Best-Fit Agile Delivery Model for Agri-Business with JIRA

About the Client

The client, a global leader in the agri-business industry, focuses on trading and processing commodities. With diverse teams working across multiple projects and sprint cycles, their IT and operations divisions are key to ensuring efficiency and agility in delivering solutions that support their global operations.

Problem Statement

Despite adopting agile practices, the client faced significant hurdles in resource planning and capacity utilization:

• Resistance to Agile Coaching: The Agile coach faced initial resistance, with direct team interactions restricted. Communication had to flow through a designated project manager     (PM), making it difficult to ensure the correct interpretation and execution of key processes.‍
• Cross-Team Delivery Challenges: Managing multiple projects during overlapping sprint periods created resource constraints and dependencies that were hard to navigate.‍
• Limited Planning Visibility: The absence of real-time insights into team capacity and resource availability (considering vacation, holidays, and utilization rates of 0.6-0.8)     impacted sprint planning and delivery timelines.‍
• Dependency Management: Dependencies between tasks across teams were poorly defined, leading to bottlenecks and delays in project completion.

Solution Offered: Agile Transformation with Activity Timeline and JIRA

To address these challenges, BaffleSol proposed integrating Activity Timeline with JIRA, combined with a strategic approach to agile coaching that navigated initial resistance and built trust over time.

Overcoming Agile Resistance

The Agile coach employed a phased strategy following the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing model:

1. Forming: Established a working relationship with the PM and created structured communication to ensure accurate relay of guidance to teams.‍
2. Storming: Addressed resistance by demonstrating the value of small, actionable steps, such as workload visualization and realistic capacity planning.‍
3. Norming: Teams began seeing improvements in efficiency and alignment, gradually accepting the methodology.‍
4. Performing: With growing confidence in the process, teams embraced the changes, resulting in successful tool implementation and improved capacity utilization.

Key Features of Activity Timeline Integration

The integration of Activity Timeline with JIRA provided robust tools for resource planning, capacity utilization, and task tracking, addressing the client’s pain points effectively:

• Capacity Planning and Forecasting:
  • Visualization of team capacity using workload indicators.
  • Planning sprint backlogs based on availability (adjusted for vacations and holidays) and realistic utilization rates (0.6-0.8).

• Dependency Management:
  • Clear mapping of task dependencies to streamline cross-team coordination and minimize bottlenecks.
• Workload Balancing:
  • Tools to calculate workloads using Balance Mode (equal distribution across days) or Liquid Mode (dynamic allocation based on remaining estimates).
• Enhanced Communication Tools:
  • Personal workspaces for team members to manage tasks, log hours, and track progress.
  • Real-time dashboards and reports for managers to monitor resource availability and workload.
• Reporting and Insights:
  • Generation of Web and Excel-based reports for team utilization, capacity, and performance.

Benefits Achieved

The integration and agile coaching approach delivered significant benefits within 3 months:

• Improved Capacity Utilization: Teams achieved optimal workload balance by aligning sprint backlogs with resource availability and utilization rates.
• Increased Transparency: Workload indicators and dependency visualization improved team and management alignment.
• Streamlined Multi-Project Management: Resource constraints across multiple projects during the same sprint periods were effectively managed.
• Faster Delivery: Enhanced sprint planning and task prioritization reduced delays and improved throughput.
• Leadership and Team Alignment: Initial resistance was overcome as teams and leadership observed measurable improvements in efficiency and delivery timelines.

Timelines

‍The project was implemented over 3 months, with early wins observed in the first month as teams began using the tools and processes effectively.

Exciting Takeaway: Navigating Resistance through Collaboration

One of the most remarkable aspects of this transformation was how resistance to agile coaching was turned into trust and collaboration. By engaging the PM as a critical ally, the Agile coach ensured that accurate guidance reached the teams. The Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing model played a vital role in aligning all stakeholders, leading to successful implementation and cultural change.

‍Conclusion

‍This case study highlights how a leading agri-business organization overcame resistance, streamlined capacity utilization, and improved team performance using Activity Timeline and JIRA. By addressing people challenges and leveraging agile coaching strategies, the organization achieved faster and more efficient delivery in just three months.

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