Transforming Agile Planning at a Leading UK Retail Bank
At a major UK retail bank, a large-scale agile transformation is unfolding, aiming to bring greater cohesion, transparency, and value across various departments.
Supported by Lithe Transformation’s dedicated team of seven agile coaches and specialists, the bank embarked on a journey to strengthen collaboration and streamline its strategic planning, resulting in significant improvements in efficiency and alignment across all teams.
Challenge
The bank faced several challenges typical of large-scale agile transformations:
Inconsistent Planning Practices: While agile practices were in place, they varied greatly across teams, leading to challenges in achieving synchronised objectives.
Limited Dependency and Risk Visibility: Dependencies between teams were often hard to track, and risks lacked a unified approach to management, impacting overall planning.
Uneven Team Engagement: Not all team members were fully engaged in the planning process, leaving potential collaboration and innovation opportunities untapped.
Approach
Lithe Transformation’s team of seven agile coaches stepped in to provide targeted, structured support, transforming the bank’s approach to agile planning. Key interventions included:
Strategic Pre-Planning Sessions: Coaches introduced preparatory sessions to celebrate past achievements, address challenges, and refine planning methods. These sessions allowed teams to start with clear, unified objectives, setting a constructive tone for each new planning cycle.
Visualisation and Tracking Enhancements: By integrating visual planning aids within existing tools, coaches enabled teams to track dependencies and identify roadblocks effectively. The shift from text-heavy tracking to visual dashboards improved transparency, enabling better-informed decisions and clearer accountability.
Engagement-Driven Improvements: Coaches worked closely with team leads to encourage active participation from all roles. Techniques such as regular retrospectives and inclusive planning sessions fostered a culture of continuous improvement, with each team member contributing to shaping the roadmap.
Impact
The transformation brought about notable improvements, making the bank’s agile practices more cohesive and effective:
Improved Planning Accuracy: Teams achieved higher accuracy in forecasting and roadmap development, thanks to consistent tracking and proactive risk management.
Enhanced Cross-Functional Visibility: A well-defined process for managing dependencies and risks across teams allowed for a clearer, more cohesive alignment with business objectives.
Stronger Team Alignment: Enhanced participation from all team members, including technical experts, created a more unified approach, raising confidence levels and ensuring accountability.
Key Transformations:
Pre-planning sessions fostered alignment and a shared understanding of objectives.
Advanced visualisation tools improved tracking and cross-team communication.
Consistent risk and dependency management increased transparency and planning precision.
Looking Forward
With these foundational improvements, the transformation is set to continue evolving. Lithe Transformation’s team of coaches will focus on:
Further Embedding Risk Management: Regular coaching on consistent risk tracking will drive resilience and adaptability.
Refining Forecasting Practices: Forecasting techniques will continue to inform long-term planning for even greater predictive accuracy.
Strengthening Team Confidence: Confidence voting mechanisms will become more consistent, further supporting team morale and cohesive planning.