CIO says Telstra becoming 'best IT shop in APAC'
Agile methodologies and 'fail wall' changing culture
Posted in Management, 31st May 2012 04:37 GMT
Watch Now : Virtual Machine Movement with Hyper-V
Telstra’s CIO has boldly claimed that the carrier’s ongoing Agile IT transformation will soon be one of the most successful stories of enterprise Agile at scale in the world.
Speaking at the Agile Australia 2012 conference in Melbourne, Telstra CIO Patrick Eltridge said that his team was also “busy building the best IT shop in Asia Pacific.” Since being appointed to the CIO hot seat 18 months ago, Eltridge has been actively dedicated to turning Telstra’s IT systems into a fertile Agile hub.
Last year Eltridge went on an intense recruitment drive for Agile coaches as part of a large-scale change management program. The Agile approach serves to accelerate collaboration on projects between IT and the business units, improving speed to market and delivering value all the way through a project lifespan.
Telstra took on the Agile methodology for its IT and software development as part of the consultation process over its $11.9 billion transformation. Eltridge said that Telstra was going Agile out of competitive market necessity. “Because we the need the capabilities of an agile organisation. With the advent of NBN and the rapid change that we are seeing in consumer technology we have no hope of thriving in the 21st unless we become much more adaptable and are able to respond faster than our competitors to meeting customer demands.”
Eltridge views Agile as not just a software developer methodology but a “way of working that drives a more productive and enjoyable experience.” While admitting that the change process has been long, he said that it is currently in acceleration mode. “The ox is slow but the earth is patient ... changing culture is a gradual process and can seem glacial to those in it.”
As part of the Agile deployment, Eltridge said that Telstra staff were continually being trained in Agile fundamentals and has implemented a feedback system that allows for accountability and transparency between the team and its leaders. The IT group has established a fail wall where team members can publicly ‘out‘ their failures and share what they have learnt from them. ®
Watch Now : Virtual Machine Movement with Hyper-V
COMMENTS
Cross promotional. Deal mechanics. Revenue streams. Jargon. Synergy.
I've applied Agile methods to my running training out of competitive market necessity. It's a way of working that drives a more productive and enjoyable experience. With the upcoming Olympic Games and the rapid change that we are seeing in running technology I have no hope of thriving in the 21st unless I become much more adaptable and am able to respond faster than my competitors in meeting the spectators demands. Through the power of jargon and the most currently fashionable methodology, I'm busy becoming the fastest sprinter in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Re: One thing you never hear from Telstra
Right, the world's worst customer service bar none.
Trying to explain to those who've never experienced "Telstra Customer Service" just how bad it is is like trying to explain to a person blind from birth what the colour yellow is like. It's just not possible.
Compared to Telstra, British Telecom is truly a shining beacon.
@Ed
I recycled my program from the last year and website does not list employer, so I have to agree with you on everything.
So if we agree that your presentation was the best, which one was the worst? I hated some of presentations, like that ********* thing. That was pure horror.
Re: D'oh, missed your presentation
Hakenpuc,
I totally agree that this year was dominated by TW and to a lesser extent by REA - although I don't think this has anything to do with Nige going there as you suggested - his move to REA was announced on 3rd of May - submissions closed to speak at the conference on the 31st of Jan.
And at risk of being pointed out as a nit-picker - I respectfully disagree with you again *grin*. Last year at AgileAustralia 2011, strictly speaking there were 1.5 presentations by Lonely Planet - Nigel Dalton at 11:45am on the 15th of June. Same time/date as Nick and Fiona aka the Agile Board Hackers. Nick had left LP by then, as had James Pierce who was representing Lunar Tractor. Nigel was also in a panel - not sure that counts.
I'm embarrassed that I forgot Brent Snook presented this year, he's an LPer - so in 2012 Lonely Planet had 2.5 talking spots that's certainly not "a lot less" no matter how you cut it. This year Nigel curated a stream and would tell you himself he didn't present, although he was in a panel, and did present to the Uni students after the conference on day 1.
What I note is that despite Patricks desire for Telstra to be Australia-leading in Agile - other than Carolyn on a panel, Patrick was the only standalone speaker from Telstra, let's hope that next year we see more ground-roots presenters from Telstra.
Cheers
Ed
One thing you never hear from Telstra
is how they're going to provide great customer service.
Avoid like the plague.
The new Office Garage series:
Enabling efficient data center monitoring
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
