Business Agility - Understanding it in Seven Questions

Quick POLL

How strong is your business' agility?  Elaborate in comments.

1. No idea what it is 
2. Once heard of it
3. We are considering a transformation
4. We started our business agility transformation
5. We are going through a transformation
6. Most of our business is using lean-agile methods
7. We have fully embraced business agility in all its forms

This blog is based on the seven reporter questions: what, why, who, when, where, how, and which.  You can read more about this question strategy in other posts on my blog: Simpler Agile. 

If you are interested in Business Agility please contact me directly on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpazderski/  

What is Business Agility?

Business Agility is the organizational capability to sense upcoming changes externally or internally and respond accordingly in order to deliver value to our customers and business interests.

Business agility is a comprehensive capability that encompass everything and everyone in the business system, including the organization, its vendors, suppliers,  partners, and even customers.  It is founded on a growth mindset (see Mindset by Carol S. Dweck), four agile values, and twelve agile principles (see https://agilemanifesto.org/).  It is instantiated in an innumerable, ever growing set of varied practices organized into frameworks.

Why is Business Agility important?

Since we work in a VUCA world: (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) we need the capability to respond to whatever changes are thrown at us.  Business Agility enables us to more quickly and easily innovate and quickly deliver iterative, incremental value to our customers.  Also, Business Agility provides better alignment within your business both vertically and horizontally. Lastly, when done correctly it improves work/life balance for all involved.

Who needs Business Agility?

Business Agility is a survival capability.  It is critical to all current and future business endeavors in our VUCA world.  Therefore, anyone desiring a successful business must understand and incorporate Business Agility into their business ventures.   Also, all people working in a modern business venture must get involved and support in Business Agility.

How does Business Agility work?

Business Agility requires a comprehensive all-encompassing transformation of the company.  Every person, every team, every group, every department, and every business unit must go through this transformation.  This Business Agility Transformation starts with all individuals cultivating a growth mindset.  Than understanding, accepting, and living by the four agile values, and twelve agile principles.   Such a foundation then enables to selection and enactment of the appropriate modern lean-agile practices and frameworks.  Yet, to select the appropriate practices and frameworks you need an expert guide.  In the lean-agile community such expert guides are usually called Coaches.  We inherently accept that all athletes and sports teams have coaches, sometimes more than one.  The same is true for Business Agility Transformation.  You must have expert Coaches guiding you.

When is Business Agility engaged?

The movement toward agile methods started over 20 years ago.  Many organizations across the globe are using them.  Therefore, if you and your business are not onboard yet, you are behind the curve.  The unfortunate circumstances are that many first time attempts at transformations fail for numerous reasons - lack of commitment, weak support/leadership, and/or poor coaching for example.

Where is Business Agility visible?

First and foremost, Business Agility shows through customer loyalty and promotion; i.e. the customers are so happy with the business, its products and services that they tell everyone how great those are.  Second, the business tends to outperform their competition.  Third, products and services tend to lead the market in innovation and disruption. Fourth, the employees, vendors and suppliers are very happy and promote the business.  Finally, the community are just as happy and supportive.

Which elements are critical to Business Agility?

Find and engage a well-rounded, experienced Business Agility Coach.  Cultivate that growth mindset.  Follow with the four agile values, and twelve agile principles.   Start learning modern lean and agile practices and frameworks.  Yet, avoid trying to become the agile coach yourself.  Get a professional.

References 

For further insights on Business Agility please follow these links.

• Agile Manifesto - https://agilemanifesto.org/ 
• Simpler Agile blog - https://simpleragile.blogspot.com/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpazderski/  

If you are interested in Business Agility please contact me directly on LinkedIn.

What - What is published?

I published an ultra short free book on LeanPub - Agile Quest 
Please take a look and share your constructive comments.

You may also be interested to join me in co-publishing: Agile Journey Guide
A free open-source Wikibook.

Which – Which is the seventh question

“Which” is the most fun, intriguing, and interesting of the seven questions.  And it seems the one everyone forgets. 

Asking “which” questions builds clarity by differentiating important details from unimportant details. 

If “which” questions cannot be answered on the spot, 

then they allow us to create meaningful follow-up actions and discussions. 

And “which” questions can be asked at any time: 

right at the start of creating an original idea, 

right up to the final close of a project.

“Which” is the question of free will.  

It reminds us of the choices we always have, but may not recognize.

DONE.

How – How to use the seven questions

Here is a brief overview of how to use the Seven Questions in proposing a new idea.

“what” questions get answers about things (tangibles), concepts (intangibles), and related activities

“why” questions get answers about motivations: reasons (historical causes) and purposes (future drivers)

“who” questions get answers about the people (individual human beings) and roles (characterizations individuals portray)

“when” questions get answers about time: dates (fixed or ranges) and schedules (sequences for events)

“where” questions, we get answers about places (physical) and locations (virtual)

“how” questions get answers about strategies (approaches to the problems) and methods (patterns for solving the problems)

“which” questions build clarity by differentiating important details from unimportant details in the other six questions.

Please note - the order of answering the questions is not inherently important.  But sometimes you may want to answer the questions in a specific sequence to foster a flow of the presented idea. 

DONE.

Who – Who needs the seven questions

There are two primary users of the seven questions

(1) Anyone who needs to organize her / his ideas into a meaningful proposal

(2) Anyone who needs to confirm a proposal is meaningful and comprehensive

The seven questions are an Agile tool for people to communicate in a structured fashion, which is simple and easy to remember – Seven Questions! 

DONE.

Where - Where to use the seven questions

The original intent for the Seven Questions was to present Agile Strategies for new ideas.  Yet over time, I have found them useful in other contexts.   For example, they can be used for proposals, agendas, interviews, presentations, training, discussions, kick-offs,questionnaires, surveys, etc.   At every engagement I find new ways to use the Seven Questions.   They just seem to be a good quick way to organize random thoughts into a simple well-formed strategy.

DONE.

When - When to Use the Seven Questions

There are two basic use cases for the seven questions.

First, use the seven questions as a framework to write an agile proposal.

Second, use the seven questions to verify the completeness

of an existing proposal prepared in a different framework.

And because the seven questions are comprehensive and easy to remember,

fundamentally they can be used as a checklist anytime with no preparation.

DONE.

Why - Why the seven questions

Agile Teams come up with ideas for new Products, Projects, Features, etc. 

Sometimes they need executive approval to work on such a new idea

- to get Budget, Staffing, Time, etc. 

Executives want a quick, simple, yet comprehensive proposal of such ideas.

The seven questions can be used to define an Agile proposal that is:

well-formed, quick, comprehensive, and still simple.  Because:

- there are only seven questions;

- they cover all the basics;

- and the seventh questions allows for any needed elaboration or clarification.

DONE.

What - What are the basic seven questions

While working with Scrum Teams I recommended limiting their idea proposals to the six common questions we learned in school:

Who,  What,  When,  Where,  Why,  How

Yet this approach seemed incomplete, inflexible, and limiting.   There always seemed to be a need for more details in some area.  Until one day I had an “aha moment”.   I uncovered the ‘Seventh Question’:

Which

DONE.