With the help of a suitable strategy, comprehensive communication measures, workshops, coaching and the introduction of an agile framework, an agile culture and structures were established and the speed of software development was increased through an iterative and continuous process.
An insurance company faces increasing challenges both in dealing with customers and in internal processing due to rapid market changes, increasing competition and the emergence of new service offerings. Deadlines can rarely be met, progress of software development teams is too slow. Product updates take a very long time. The internal pressure is very high. The traditional culture and and long-established hierarchical
structures make change difficult and lead to resistance. It is difficult to attract new talent to the company. New technologies and processes are difficult to integrate due to adherence to existing ways of working and legacy systems. Teams report top-down decision making from the ivory tower. Many employees feel misunderstood and do not want change. There is hardly any goal-oriented interdepartmental exchange.
CLIENT
It is important to involve all relevant stakeholders and have open communication to create understanding, acceptance and commitment to the change.
Together with our client, we developed a strategy for agile transformation and change management with the goal of introducing an agile culture, agile mindset and agile working methodology to measurably improve agility, collaboration, communication and decision-making. After a comprehensive analysis, targeted workshops and coaching sessions for different expert groups were used to first explain the impact and benefits of agile methods. This led to a better understanding and more acceptance and helped set the groundwork for the establishment of agile structures within the development department. In contrast to the traditional approach, we focused on an iterative and continuous process. With the help of the introduction of an agile framework in combination with the agile method Kanban, we were able to create the necessary transparency at all levels of the company and to measure and increase the speed of software development based on key figures. In addition, there was a change in portfolio planning from annual planning to 3-month planning as well as a separation of management roles into process, topic and personnel management. By introducing agile change management, change can now be managed in a structured and efficient way. The agile change management approach included techniques such as Agile Change Canvas, Agile Retrospective and Agile Feedback Loop.
Through specific coaching, reorganization and the establishment of agile structures, the company can now work in an agile manner and, in particular, close to the customer. Processes and workflows have been streamlined. Through appropriate communication measures as well as cross-team boards and knowledge transfer initiatives, progress is also visible across teams. The agile culture and processes promote collaboration and communication between teams and departments, which helps improve decision-making, overall efficiency and productivity of the company. Risks are visible at an early stage. Product updates and release cycles are shortened. By working more closely with customers, the number of complaints and change requests has decreased. The key was change management at all hierarchical levels, the possibility of parallel agile and non-agile working methods and organizational forms, and the consistent implementation of frameworks and agile methodologies. Today, the company is competitive again.
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