A Cadence Model for Planning and Coordinating Agile Transformations Using Lean Change

Large-Scale Transformations Require A Lot Of Coordination
Organizational transformations can require a lot of coordinating activities, if we look at Transformation using the lean change method we could see the following:

Individual change agents will collaborate closely with change recipient groups, one for each MVC being run.




Change agents will meet to coordinate and learn from each others experiences in the field.

 


Improvement experiments will causes change canvases to be changed, which may in turn cause the transformation canvas to change. This may require running Transformation canvas workshops. Changes to the transformation canvas will likewise trickle down to MVCs and related experiments.

Changes will need to be validated and socialized with other change agents, stakeholders, sponsors and the organization at large. Feedback will need to be incorporated to affected artifacts. All changes will require further communication.


The Need for a Cadence Model
My experience running large transformations is managing this complexity require setting up some and reoccurring workshops and sessions. The sessions and workshops makeup at transformation "cadence model", defining the synchronization heartbeat for the change initiative.

Transformation Cadence Model Overview
The example that I'll provide below comes from a more complex case where the organization had a lot of moving parts, I encourage you to come up with your own cadence model as the choice to use some, none, or all of these sessions is left up to the discretion of the change agent team, care needs to be taken to balance transformation needs with process complexity and overhead. This is just a quick summary, I'll provide more details later.



























Change Recipient Update - Change agents spend dedicated time validating improvements for a particular MVC with their change recipients.

Change Agent Stand Up - Change agents coordinate with each other, preferably using an agile standup style meeting

Stakeholder/sponsor update - Stake holders and sponsors are provided updates based on the information gained through executing the change

Change agent planning session - in this example our team elected to run a two hour planning session with two distinct agenda items.


The first agenda item was to analyze any insight gained since the last planning session. Validating improvement experiments, running change standups, and getting feedback from sponsors and stakeholders, all contribute to generating insight. This insight would result in changes in direction, and likewise modifying change tactics. Changes to various artifacts would be required such as modifications to the Transformation Canvas, MVC canvases, and Improvement Experiments.

The second topic of the planning session was to coordinate changes to affected Lean Change artifacts. Changes could include:
· reprioritizing the backlog of MVCs
· updating various MVC change canvas to ensure that all sections contain valid assumptions
· updating the transformation canvas so assumptions also valid
· ensuring that metrics and charts showing aggregate performance, success criteria, and capability reflect the latest information.

our team elected to hold the change planning session weekly, and rotate which artifact we would focus on every week, this meant that every type of artifact was investigated for potential changes a minimum of once a month ( see the cadence model below)

as stated previously I recommend that each activity be conducted according to a set cadence, this makes it easier to coordinate various activities, and helps the change agent team establish a steady rhythm for the transformation.

Here is a cadence model that accompanies this example, again modify it to support your particular context.
;