Next steps

An agile transformation for a large, globally distributed manufacturer with an established enterprise delivery framework will take time and grit to execute. You’re turning an aircraft carrier around, after all.

There are several critical topics that I did not cover in this white paper, such as the effect of culture in team collaboration, transition of roles from waterfall to Agile, product budgeting practices, and delivery metrics. Our experience has shown, however, that you have to start somewhere and these five mechanical, process-based changes can have a massive impact on lowering costs and increasing delivery velocity.

Select initiatives that are not part of the ERP core. Pick initiatives that are customer facing, products that you can quickly iterate on without the need for deep architectural changes within a manufacturer’s core platforms. I’ve seen this called the “Agile Edge”—a special group within the organization dedicated to innovation and rapid delivery.

A revolution needs its muscle from the bottom up, yet tactical support from the top down. Consider picking team members that are not politically tied to the “way things used to be” and provide senior executive sponsorship to push the agenda forward on environment setups, tool adoption, and change of process. The team will run into a lot of resistance and nay saying, but the results will speak for themselves.