Wells did not enact Agile transformation across the company. It started in Technology but there was no sponsorship in LOB. Also, Application Managers have locked horns with Scrum Masters as they see this new role as encroachment on their traditional positions. As a result, the half-baked approach has actually increased risk in certain areas. The senior management were excited to flatten the organization (i.e., displacement) but were not informed that Agile requires an upfront investment and proper staffing before efficiencies can be gained. WF hired dozens of Agile coaches for 2 years which had no support and was not as beneficial as it could have been. Currently, as of 2024, WF is 4 years into a 5 year transformation, but is probably another 5+ years away from true Agile. In the meantime, metrics have been weaponized and the org, in general, is practicing Waterfall 2 weeks at a time in sprints. With lack of direction, diminishing resources, confusing direction from senior management, Wells resembles the Hunger Games with pockets of management practicing vastly different versions of Agile, creating unorthodox organization structures to hide particular employees from layoffs and finding end runs around corporate policies where possible. Staffing is thin and middle management is overworked, particularly on the business side (i.e, Product Ownwer) which hasn't been giving the budget to staff for Agile. With deep staff cutting and a mishandled Agile transformation, in time any short-term monetary gains will be short lived and replaced by slower times to market, greater risk and poorer service marked by extensive employee dissatisfaction.
