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Agile goals
KEY LEARNING POINT
Learn how to be solution-focused and how to clarify what you want to achieve.
A key element of agile is not scoping everything out in detail at the beginning of the process. It takes the approach that we capture and review what we know, establish our goals and vision, our key objectives and then we act in small, incremental improvements based on validating the vision and options going forward.
Things rarely happen in the way we picture they will. We need a method that allows us to embrace the situation as it unfolds and make decisions as necessary to keep us on track towards our goals, and even change our goals, if that is the right thing to do.
By clarifying our goals and objectives we can work towards outcomes and value that we aim to achieve. Agile manages activities based on our performance towards these objectives rather than a pre-planned set of instructions and fixed requirements. The method helps the team to find the best solution rather than define and control it from the start.
To establish our goals, we need to understand and clarify where we are now, where we want to be, and what the options are to get from one to the other.
GROW model
GROW is a coaching tool established in the 1980s by Graham Alexander and Jonathan Passmore (Passmore, 2006) to help identify the goals, reality, options and way forward in any situation and is explained further in this and the next three sections (see Figure 8.1).
- Goal – what is the goal to be achieved?
- Reality – what is the reality of the situation?
- Option – what are the options and their impact?
- Way forward – what actions will be taken forward?
Use sticky notes to map ideas and map out a GROW model (see Figure 8.2).
Establishing goals
Consider the questions below to help identify goals and objectives:
- What are your goals and aspirations?
- Why is this important?
- What do you want to achieve?
- What are the objectives of that goal?
- What problem needs to be solved?
- What does success look like?
- What results/value/benefits do you want to achieve?
Figure 8.2 GROW model ideas map
Mapping goals
In the next section there will be practical exercises to help you, so consider now:
- What are you going to use agile for? For example, day-to-day workload, delivering a project, new product development, marketing campaign, managing a team.
- What goals are you hoping to achieve by adopting agile?
A simple way to establish goals is to come up with a list of things you want to achieve and how you would like things to be. Adversely, initially, you may find yourself thinking of things you do not want; capture these in the right column and then consider what the alternative want might be.
Map out wants and do not wants using sticky notes (see Figure 8.3).
By having a clear picture of what you want, this should help clarify goals and aspirations. We will use these goals later and use agile to identify the activities you want to change and improve.
By establishing the goals you want to achieve, you can be motivated towards what you want rather than away from what you do not want.
Reality, options and way forward of GROW will be covered in the next three sections.
Figure 8.3 Want/don’t want map