EA Podcast 0001 - Cut the crap, solve (IT) project problems, become a LEAN Delivery Machine!

SUMMARY

Welcome to the Elite Agile podcast with your host, Danny Vermeeren, founder of Elite Agile.

In this episode, Danny discusses the common root causes of IT project failures: scope, delivery date, and budget creep.

Many traditional solutions (e.g., PRINCEII, SAFe) add even more command and controls, often worsening the problem.

He emphasizes the importance of management stepping aside, adopting a Mentor-Leader role, to enable teams to excel.

Unlike traditional servant leadership, Mentor Leaders know when to step in and when to step back, fostering team autonomy and high performance.

The Fast Implementation Path (FIP) is the roadmap for managers to gain lived-through experiences so they can support the teams from the realm of “I have been there!” and “I walk my talk”.

FIP supports managers in becoming Mentor Leaders, supporting their teams to become true LEAN Delivery Machines, which Danny named Elite (Agile) teams.

Join Danny for more insights and actionable advice in the upcoming episodes.

Stay tuned!

Podcast transcription

why yet another Podcast about IT Project Management?

Because I could not find anything about the REAL Root Cause, why IT Projects, or none-IT projects, fail. Or finish, with enormous amounts of stress, loss of money, and sacrificed people.

Most projects suffer from;

• Scope Creep,
• and because of that, they suffer from Delivery Date Creep,
• and, again, because of that, they suffer from Budget Creep.

Yes, I have seen, and see online, many so-called solutions, tackling one of the many Root Causes.

In 99.99% of the cases, these solutions involve, introducing even more Command and Control processes, such as; the SAFe or PRINCEII model.

Both models introduce many processes, and roles, so management can, between brackets, “regain control” of the project again.

However, this overlooks a fundamental natural law.

This natural law, is very well explained with the following example:

Imagine; you’re standing on the beach, trying to hold as much sand as possible, in your hand.
Your instinctive reaction, is squeezing your hand, which causes most of the sand to slip out.

This metaphor, describes very well, what happens to projects when management tries to, between brackets, “control” the project.

Processes and tools, make management “to squeeze,” resulting in losing control even more!

Hello, my name is Danny Vermeeren.

I am the founder, of the company Elite Agile, a company aimed at sharing decades of experience, insights, and solutions, with organizations, to support them, to become true Elite Agile.

Over these decades, I’ve not only guided many IT projects, in roles, such as IT Director, and various other management positions, but I’ve also spent a lot of time, with my feed on the ground, in the teams, facing the REAL problems teams encounter.

Through these decades of experience, I’ve become better at perceiving the simplicity, of the underlying blocking dynamics. As a consequence, I started to discover, SIMPLE solutions.

Solutions, that are easy to understand, and, because of that, EASY to use.

Finding a solution is always, very gratifying, because, well, "Yes! We found it!"

But; if the solution isn’t used, because it requires too much extra work, is too complicated, or isn’t practical.

No matter how much we want to, it will not be used.

Like a common New Year’s resolution: “Next year? Yes! I WILL exercise, for sure!”

A few weeks later, you find yourself back, not exercising as much as you planned.

And, again a few months later, with some shame, you look back at your powerful statement, but realize you’re not exercising at all, nor you will do.

Now we come to a second natural law:

When you USE something, it WILL show results, always.
Logical isn’t?

When you do NOT use something, it WILL NEVER show results, always.
That’s also logical.

And, when you PARTIALLY use something, it WILL show, PARTIAL results, always.
And this, of course, is logical too!

Like, when an organization selects a project methodology, and use it, typically, partially.

They will not solve the problems, they will achieve some results, but not that, what is needed.

Due to that,

• LEAN thinking, is embedded in my DNA,
• my studies in applied psychology,
• and neuroscience,
• and my relentless practical approach,

everything started to come together around 2016.

IT management, IT development, I started as a software developer, down-to-earth and practical applied psychology, practical applied neuroscience, and experience in countless IT projects, it ALL came suddenly together.

