First Moves

On June 17, 2020, I asked the members of the Agile Moose Herd, "What are some things you like to do when starting out with a new job, team, or organization? That is, what are some of the first moves you like to make?"

Here's my notes from their discussion:

Do "observation interviews" where you ask the exact same questions to every person in the organization (per manager-tools.com). Some example questions:
1. How is success measured in the organization today?
2. Why do you personally want to adopt the Agile principles and values?
3. What do you and your org need and expect from me as your agile coach?
4. What metrics will you use to measure the success of the agile initiative?
5. What’s your perception of the current org that perhaps are not shown through today’s metrics and reporting?
6. What advice would you give someone wanting to come into this organization?
7. What is the biggest challenge you or your organization faces today?
Write your job description and submit it to the person who hired you, for their approval.
Publish a README about yourself.
Go in with authentic humility. Observe and learn before offering anything up. Build authentic relationships first.
Rather than trying to make changes immediately, make a backlog of problems and opportunities you find, then prioritize the backlog.
"Do no harm in the first 90 days." By the time the first 90 days is over, have a plan in place for the next 90 days.
Create a perspective map using input from people throughout the organization.

Many thanks to the members of the Agile Moose Herd for providing the ideas in this article.

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