The Age Of Agile

Foreword by Gary Hamel xi

Introduction xiii



PART ONE: AGILE MANAGEMENT 1

Chapter 1: More Value from Less Work 3

BOX 1-1: Manifesto for Agile Software Development 22

BOX 1-2: Glossary: Definitions of Agile, Scrum, DevOps, Kanban, Lean 23



Chapter 2: The Law of the Small Team 27



Chapter 3: The Law of the Customer 49

BOX 3-1: Paradigm Shifts in Science 67

BOX 3-2: Ultimate Customers, Internal Customers, and End-Users 69

BOX 3-3: Practices of the Law of the Customer 70

BOX 3-4: Aligning People Management with Agile Management at Cerner 73



Chapter 4: The Law of the Network 81

BOX 4-1: Agility Through Market-Based Approaches 94

BOX 4-2: Achieving Large-Scale Operations Through Platforms 96

BOX 4-3: "Big Bang" Change: Six Mistakes Salesforce Didn't Make 97



Chapter 5: Implementing Agile at Scale: Microsoft 103

Get the Right Balance of Alignment and Autonomy 106

Master the Role of the Agile Manager 108

Handle Dependencies at the Team Level 108

Ensure Continuous Integration 109

Keep on Top of Technical Debt 110

Embrace DevOps and Continuous Delivery 110

Continuously Monitor Progress 111

Listen to Customer Wants, but Meet Their Needs 112

Deal with Directions from Above 113

Use Self-Forming Teams to Encourage Team Ownership 113

Recognize the Team Is the Product 114

Build Quality from the Beginning 114

Use Coaching Carefully 115

Ensure Top-Level Support 115

Box 5-1: Flattening the Hierarchy Isn't the Answer 116



Chapter 6: From Operational to Strategic Agility 119

The Principles of Strategic Agility 122

Four Components of a Market-Creating Value Proposition 127

BOX 6-1: The Collapse of Sector Boundaries 134

BOX 6-2: The Path from Operational Agility to Strategic Agility 135



Chapter 7: Changing the Organizational Culture 139

BOX 7-1: SRI's "NABC Value Proposition" for Siri 155



PART TWO: MANAGEMENT TRAPS 157

Chapter 8: The Trap of Shareholder Value 163

BOX 8-1: The Unsound Legal Case for Shareholder Value 182

BOX 8-2: What Is True Shareholder Value? 183

BOX 8-3: Adam Smith and the Philosophical Origins of Shareholder Value Thinking 185

BOX 8-4: The Unanticipated Risks of Shareholder Value 187



Chapter 9: The Trap of Share Buybacks 193

The Challenge for Public Policymakers 199

The Challenge for Agile Leaders in Dealing with the Stock Market 199

The Challenge for Agile Managers Within the Corporation 201

BOX 9-1: Defending Share Buybacks 203



Chapter 10: The Cost-Oriented Economics Trap 205

The Case of Dell Inc. 206

The Urge to Offshore 209

A Permanent Loss of Expertise 211

Explaining Agile Management to a CFO 213

Throughput Accounting 213

BOX 10-1: Technical Debt, Regulatory Debt, and Brand Debt 216

BOX 10-2: U.S. vs. German Manufacturing 218



Chapter 11: The Trap of Backward-Looking Strategy 221

BOX 11-1: The Strategy of "Doing More of the Same" 233

BOX 11-2: Options Reasoning and the Portfolio Approach 234



EPILOGUE 237

Chapter 12: Nuclear Winters and Golden Ages 239

BOX 12-1: The History of Golden Ages and Nuclear Winters 251

BOX 12-2: How the Change Might Happen: An Agenda for Action 255



Acknowledgments 265

About Steve Denning 269

Notes 273

Index 305