Owner, Senior Agile Coach

Lack of executive commitment to the agile transformation.

No continuous improvement due to a lack of measurable and meaningful metrics.

Unstructured meetings without clear processes and structures.

Unclear responsibilities, roles, and tasks (especially for management and Product Owners).

The Clearing Crew now reliably works with Scrum as an agile framework after three previous failed attempts with internal guidance.

Metrics implemented: The Clearing Crew and the Data Migration Team now optimize their productivity using throughput, cycle time, and lead time.

Internal Agile Coaches positioned as valuable sparring partners for C-level and senior management. Previously, there was no exchange.

The Product Owner is clearly positioned and proactively involved as a valuable point of contact by leadership.

Strategic realignment and empowerment of the PCDM program management with executive authority. Previously, the program management had no decision-making authority in practice.

Acted as a sparring partner for CxOs, Product Owners, and leaders in agile transformation (Spotify model), management processes, structures, and cultural change.

Led 4 Scrum and Kanban teams with 5 to 20 team members.

Initiated and implemented agile practices, considering agile values.

Led all Scrum events, such as planning, sprints, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives, and coached teams to enhance self-organization and productivity.

Developed and monitored methods for measuring goal achievement (e.g., tracking throughput, cycle time, lead time in Jira).

Identified and removed obstacles for the development team and across team boundaries.

Supported Product Owners and teams in maintaining and planning the product backlog.

Provided advice on process optimization (Jira board, collaboration, MS Teams).

Offered guidance on the use of artificial intelligence and prompt engineering.

Provided individual coaching to Product Owners and leaders.

Defined and clarified roles, tasks, and competencies within the matrix organization.

Increased transparency in communication and goal achievement by implementing practices such as Kanban and Scrum.

Led leadership workshops on topics such as agile transformation, cultural change, building trust, transparent communication, open feedback culture, and agile mindset.

Advised and coached internal Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and program management to overcome organizational barriers.

Mr. Gausmann succeeded in what three other Agile Coach colleagues before him could not achieve.

We formed a cohesive team, established clear processes and structures, set a vision, and positioned ourselves as the single point of contact for clearing issues within the organization.

We now have a well-maintained and prioritized backlog at all times, allowing us to be transparent with management about our capacity and team workload.

Our processes are streamlined, enabling the team to deliver work packages on time.

We and the management always have key metrics such as throughput, cycle time, and lead time in view and can optimize our performance at any time.

Most impressively, Kai Gausmann even supported us in implementing artificial intelligence within the crew, continually enhancing our efficiency.

On an individual level, Kai Gausmann also demonstrated outstanding coaching abilities. As the Product Owner, I particularly benefited from his guidance. I gained a stronger sense of self-efficacy in my role, especially when dealing with executives and top management. A positive side effect was that, thanks to his support, I was able to better position myself as a Product Owner and was even promoted.

Kai Gausmann also successfully coached and advised our internal Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and program management. Thanks to his support, we now communicate much more transparently and have sustainably increased our productivity.

He was involved in four crews or teams, and I worked closely with him for over 14 months within the newly established "Clearing Crew."

Goal setting with employees and teams was still done traditionally, only once a year at the beginning of the year.

At the end of the year, goal achievement was negotiated based on gut feeling.

Goals were either not achieved because priorities changed, were significantly overachieved because they were underestimated, or were completely removed while other goals, which were not initially relevant, were achieved.

There was no transparency, and goal achievement was highly dependent on the relationship with the manager.

Successfully implemented the OKR framework with bi-weekly and 3-month goal planning cycles.

Employees and managers are increasingly gaining confidence in formulating goals.

The department is viewed by other departments as a benchmark for implementing the OKR framework.

Acted as a sparring partner for program management and leaders in the agile transformation (OKR framework), structures, and cultural change.

Supported 4 teams with 3 to 17 members.

Provided individual coaching to managers and employees.

Defined and clarified roles and tasks within the OKR framework.

Implemented a continuous improvement process through retrospectives.