Achieving a culture of continuous improvement is critical to transforming agile teams. With a comprehensive understanding of cycle time, your teams can embark on a journey of incremental and consistent enhancements that drive significant business value. It can also change your culture into that of continuous improvement. If there’s any ambiguity in understanding the importance of cycle time to your business, stop your agile journey right now since your agile transformation is bound to fail. When there’s alignment, transforming agile teams into a continuously improving one isn’t a formidable task.

Transforming Agile Teams Using Cycle Time Data

Successful delivery and fast, reinforces agile transformation successes and in turn, investments.Data is at the heart of continuous improvement in agile transformation. Regularly analyze your cycle time histogram and other key flow metrics such as Lead Time and Throughput. By visualizing these metrics, your team can identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Here’s an baseline example of a Cycle Time Histogram from an “agile team” that I’ve worked with in the past:

Prioritize and Address Workflow Impediments

The histogram shows that 50% of work is completed within 20 days, while the remaining 50% takes significantly longer. Identifying and prioritizing impediments to workflow is essential. This long tail highlighted where improvement efforts should be focused. As a team, we reviewed the tickets within this long tail and identified impediments to the flow.

Once impediments are identified, categorize them into themes such as unclear requirements, dependencies, lack of automation, etc. Tackle these issues systematically, starting with those that have the highest impact on your cycle time. For instance, if waiting for dependencies is a major bottleneck, work on strategies to reduce dependency delays, such as parallel workstreams, get buy-in for cross functional teams or cross training individuals to acquire t-shaped skills. Some of the improvements might relate to organizational policies requiring involvement from higher-ups.

Foster a Culture of Transparency and Feedback

Transparency is crucial for continuous improvement. Encourage open communication within the team about what is working and what isn’t. Bi-weekly retrospectives provide a structured opportunity to reflect on performance and identify areas for improvement.

Use structured and powerful Lean tools like Fishbone diagrams (also called Root Cause Analysis or 5-Whys) to delve into issues deeply and uncover fundamental problems. One can also identify swift and robust improvements that doesn’t involve significant change initiatives. This practice not only addresses immediate concerns but also builds a culture where continuous improvement is part of the daily routine thereby enhancing overall efficiency & productivity incrementally.

As an example, one recurring theme I uncovered with a team a few years ago, was how missing acceptance criteria on tickets created rework and increased cycle time. The first thing we did was a Root Cause Analysis. Here’s a partial digram of that effort. Don’t stop asking “Why” to every cause – by the fourth or the fifth Why, you’ll start seeing a recurring pattern of causes. At this point, you’ve hit what needs to be improved.

Implement Incremental Changes That Reduce Cycle Time

Rather than attempting massive overhauls, focus on incremental changes. Small, manageable adjustments can lead to significant improvements over time. Continuing with the above example, we standardized the acceptance criteria format and providing training on how to write effective acceptance criteria. We also made it a mandatory field prior to starting any work. “No acceptance criteria? No intake.” became the culture.

Celebrate Cycle Time Reduction Successes and Learn from Failures

Acknowledging and celebrating improvements, no matter how small, motivates the team and reinforces the culture of continuous improvement. Similarly, view failures as learning opportunities. Analyze what went wrong, adjust your approach, and move forward with the lessons learned. This resilience and adaptability are key to sustaining a culture of continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Transforming an agile team into one that embodies a culture of continuous improvement is an ongoing process that requires dedication, transparency, and a willingness to adapt including of-course management support. The playbook to significantly improve productivity, effectiveness and efficiency is:

• Understand cycle time of your teams – leverage data
• Encourage open transparent communication and feedback (including making work visual)
• Use cycle time data to understand impediments to flow
• Prioritize improvements that tackle impediments – get team and management buy-in
• Implement incremental improvements
• Repeat the cycle

Incorporating these strategies will help ensure your agile team is well-equipped to identify, address, and eliminate bottlenecks, transforming your workflow and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By embracing the journey towards continuous improvement you will see a notable reduction on your times and overall workflow efficiency, transforming into high performing teams and of course increasing margins.