Being equipped with an agile mindset is the only sustainable competitive advantage in today’s economy. However, the speed of business and technology no longer affords us the time to build this mindset from the top down. We must empower everyone, from the ground up, with a voice to move the business forward. At Cohesion, we utilize Agile assessment, training and coaching as a core service to our clients to empower everyone with the necessary behaviors, tools and processes to navigate change.
The big challenge was and always is the move from waterfall to agile – Agile is simple, Scrum is simple, but they are not easy. Most existing businesses are not built with the mindset that Agile promotes and therefore, not only a mechanical shift is required ala learning new ceremonies and creating user stories but also, a shift in thinking is required to internalize and realize the full benefits of Agile into an organization. This is regardless of the depth of Agile that is needed in process – the mindset is the golden goose. – Jeff Edwards, Senior Director Product Development, Jenzabar
Cohesion is a consulting and staffing firm that offers assessment, training, coaching and retrospective facilitation to help companies newly transitioning to Agile as well as companies currently practicing Agile. Cohesion Agile Services believes in team focused Agile practices that have been proven successful in Fortune companies. We take the team approach to build the foundation for a successful Agile transformation team by team.
“Cohesion believes in the value of training the entire team together on roles, responsibilities, methodology, terms, ceremonies, process and practice rather than training one or two individuals and relying upon them to train the team to practice a methodology they have just learned,” says Sam O’Brien, direct of Agile services at Cohesion. “We follow the whole team training with coaching until the team is mature enough to stand on their own.”
“Agile projects are three times as successful as traditional projects.” (Standish Group 2012. Standish Group is a primary research organization focusing on software project performance)
“Seventy-nine studies with quantitative data proves an average ROI of 1,872 percent ($20 return for every $1 invested) for Agile.” (The business value of Agile software methods by Drs. Rico, Sayani and Sone)
Many companies have successfully transitioned to an Agile environment with the help of Cohesion. As a result of moving to an Agile approach, those companies have seen returns with:
Higher customer satisfaction
Increased speed to market
Promotion of cultural change using a repeatable cadence
A consistent scalable method of project delivery
Measurable increase in team output
Standardization of Agile approach and onboarding
More empowered teams
Sam O’Brien, Director of Agile services is an Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master and Retrospective Facilitator. She has worked with Fortune 20 clients to $100 million companies in the U.S. and internationally with distributed and diverse teams in all stages of Agile maturity. Since taking on her first Agile project 15 years ago, her experience spans all Agile methods and implementation approaches. Her passion for Agile is contagious. She manages the direction, day-to-day activities, talent acquisition and growth strategy for Cohesion Agile.
Cohesion is a consulting and staffing firm dedicated to empowering people and companies. We help you overcome technical challenges and skills gaps, our solutions fill-in gaps providing an integrated, cohesive organization.
Consulting
Agile Services
Content Development
Training and Education
Staffing
Agile Resources
Analytics and Data Management
Application Development
Content Development
Infrastructure
Project Management
Quality Assurance and Testing
Cohesion is located at 5151 Pfeiffer Road Suite 105, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242. You can reach them at 513.587.7714 or visit www.cohesion.com.