Throughout most of my professional career, I wrestled with the challenge of applying Agile in a manufacturing environment. (Stick with me – the revelations I experienced are applicable to a broad array of organisations, not just manufacturing). Unknowingly, I – too – conflated Agility with Scrum. The belief that “Scrum can be applied anywhere” exemplifies a classic case of the ‘hasty generalisation fallacy’. This argument draws conclusions from a limited sample assuming that what works in a few instances – “Scrum has been successfully applied in diverse fields like race car production, education, and entertainment.” – works universally – “So it works everywhere”. In hindsight, it’s clear this was an oversimplification. Regrettably, I hadn’t come across anything that convincingly contradicted this notion until I bumped into “When Agile Gets Physical” by K. Radeka“.
Don’t misunderstand me – Scrum is undoubtedly an excellent framework. When utilised in the right context, it can yield exceptional results. I wholeheartedly recommend Jeff Sutherland’s “Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” for those operating in context ideally suited for Scrum (Check out our ‘ScrumFit‘ to assess whether you have a fertile context for Scrum). However, I’ve found that Scrum isn’t well-suited for the manufacturing landscape I’m intimately familiar with. And I’m confident in saying that this holds true for many other environments as well. In fact, at the onset of every Agile assignment of mine, the initial request was invariably to assist in implementing Scrum. However, none of these environments aligned ideally with the recommendations outlined in the Scrum Guide. Mostly, it was possible to adapt starting from the Scrum Guide (Whether or not it still qualifies as ‘Scrum’ is a topic beyond the scope of this discussion). In the manufacturing environment, that seemed to be not a viable option.
When embarking on the Agile journey with Barry Callebaut, I recognised it as the perfect opportunity. Having previously led a similar team at Pringles using a Lean Six Sigma approach, I felt prepared to experiment, now armed with my experience as an Agile Coach. Our plan was to utilise ‘Rapid Learning Cycles’ (the framework explained in the book “When Agile Gets Physical” by K. Radeka” by K. Radeka) as a starting point. However, things didn’t quite go as planned 😅.
The major breakthrough I gleaned from the ‘Rapid Learning Cycles’ was the necessity of relinquishing certain dogmatic notions:
- Daily meetings aren’t indispensable in an Agile organisation. In certain environments, a weekly meeting suffices.
- Work items needn’t be strictly phrased as user stories. We’ve adopted a blend of user stories, knowledge gaps, and other formats.
- Learning doesn’t always necessitate a functioning prototype. A stage gate process aligns well with Agile thinking and facilitates learning.
It gave me the permission to dare to look outside the beaten path.
We also encountered unforeseen challenges:
- Important bottlenecks arose in the delivery phase. To facilitate flow, we had to address impediments here first, adhering to the core Agile principle of fostering flow. We prioritised our focus on the discovery & innovation phases for a while to land innovations that had been technically proven.
- Our context differed significantly from that of the HP business (the environment in which ‘Rapid Learning Cycles’ was developed). Consequently, several practices had to be adapted.
Reflecting on our journey, we’ve assimilated ideas from Agile (particularly ‘Rapid Learning Cycles’), Lean, Business Process Management, Six Sigma, and Sociocracy. We’re not claiming to have reached our destination; quite the opposite. We’ve embarked on a remarkable journey thus far, one that has noticeably impacted our work practices. While you won’t find the most recognisable Scrum practices in our approach, our methodology embodies the essence of Agile.
The wealth of experience I’ve amassed over the past 20 years has coalesced into a cohesive whole. I’m eager to share our journey with you, solicit feedback, and seek allies to further refine this approach. Take your calendar and mark some dates, because Stijn Van Durme (an early adopter at Barry Callebaut) & myself will be speaking at 2 events
- The Regional Scrum Gathering in Ghent on June 6-7 2024
- The iLean Agile Kitchen in Mechelen on June 24th 2024
I’m sincerely grateful for the support and coaching I’ve received via iLean. And I genuinely feel like a valued member of the Barry Callebaut team. 🤗