And it became VERY clear, that you can see, a distinct red line, in successful projects.

Namely, when the management around the teams, STEPPED ASIDE.

Or, said in another way, ARE OUT OF THE WAY.

Those projects, thrived, and consistently succeeded.

Okay, that probably sounds logical, right?

When management steps aside, teams excel.
If you are a manager, this statement is quite a challenge… I’m aware of that.

Talking about management.

We’ve heard a lot about servant leadership, over the past decades, and you’ve probably already done some training to become, a servant leader.

And maybe, you’ve made serious attempts.

But yeah, when the project starts to slip again, due to Scope Creep, Delivery Date Creep, and Budget Creep, you have no choice, but to intervene. Right?

And so, against your will, you revert to being a manager, who pushes and pulls at the teams, to get things, between brackets, “under control again”.

Going back, to implementing KPIs. 😕

O, and let’s not forget, we’re going Data Driven! Because Data Driven IS, the Silver Bullet to get control, right? 😕

And, of course, the Product Owners, and Scrum Masters, if you’re working Agile, are extra “motivated and supported”, read: put under pressure, to meet the deadlines.

Usually, you achieve the opposite of getting your project under control, again.

And so, when you apply more control, the sand slips through your fingers.

We lose even MORE control, and the problems, they don’t get any smaller.

I’m a SUPER pragmatist. If something doesn’t work, I just stop doing it!

Even, if the underlying theory is good, and, between brackets, is “proven.”

Over the decades, I’ve used various methods and techniques, that were popular at that time.

And time and again, after a while, usually after a year, or 1,5 year, I stopped using them…

Simply; because they didn’t work.

Man, I’ve been criticized, and faced resistance from true believers, of that fashionable method, of at the time!

But, I couldn’t do otherwise, because, it just didn’t work!

It only costed a lot of money, and caused a lot of stress, and the problems of Scope Creep, Delivery Date Creep, and Budget Creep, still needed to be solved.

Around 2016, something happened, that led me to the final solution, at least, it worked for me like that. And for the companies who started to use it too.

The Hybrid Agile Framework, HAF.

It all started, with LEAN, and pragmatic thinking, collecting small micro-processes, that solved certain problems, in the way of working, used.

This is derived, from the LEAN, and pragmatic idea:
“Why invent something, again, if another team has already found a good solution for it?”

And in total, I’ve collected around 26 micro-processes, which I future-optimized, and are now loaded in an online library.

Later, I realized, that when teams use these processes, they quickly became High-Performance teams. I discovered, in average, within 3 months.

And mature teams, they use it as a benchmark, and refine their processes, taking another significant step forward.

When I brought it online, in 2021, it needed a name, and the name; Scrum Quick Start, SQS, was born.

Again, later, I discovered that 3 processes in SQS, made it possible, to combine Waterfall and Agile ways of working, in one super simple and super-efficient manner! The obvious name for these three processes was: the Hybrid Agile Framework, HAF.

Suddenly, I had, quite unexpectedly, documented and further developed, these ways of working, to operate a project in Waterfall, Agile, or a mixture of Waterfall and Agile, in one way of working.

This can be done, across all teams in a project, but Hybrid working, is also possible within ONE team.

But, one problem was still blocking the way forward.

The management, around the teams…

Management, that wanted to do more exercises, because they resolved to do so on New Year's Eve.

Translated to the context of this Podcast, becoming more of a Servant Leader.

But they felt compelled, instinctively, to take more control, by implementing Command and Control processes.

Because, Yea, well, we have no choice. Otherwise, things go wrong, right?

Time and again, I encountered “the management.” Management, that demanded the Agile working, from the teams, but they didn’t practice it themselves.

Because, Yeah, well, “That doesn’t apply to us.”

But, why not??

How can you teach your child to sail, if you’ve never sailed yourself?

How can you be a living example?

How can you guide your child, from your experience?

Also known, by the saying: “Walk your talk.” And “I have been there!”

