that inhibit it.

Many organizations find agile software development fails to deliver on its promise because existing structures stonewall its effectiveness. For retailer Target, technical debt meant that inflexible architecture was holding the company back. Also, a habit of bringing in third-party contractors had hollowed out in-house expertise. Leaders need to remedy problems like these to unfetter the agile approach and reap its full potential.

First, remedy rigidity in IT systems.

Rigid legacy IT architectures stymie agility. To modernize applications, choose from four approaches: 1) Completely replace the system with a new one; 2) redesign the system, for example, by separating chunks of code so they work independently; 3) “wrap and trap,” that is, move core functions to APIs and build new systems to support new functions; or 4) in the case of low-impact applications, work around them.

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Companies have to fix the speed bumps that slow down the rapid progress of agile software development.”

Which solution works best for your firm depends on various factors, including how much the old and the new system will need to interact. Leaders at Target chose to modernize applications that affect customer experience, such as searches on pricing information, while continuing to maintain adequate legacy systems, for example, for processing transactions.

Second, restore and realign internal talent, and rethink accountability.

After years of hiring IT managers for their business acumen rather than tech expertise and turning to external contractors for technical skills, many companies have bankrupted their IT shops of technological skill. Companies have also disconnected accountability from the people who build products. Leaders need to restore the tech orientation of engineering managers, who should take on the challenge of rebuilding the organization’s internal capabilities. To attract engineering talent, Target’s leaders switched to open source and set ambitious goals for the company’s digital initiative.

“Some of the best practices of former years have actually made it more difficult to hire the right people.”

Because agile teams create efficiencies, many people currently serving in “watcher” roles – such as project managers and business analysts – will need to adapt to more active roles. In addition, leaders should make developers accountable. Many companies are merging development, maintenance and support for the sake of streamlined development, speed and reliability.

Third, borrow practices from product management.

Link software development to business goals by organizing work by products rather than projects. Product teams offer stability, responsiveness and accountability. Funding on annual cycles, with quarterly reviews, supports the product model. Continual measurement, which is also associated with product models, offers better consistency in measuring outcomes. At Target, product managers aim to reach specific business goals and receive rewards when they do.