I've had some poor experiences of "Agile Consultants"
Don't get me wrong, there are some good people out there - guys who can come in and genuinely have a positive impact on your business.
The problem is the other kind - the kind who:
- is a hacker who's never delivered a large-scale solution
- who sees process discussions as an argument to be won
- who can convince senior management to part with a pile of cash then blame the failure on the development team who "just don't get it"
- who was in the right place at the right time, and wrote his/her meal-ticket because of who they were standing next to
Yes, I'm being overly cynical - but there are a lot of consultants on the band-wagon and there are people like this out there. If you are looking to bring someone in, do your research properly:
- Talk to their previous clients
- Find out what their ROI was 6 months later... 2 years later
- Talk to the developers and find out what they thought
- And be wary of promises that sound too good to be true...
And if you think I've been too cynical, then read this anonymous, satirical, blog written by someone (not me) with similar experiences and a better sense of comic timing!
So, without naming people who are just mates (or yourself ;), is there anyone you CAN recommend as an agile consultant?
ReplyDeleteI seriously considered not posting this article because I knew I was going to be asked that question!
ReplyDeleteShort answer is no!
I've briefly worked with a couple (and met others) who I believe would have delivered, but not over a long enough timescale to be able to recommend them (and that was quite a while ago, before I worked for my current employer...)
I think the problem is that the realchanges can't be made as a quick-fix from someone coming from the outside. It takes a long time and sustained effort, just like any culture change.
So the guys who have the integrity and honesty to be up-front about timescales and costs put themselves at a disadvantage when compared to those who promise radical, short-term, improvements that can't then be sustained...
To be honest, it's not a job I'd want at all (although the money would be nice :-))
Surely Agile has that level of growth which is supportive at the same time seeing the facts that help us with understanding all these things like california consulting which help us quite goodly in a way and that definitely brings a betterment. So yeah this article is making sense and i am sure it can help us like small business consultants are doing and its working.
ReplyDelete