The Native Americans, called this difference between saying something, and doing something “speaking with a forked tongue.”

You say, I do Agile. But you don't.

So, nothing changes. Only the words used, and some processes.

But fundamentally, only a little, or nothing changes.

Moreover, by demanding your teams to work Agile, while you, as part of the management around the teams, continue to do what you’ve always did, you only create MORE stress!

More stress, because team members become more disappointed.

“Another promise ‘they’ don’t keep”, is a common complaint from team members I hear.

Or, “We’ll ride it out; it will change again in a while.”

And management around those teams, thinks, they really do more exercises!
Or, act more as Servant Leaders, in this context.

The team members are disappointed, and the management members feel WRONGED, because they truly believe, they are making steps!

And I regret to say; No, no real steps are being made.

When you are not the living example, and do not walk your talk.

If parents don’t show by example, by behavior, the children won’t follow.

This can be copied one-on-one to management and teams.

But, how do you do this? Stepping aside...

Becoming a TRUE Servant Leader?

And actually, Servant Leader, is not the leader you need. What’s needed, is a so-called Mentor Leader.

What’s the difference?

A Mentor Leader steps forward when NEEDED.

Takes more the LEAD, when needed.

A Mentor Leader, can perceive when it’s time to “step aside” again, and transform into a Servant Leader, again. I call this; “swinging teams, towards Maturity.”

A step forward when needed, a step back when it’s possible again.

When I discovered, that SQS helps teams, and HAF makes it possible to work Hybrid Agile.

I also realized that I had developed a course, years ago, that, through super pragmatic and simple-to-execute assignments, supports people, in becoming a TRUE Mentor Leader.

I realized that this course, the Team Creator Course, TCC, helps develop that aspect in people.

For example, for Scrum Masters, for Product Owners, and of course, for the managers around the teams.

Finally; how can you ensure, that the management around the teams, TRULY experience what it’s like, to work Hybrid Agile?

So, that they can speak from; “I walk my talk” and from; “I have been there”.

For this, I developed the Fast Implementation Path, FIP.

The Fast Implementation Path, is an excellent example of Mentor Leadership; it clearly shows, how management can genuinely experience, what it’s like to work Hybrid Agile, and how they gain, the experience to become a true Mentor Leader from “I have been there.”

So, after a maximum, of 6 months, you can support your teams, to become true Elite teams, from Mentor Leadership.

Now, this seems to be a podcast about my products and services; yes, they exist.

But, this Podcast is primarily to show, that there are simple-to-understand solutions, for the critical areas in IT projects, and none-IT projects.

The credo is, cut the crap.

Excuse me for the expression.

But, it fits so well.

And, as a result of that, there is no escape, you WILL find easy-to understand, and therefore easy-to-use solutions, and therefore, they WILL ALWAYS show results.

That is inevitable.

In the Elite Agile podcast, I share all these topics, my experience, my theoretical background knowledge, and last but not least, how YOU can apply it, so that your teams, also can become, LEAN Delivery Machines.

So, that your projects, inevitably, stay within Scope, within Delivery Date, and therefore within budget.

In other words, your projects are becoming a smashing success.

Projects that maximize your organization’s contribution, making Stakeholders, and customers truly super enthusiastic.

Proof that the Hybrid Agile Framework, HAF, works, can be found in the so-called Follow-up videos.

In these videos, I take you, as briefly as possible, through the background of, why it works, and how it works.

Also, I will introduce to you, the underlying Root Cause, behind all Root Causes, and how to address it. I also I introduce, the 3 core processes, that allow you to combine, Waterfall and Agile, in any combination within, and across teams.

So, check out these Follow-up videos, at Elite-Agile.nl. I hope you have become now an idea, of why I started the Elite Agile podcast series?

It fits my mission to provide, teams, teams clusters, departments, organizations, with simple, and effective solutions, so that they TOO can become Elite teams.

I hope to meet you in the next Podcast, where I will delve deeper, into the topics, touched on, in this Podcast.

Stay tuned!