¿Qué busca realmente tu organización con la agilidad?

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A menudo se lanzan iniciativas ágiles sin tener claro qué se espera lograr con ellas. Incluso sin entender los objetivos reales. Veámoslo con un ejemplo:

GameStudioX es una pequeña empresa de videojuegos con 30 personas. Su último juego tuvo una acogida decente, pero por debajo de lo esperado. Hubo problemas como:

  • Tareas no utilizadas del equipo de arte.
  • Falta de marketing, asumido improvisadamente por el propio equipo de arte.
  • Baja financiación y falta de personal.

Ahora, con un nuevo director de proyecto, inician un nuevo juego con dos grandes objetivos:

  • Mejorar su reputación con un producto de más calidad.
  • Conseguir financiación para desarrollar otro juego en el futuro.

Para lograrlo, el director ha decidido "hacer Scrum" y "ser ágiles", esperando que eso mejore la producción y la comunicación.

Pero en la práctica:

  • Se hacen dailies largas dominadas por el director.
  • Las “retrospectivas” son reuniones semanales de más de dos horas solo entre líderes.
  • No se comparte bien la información entre departamentos.
  • Quienes se quejan son castigados con más carga o tareas irrelevantes.

¿Creéis que los objetivos de GameStudioX están claros y bien conectados con su decisión de empezar una transformación hacia la agilidad? ¿Qué riesgos hay si no se parte de una reflexión más profunda sobre el “para qué”?

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Jorge Sánchez López ★★★
31 May 2025 15:25

In response to the question of whether GameStudioX's objectives are clear and well connected to its decision to start an agile transformation, the assessment indicates that, while the business objectives of "improving reputation with a higher-quality product" and "securing funding" are valid and ambitious, the connection with the decision to "do Scrum" and "be agile" is superficial and fundamentally misunderstood in current practice.

The company is "doing Agile" by adopting ceremonies such as dailies and retrospectives, but it is not "being Agile" because it does not live the underlying values and principles of self-organization, transparency, inspection, adaptation, courage, and respect. This disconnect shows up in the numerous antipatterns observed, which prevent agility from being an effective means of achieving business objectives.

The risks of not starting from a deeper reflection on the "why" are significant and multidimensional:

Not addressing the real problems: A superficial adoption of Scrum will not solve the root causes of past inefficiencies (unused tasks, improvised marketing, silos), since the initiative is not strategically aligned with solving these fundamental problems.

Erosion of morale and commitment: A punitive culture and a lack of empowerment undermine the team's psychological safety and trust, generating resistance and cynicism toward the initiative. This prevents open communication and continuous improvement.

Waste of resources: Investing in agile practices without a genuine cultural and mindset transformation results in inefficient use of time and resources, without generating the expected benefits.

Failure to achieve business objectives: Without a genuine implementation of agility that fosters collaboration, adaptability, and value delivery, the goals of improving product quality, reputation, and securing funding will be unattainable.

For GameStudioX to achieve a successful agile transformation and connect its business objectives with meaningful agility, the following steps are recommended:

Redefine the "Why" of the Agile Transformation: The first step is to "identify objectives" and "clearly formulate what the company expects to achieve by adopting an Agile culture." This vision must go beyond "doing Scrum" and focus on how agility will address GameStudioX's systemic problems and directly contribute to improving its reputation and funding.

Exemplary Leadership and Genuine Commitment: The director and other leaders must "lead by example and fully adopt Agile principles in their work." This means letting go of "command and control," fostering transparency, respect, and courage, and creating an environment where feedback is valued, not punished. Agile transformation is a long-term effort that requires the continuous commitment of the entire organization.

Team Empowerment and Psychological Safety: Encouraging self-organization and self-management of teams is crucial. Dailies should be facilitated by the team for the team, and retrospectives should include all developers to identify and resolve impediments collaboratively. A collaborative and supportive work environment must be created where everyone's opinions and contributions are valued.

Focus on Interdepartmental Communication and Collaboration: It is essential to "eliminate isolation" and "break down silos." This is achieved by sharing clear business objectives with all teams, designing shared metrics, and fostering a collaborative mindset.

Training and Coaching in Agile Mindset: Beyond training in practices, it is essential to provide "coaching on Agile" so that the whole company supports the change and learns best practices related to the new mindset. This will help employees understand and adopt agile principles, facilitating the cultural transition.

By addressing these fundamental challenges and carrying out a transformation that goes beyond the mere implementation of practices, GameStudioX will be able to build a truly agile culture that not only improves production and communication but also drives the quality of its products, strengthens its reputation, and secures its financial future.

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Juan Palacio ★
1 Jun 2025 15:24

Yes, I see it the same way as Jorge.
This is a good example of “Scrum theater”: implementing the ceremonies out of a greater interest in the “photograph” than in the “X-ray”. In the end they contribute to burning out the team and keeping the structural problems in place (or making them worse) :-)

Best regards!

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Jorge Sánchez López ★★★
2 Jun 2025 04:51

I love it, Juan. The metaphor of "photograph" versus "X-ray" is brilliant, and I really love it.

Thank you, and you've summed up the true essence of fake agility in just a few words.

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