Description
The Agile Kata is a Universal Pattern to Increase Business Agility, Steer Agile Transformations and a Practice for Agile Teams.
The current track record of agile transformations is not very promising. 75% of all agile transformations fail to achieve their goals and therefore missing out on the huge positive impact it has on employee engagement, customer satisfaction, operational performance and time-to-market (McKinsey 2022). Is it because companies see Agile as a business process update and not as a cultural shift? A shift of the mindset?
Is Business Agility a huge buzzword in your organization, which is difficult to break down into digestible pieces? Or, are your existing agile teams looking for new ways of triggering organizational change or looking for a new way of working? Are Sprints not working for you? The list of challenges can be long.
Helping leaders at all levels to become more agile, from team members to executives. Agile Kata complements what you already have.
The Agile Kata is versatile and can provide answers to these common questions and challenges. It combines a proven practice, which has been applied for decades in lean manufacturing, with a clear alignment to agile values and principles.
See how scientific thinking and practical hands-on application work well together in 8 learning hours. Walk away with an understanding that the Agile Kata is not an off-the-shelf process product but a pattern that helps you create your own process specific to your organizational needs and goals.
The course also includes a free attempt at the Agile Kata Practitioner Level I (AKP I) certification exam.
AKP 1 – Course Overview
Being an agile organization requires leaders, management, and agile team members to change the way that they organize their work, manage that work, and measure the results of their work.
Agile teams cannot do this independently; they need the entire organization’s help. Changes in the way that people think and work are required to drive improved results by having everyone’s goals aligned.
Attendees will develop a deep understanding of Agile Kata’s role in creating the conditions for a successful agile environment.
Topics
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The “Core” of the Agile Kata
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Agile “Shell” of the Agile Kata
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Agile Kata for agile adoptions
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Agile Kata for teams
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Business Agility with the Agile Kata
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Differences between Agile Kata and existing approaches (Scrum, Kanban, etc.)
Objectives
- Understand and practice the basic pattern of the Agile Kata.
- Learn techniques that inject agility into the Agile Kata.
- Recognize how the Agile Kata can be a power-tool for agile adoption.
- Apply the Agile Kata in common agile adoption scenarios.
- Learn how the Agile Kata can benefit existing Scrum/Kanban teams.
- Perform the Agile Kata for product and process improvements using a case study.
- Understand the role of an agility coach in the Agile Kata.
- Define a first step to increase organizational agility using the Agile Kata.
The case for Agile Kata
The “being doing gap”
You don’t need to be Agile, but Agile is mainstream. Other options include DevOps, Lean, Product Management, Modern Agile, and Shape Up.
Whatever the path, what’s needed is a behavior set that demonstrates agility in action – perception, sense, results, and improvement in a direction.
Whatever kind of agility you pursue, agility is not a team sport (Klaus Leopold). Telling a flower to grow has little utility (Pia-Maria Thorén). Yet management over-fills the hopper with work and refuses to prioritize within capacity while asking for more velocity without cultivating an environment where performance can improve. Even worse, honoring commitments is given more respect than doing the next right thing.
Agility cannot be bought in a box. Sustainable growth of authentic organization agility is often missing in action. Executive, senior, and mid-senior management must truly empower teams or be proactive to declutter workflows, processes, systems, and impediments.
But where to start from here?
Agile adoptions
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The current track record of agile adoptions is not very promising. Most of all Agile transformations fail to achieve their goals and therefore miss out on the huge positive impact it has on employee engagement, customer satisfaction, operational performance, and time-to-market. Is it because companies see Agile as an organization process update and not as a cultural shift?
Is “agile” another buzzword or fad in your organization which is difficult to break down into digestible pieces?
Who should attend?
The Certified Agile Kata Practitioner course is designed for managers and those in leadership roles responsible for introducing and establishing Agile methods and techniques in an organization.
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management at all levels, including executive & board level
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agility coaches at all levels
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leaders at all levels without leadership being a position
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change agents at all levels
- the entire team
AKP 1 Certification
All participants completing the Certified Agile Kata Practitioner Level 1 course will receive a password to attempt the Certified Agile Kata Practitioner Level 1 assessment (which is not available for purchase without attending this training course). The AKP I certification requires a minimum passing score of 85%. AKP I class participants who attempt the AKP I I assessment within 14 days of receiving their free password and do not score at least 85% will be granted a second attempt at no additional cost.
