The Age of Agile : How Smart Companies Are Transforming the Way Work Gets Done

An unstoppable business revolution is under way, and it is Agile. Sparking dramatic improvements in quality, innovation, and speed-to-market, the Agile movement has helped companies learn to connect everyone and everything...all the time. With rapidly evolving consumer needs and technology that is being updated quicker than ever before, businesses are recognizing how essential it is to adapt quickly. The Agile movement enables a team, unit, or enterprise to nimbly acclimate and upgrade products and services to meet these constantly changing needs. Filled with examples from every sector, The Age of Agile helps you: Master the three laws of Agile Management (team, customer, network) Embrace the new mindset Overcome constraints Employ meaningful metrics Make the entire organization Agile Companies don't need to be born Agile. With the groundbreaking formulas laid out in The Age of Agile, even global giants can learn to act entrepreneurially. Your company's future may depend on it! Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- PART ONE: AGILE MANAGEMENT -- 1 More Value from Less Work -- BOX 1-1: Manifesto for Agile Software Development -- BOX 1-2: Glossary: Definitions of Agile, Scrum, DevOps, Kanban, Lean -- 2 The Law of the Small Team -- 3 The Law of the Customer -- BOX 3-1: Paradigm Shifts in Science -- BOX 3-2: Ultimate Customers, Internal Customers, and End-Users -- BOX 3-3: Practices of the Law of the Customer -- BOX 3-4: Aligning People Management with Agile Management at Cerner -- 4 The Law of the Network -- BOX 4-1: Agility Through Market-Based Approaches -- BOX 4-2: Achieving Large-Scale Operations Through Platforms -- BOX 4-3: "Big Bang" Change: Six Mistakes Salesforce Didn't Make -- 5 Implementing Agile at Scale: Microsoft -- Get the Right Balance of Alignment and Autonomy -- Master the Role of the Agile Manager -- Handle Dependencies at the Team Level -- Ensure Continuous Integration -- Keep on Top of Technical Debt -- Embrace DevOps and Continuous Delivery -- Continuously Monitor Progress -- Listen to Customer Wants, but Meet Their Needs -- Deal with Directions from Above -- Use Self-Forming Teams to Encourage Team Ownership -- Recognize the Team Is the Product -- Build Quality from the Beginning -- Use Coaching Carefully -- Ensure Top-Level Support -- Box 5-1: Flattening the Hierarchy Isn't the Answer -- 6 From Operational to Strategic Agility -- The Principles of Strategic Agility -- Four Components of a Market-Creating Value Proposition -- BOX 6-1: The Collapse of Sector Boundaries -- BOX 6-2: The Path from Operational Agility to Strategic Agility -- 7 Changing the Organizational Culture -- BOX 7-1: SRI's "NABC Value Proposition" for Siri -- PART TWO: MANAGEMENT TRAPS -- 8 The Trap of Shareholder Value -- BOX 8-1: The Unsound Legal Case for Shareholder Value -- BOX 8-2: What Is True Shareholder Value? More value from less work. An unstoppable business revolution is under way and it is Agile. Companies that embrace Agile Management learn to connect everyone and everything . . . all the time. They can deliver instant, intimate, frictionless value on a large scale. Agile began emerging many decades ago, but truly took off in the software development industry. Sparking dramatic improvements in quality, innovation, and speed-to-market, the Agile movement is now spreading quickly throughout all kinds of companies. It enables a team, a unit, or an enterprise to nimbly adapt and upgrade products and services to meet rapidly changing technology and customer needs. And the process is applicable anywhere companies dont need to be born Agile, like Spotify. Even centuries-old Barclays is making the transition and reaping rewards. Filled with examples from every sector, The Age of Agile helps readers: Master the three laws of Agile Management (team, customer, network) Embrace the new mindset Overcome constraints Employ meaningful metrics Make the entire organization Agile And more With this breakthrough approach, even global giants can learn to act entrepreneurially. Their future depends on it. Foreword / by Gary Hamel Part one: Agile management More value from less work The law of the small team The law of the customer The law of the network Implementing agile at scale: Microsoft From operational to strategic agility Changing the organizational culture Part two: Management traps The trap of shareholder value The trap of share buybacks The cost-oriented economics trap The trap of backwards-looking strategy Epilogue: Nuclear winters and golden ages. Technology and customer needs are changing rapidly in today’s business world. Is your company adapting? Is it succeeding? Is it . . . Agile?