Remote and agile– the advantages of the Agile approach during the crisis
Agile methodologies prove to be the the ideal approach in these turbulent and volatile times, since they allow for quick adaptation, mainly thanks to the iterative approach, self-organisation of teams and value maximisation. Mr Karol Krawiec, the Head of the Digital Transformation Office in PKO Bank Polski will tell us how to shift agilely to remote operations and gain positive experience from the crisis. 2020-09-30Is Agile a good answer to the current unsure and volatile circumstances?
In fact, Agile – according to its definition – is the empirical process control. We provide framework enabling quick response and submission of a solution to constant supervision, its adaptation to changing circumstances. Both in Poland and worldwide, the pandemic has forced us to use such approach. Even if we do not call it Agile, we need a kind of agility of operation. The Agile Methodologies are well checked good practice that shows that division of work into smaller fragments and quicker response to change make it possible to obtain the competitive advantage.
What are your memories about the first day of remote work?
It was quite awesome time that showed enormous responsibility and involvement of the Bank’s staff. When late at night we tested solutions that were to prepare us for remote work, more than 3 thousand persons logged to the Bank’s network from home. Everybody was ready to devote a portion of their free time to make sure that effective remote work is possible.
What were the signs of the agility of teams in the first, most difficult period after outbreak of the pandemic?
We did not have a fixed plan. If there were obstacles that could not be removed quickly, we observed self-organisation enabling alternative solutions and means of communication. From the very beginning, at every stage we observed significant readiness to help and support, strong sense of mission and cooperation.
What was the biggest challenge and what has turned out easy?
The uncertainty about how to function was a challenge. Before, remote work was occasional only, so most people had concerns about work from home. It was easy to ensure self-discipline resulting from Scrum – from agility framework, from the events that create the rhythm of the day. Such habits were already achieved in teams, so the remote form did not prevent them from efficient operation.
Taking the foregoing into account, how has the role and way of work of Scrum Masters change?
The Scrum Masters has to create new framework of work quickly, on the basis of already worked out habits, such as Daily or Retrospection, but shifting them to remote tools. What is more, the groups of Scrum Masters in PKO Bank Polski strengthened and united very much. We can see already now that we want to continue numerous aspects of cooperation, that were worked during the pandemic, such as morning warming-up or spontaneous meetings during a day, in the post-crisis daily routing since thay build identity of a team.
How, in practice, scrum events and communication in teams look like now?
We defined quickly the new remote work contract, for instance how to show that you want to tell something when it is not enough to raise a hand; how to respect each other’s time of work to keep the balance between professional obligations and private life. Less formal meetings, such as for instance “remote coffee meeting” has to be introduced to maintain, in a sense, natural “office” habits. Another grassroots initiative in teams was to meet together for “remote lunches” that were to replace daily rituals of stationary work.
Which Agile’s elements turned out particularly important in crisis?
Surely, quick delivery of value to the customer; even a part of the product that is most needed, complete and ready for use. The work divided into smaller part and a clearly defined priority allowed for quick reconciliation of the key needs and resignation from redundant iterations. It turned out that we were able to provide working solutions without a loss of quality and without resignation from required reconciliations, e.g. in field of legislation or compliance.
Which crisis solutions will be maintained after the circumstances get stabilised?
New solutions that speed up the software delivery process have been created and will remain with us. We organised a “find a difference” exercise that has showed positive changes of the processes and our operations in the crisis mode. We have found out that difficult experience brought numerous good consequences. Today we feel that there are no challenges we cannot cope with.
How will the new reality of work look like?
We focus on benefiting from positive aspects of the crisis, that is speeding up the product delivery to a customer, maintains such solutions in the bank that were successful and may be successfully adapted to the “new normality”. Surely, we will also focus on the value maximisation. Agility means learning to do “the right things in the right way”, mainly when out budget is limited. It is our response to the current, unsure and unpredictable reality.
