Today, technology is your key differentiator!
Interview with Sunil Mundra
Author, Agile Evangelist
Principal Consultant-Advisor, ThoughtWorks
Interviewed by Aina Aliieva
International Correspondent, PM World Journal
Ontario, Canada
Introduction to the interviewee
Sunil Mundra is a Principal Consultant-Advisor at ThoughtWorks, a global software and IT consultancy. He has extensive international experience in consulting with organizations in enhancing agility at team, program and enterprise levels. He has worked with senior executives to shape and execute the roadmap for change.
Sunil is author of the book ‘Enterprise Agility: Being Agile in a Changing World‘. He has 30+ years of work experience, of which 18 years is in IT. He is passionate about working with organizations for whom IT is a critical enabler for their business, helping them delight their customers and employees through adoption of Agile and Lean principles. He has expertise in Agile Training, Coaching for Agile/Lean Adoption and Transformation, Governance, Change Management, Client Engagement and Stakeholder Management. His expertise also spans all aspects of IT Product conceptualization, development and implementation, with domain area expertise in Banking and Finance.
Being an Agile Evangelist, he enjoys sharing his knowledge through speaking at Agile and Lean conferences across the globe.
Interview
Q1. When you look at what is happening in the industry with everyone trying to push frameworks such as SAFe, Disciplined Agile, LESS etc… What is the role of these frameworks, and how can we use them effectively? Or should we take a step back and rethink this whole approach?
Sunil Mundra (Mundra): Let me make a disclaimer first. I have no certifications, and I’m not an expert in any of the frameworks, although I know something about each of them.
When you look at implementing agility, implementing agile transformation or change as part of a program, you’ve got to tailor it to the context of the organization you work for. Yes, there are common patterns, common problems that organizations face. But just like every human body is different, although a doctor may find common patterns across people, you examine a body and make a treatment plan based on what you discovered about that person’s problems.
And we need to take a similar approach in every organization and every single team. We have to look at it as an independent entity. And yes, while we can leverage patterns, the context of every single team and organization is different.
So, to cut a long story short, I think these frameworks are a set of tools. And as a coach or consultant, I refuse to tie myself to any particular framework. Depending on the problem to solve, I will pick and choose things from any of the frameworks that would best fit the situation. Perse, I think going in with the mindset that the X framework is applicable across all organizations is something that I am principally against. Because even if it may apply, would it be the best fit for that organization? Would a combination of different tools and different frameworks work better? I think that’s what we need to think about. My bigger worry is that when somebody is looking at a framework, they’re shutting their minds to other tools they could use rather than just pushing that one framework they know best.
Q2. But isn’t it better for a consultant to know one framework well? For example, if I take an analogy of house building, the carpenters know their carpentry tools well, and the plumbers know their plumbing tools well. I’m slightly concerned that people come in without knowing a framework well enough to think about implementing it correctly. What do you think?
Mundra: I agree with you. If we look at the basic concept, getting wide acceptance and having T-shaped skills, that applies to knowledge of the framework…
More…
To read entire interview, click here
How to cite this interview: Aliieva, A. (2021). Today, technology is your key differentiator! Interview with Sunil Mundra; PM World Journal, Vol. X, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pmwj107-Jul2021-Aliieva-Interview-with-Sunil-Mundra.pdf
About the Interviewer
Aina Aliieva
Toronto, ON, Canada
Aina Alive (Aliieva) has 10+ years working in Project Management and an Agile environment. She has managed and consulted on Technical, Construction, Telecom, Retail and Engineering projects. Aina is a Transformation Leader, Coach & Mentor. She helps individuals, teams and organizations in their transformation journey. Aina is passionate about productivity, creating a positive work environment and building Dream teams.
Aina has a Masters’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA in technology. She holds PMP and PMI-ACP certificates. Aina is a proud member of PMI CWCC (Canadian West Coast Chapter), PMIT (Toronto Chapter), PMI Ukraine Chapter and UAE PMI. She is also a Program Manager, Disciplined Agile in PMI CWCC and DA Ambassador in PMIT.
Aina is an experienced public speaker and coach. In her free time, Aina participates in different mentorship programs, speaks at webinars and interviews people for her blog.
She can be contacted at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aina-aliieva/
To view other works by Aina Aliieva, visit her author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/aina-aliieva/
