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