A Kanban Approach to Organizational Agility. To bring in a human-centered and an adaptable approach to business in order to create a more agile Agile. Blog: https://agile-mercurial.com More information: https://mercurialperspective.com/

1. A Kanban Approach to Organizational Agility

2. OVERVIEW
• The Mercurial Perspective is based on
scientific research and is purely a
conceptual idea concerned with
finding a better way to work
• It merges Agile philosophy, Kanban
continuous workflow, and Complexity
Theory/Complex Leadership Theory
• It is not for projects exclusively; it is
aimed at creating a more flexible,
adaptable, and streamlined
organization
• More information at:
https://mercurialperspective.com/

3. PRINCIPLES
1. Treat Humans Like Humans
2. Engage in Constant and Shared Learning
3. Continuously Work to Improve Based on Past Results
4. Strive to be Transparent in Your Thoughts, Actions, and Statuses
5. Unite the Organization Under the Shared Motivations
6. Embrace the Idea that From Quality Comes Customer Satisfaction
7. Limit Bureaucracy by Simplifying and Streamlining Your Processes
8. Do Not Limit Options for the Sake of Agility
9. Expect Change and Adapt in the Most Efficient and Knowledge-
Driven Method
The Principles of the Mercurial Perspective:
https://agile-mercurial.com/principles-of-the-mercurial-perspective/

4. DEFINITIONS
Task (or work): Work that is made up of actions or activities.
Completing weekly billing may be a task.
Activity: A single logical work action. Writing an email and
sending an email would be two activities. It may form part of a
larger task such as gathering information from a client so that
you can properly update their address.
Process: Method to complete a task or activity

5. Create a Flatter
Organization with
Less Defined
Management
Oversight and More
Emergent
Leadership

6. The Endless Iterating Loop of Work
Planning: What are you going to work
on and how are you going to
complete it? What are the highest
priority tasks? What makes sense to
work on first? Can you clearly identify
each activity that needs to be
performed as part of the larger task?
Adapting or Coordinating: Do you
need help with something? Is there
someone you have to work with? Do
you need resources to complete your
task? What do you need?
Burning: Now you do the work. You
take your planning and coordination
and you get the task done. You are
burning through your tasks to get
them done.
Adjusting: This is part of doing the
work. Maybe you don’t need to adjust
anything, but meetings get missed,
things come up, schedules change.
You may have to adjust and adapt
your coordinating activities. The work
you did may also be subject to
correction or adjusting.
Evaluating: This is the Continuous
Improvement phase. Can you do the
task you just did better? Did you learn
anything from this task that may help
you complete other tasks? How can
you make things better in quality or
efficiency?

7. The Endless Iterating Loop of Work

8. The Spinning Wheel of Work

9. Balancing The Spinning Wheel of Work
https://agile-mercurial.com/how-to-balance-the-spinning-wheel-of-work/

10. Cross-Functional Teams of T-
Shaped People
• Teams of generalizing
specialists or Jack-of-all-
trades
• Cross-functional Teams of
Teams

11. Predicted
Problems with
Overloading
the Spinning
Wheel of Work
• 1. Quality of work issues
• 2. Poor planning (quick
planning)
• 3. Skipping/merging phases in
the Endless Iterating Loop
• 4. No advancement or
improvement to the process

12. Goals of the Spinning Wheel of Work
• Increase Agility in the face of shifting workflows
• Increase worker retention by helping to prevent job boredom and
providing access to new/additional skills training
• Improve knowledge sharing or transfer
• Expand coverage options when encountering illness, vacation, or
employee departure

13. Suggested Meetings
• Daily Stand-up
• Work Prioritization Meeting
• Retrospective Meeting
What Types of Meetings Should you Have in
Kanban? https://agile-
mercurial.com/2019/01/21/what-types-of-
meetings-should-you-have-in-kanban/

14. A Kanban Approach to Organizational Agility
Joshua Render
https://agile-mercurial.com
https://mercurialperspective.com/