“Hierarchical structures, such as the Waterfall model, use leadership and power personality tools. Leadership personalities employ salesmanship, are charismatic, use role modeling, and negotiate to effect process. Power personalities also use negotiation and tend to finitely define roles, require authoritative permission, and sometimes use intimidation or coercion to influence production processes.   Agile methodologies rely more on culture and the utilization of the right tools, including test management. Agile emphasizes the culture of oral and plausible communication, belief and reverence for vision, prescribed forms of conduct, and people as the primary source of productive power. Agile processes emphasize strategic planning, financial incentives, solid metrics, progressive standards, and self-motivation.

With these attributes in mind, transitioning from a traditional development model to Agile development requires an approach that coincides with all points of organizational concern. The priority of those responsible for transitioning to Agile should be to address each consideration that could be impacted by the transition, employing tools towards probable smooth operations during the transition process.

It is the responsibility of transition managers to ensure that Agile techniques are applied to a project that suits Agile processes. The project requires an active and engaged customer as a business sponsor. Development should be of medium simplicity and have a timeline of 2-3 months. Too much complexity that would complicate the learning process for team members should be avoided. And a shorter timeline can better engage management interest, which could otherwise wane over time. To further engage management, the initial Agile project should be important to the organization, and one that would probably fail in meeting production and timeline requirements if it were developed within the Waterfall model”. – Sanjay Zalavadia, excerpted from the article, “Transitioning from Waterfall to Agile: Tips for a Smooth Journey“, @ D zone / Agile Zone, click here to read the article in its entirety. [end]