We know we need to change, there is a force at play that has made status quo impossible. This is good, we’ve noticed the need and, as leaders, we think we’ve found some tools to help us adapt. We plan to incorporate a well-proven Framework (like ITIL or Agile or Lean or SAFe Agile, or another) into how we do business.
The new framework is, for the first few minutes, anticipated with the nervous jitters of those who expect to have to step out of their comfort zone. But the reaction is quickly followed by relief. “Ah, it’s only a Framework, we can slip that over our existing processes. No problem.”
One of the attractive characteristics of a Framework is it’s flexibility. It isn’t prescriptive, so you can take parts of it – as possible within your organization (hierarchy, culture, infrastructure, etc.) – and get benefits even if the entire best practice model is not manageable. Some gain; less pain. The entire Framework is often extremely complex or arduous to imagine anyone using it thoroughly. As leaders, we assure ourselves that the full deal is certainly only a picture of an unattainable utopia, or it is overdone and therefore would result in inefficiencies if it could be implemented. So, we plan to implement a manageable portion of the Framework. We train our employees. Through very empowering team-based workshops, we identify areas that need improvement. And then, we implement. We make a few changes to our processes, perhaps re-label a few fields here and there for consistency, and we congratulate ourselves on how we have pulled in top-of-the-line practices. And we didn’t even break a sweat!
I hope that this does not sound familiar to everyone, but let me assure you, it happens. It happens too frequently. And each time a Framework devolves into a “Flavour of the month” under your leadership, your credibility erodes. No organization can just apply a cookie-cutter solution and make all of their issues go away. If this were the case, your competition would either beat you to it or they’d follow closely, and you would need to seek another solution to distinguish you in your industry.
But implementing a Framework does not mean that you can get away with taking the easy changes and leaving behind portions that would be uncomfortable. It is often the uncomfortable bits that would truly be helpful. For instance, you cannot be “Agile” if decision-making is still centralized and each team member in an Agile team still maintains their individual role (developer, business analyst, tester). What you have likely achieved is time-boxing your old processes into two-week “sprints” …with more meetings. Team members are still each taking their turn being the bottleneck. The frustration and delays from decision-breaks are as strong as ever – though now you meet daily to discuss the “still waiting” status. This is not Agile. Implementing ITIL, when you are uncomfortable with Service level agreements is another egregious – but common – mistake. Sure, there are some benefits you can achieve without getting down to the difficult discussions embedded in SLA’s. But there will be a long-term drag on motivation, customer satisfaction and overall benefit.
While you can select tools from within a Framework, your implementation still must satisfy basic principles in order to have a chance at long-term success. For ITIL, you must have defined services (perhaps not all of them), but you must have some services to manage or else, really, can you claim to have managed services? In Agile, you must have teams who have the tools, information and autonomy to be effective. In Lean, it’s not enough to reduce waste (it’s not Lean, if teams are reducing waste in processes that lack a valuable outcome).
Frameworks are amazing tools that have been polished over the years by teams of experienced professionals. They are not easy to implement, especially “as is”. Each organization will find a unique method of adopting and a flavour that works for them. But, as you lead the adoption, question whether or not the level of acceptance is aggressive enough, whether or not the selection of what to use is sufficient to fix the problem that make you look to the Framework in the first place. Beware of fitting a Framework like a loose suit over your existing, non-functional culture or norms. Major changes are painful and will take the organization out of its comfort zone but, if the change is in the right direction, it’s worth the effort.