The first presentation on this topic was presented by Giora Morein and George Schlitz at the Spring 2008 Scrum Gathering in Chicago. It was extremely well received and generated much debate and discussion. The presentation introduces a technique for mapping external forces and influences acting directly and indirectly on an Agile project in order to determine potential hazards and risks that need to be proactively addressed. The tutorial comprises five primary instructional sections, followed by a participatory workshop.

Basic Training
1. Change is Challenging – this is a brief overview of the challenges and pitfalls associated with attempting to introduce change into an organization – especially a change that is typically perceived to be as radical as Agile
2. The Battle Metaphor – an introduction to the military battlefield metaphor and specifically that of the project perimeter
3. Battle-mapping Technique – a step-by-step introduction to a simple diagramming technique for mapping direct and indirect influencers on a project perimeter. These may be positive or negative, strong or weak etc.. The diagrams can be paper-based or can make use of drawing tools such as those found in MS Visio, Powerpoint or similar tools. The presentation also presents real-life examples of maps that were created for specific projects.
4. Patterns and Early Warning Signals – an introduction to a library of common patterns that the change-agent should be aware and take advantage of, based on the instructors’ years of practical experience introducing change to organizations of many sizes and industries.
5. Response Strategy – a guide for analyzing, evaluating and responding to the battle-map.

Outline:
- Perils of change
- The role of the Agile Change Agent
- Organizational change beyond the project
- The organization as a battlefield
- Mapping the battlefield
- Response strategies and tactics

Simulation Exercise
Participants will be coached through an exercise of mapping a project environment. Provided with a basic patterns guide, they can begin to assess the project’s change situation, and with the help of the expert instructors, go back to their projects with the ability to develop their own action plan. The plan may be as simple as a list of specific people to work with as soon as possible, or as complex as a prioritized change action plan.

Discuss Future Topics We’ve explored scaling this technique to aid in larger change efforts and can discuss this, extending the patterns library, and more.

Reviewers: Feedback welcome!