Episode 54 Wrap Up Article - Agility and Sustainability with Joanna Masraff and Joanne Stone

Green IO podcaster host Gaël Duez invites two Agile guests to join him in episode E55 to talk about agility and sustainability. Jo Masraff, an Agile and Sustainability Coach, co-founder of Green PO, and (co)organizer for Agilist for Sustainability meet-up group and the Agilist for Planet conference joins him from Edinburgh (UK). Joanne Stone (Ontario, CAN), Agilist since 2012, is founder of Wick‘d Agility, the We Hope Magazine and the Agilists4Planet Conference.

Bringing Agile & Sustainability together

Even if awareness of digital sustainability is high, questions still remain as to how to move from awareness to action. Our two guests used an opportunity at the XP 2023 agile software development conference, where a new sustainability track brought together those interested in the topic.  This was developed from the Agility Impact group which Joanna herself had started, and the good work laid down by Lyssa Adkins. The inherent nature of being agile is all about a team working together to develop sprint goals, and so it is the very social elements of collaboration and communication that has enabled sustainability and environmental concerns to be embedded within this approach.

Current drivers for sustainability

Reporting requirements and C foot-printing are stimulating the drive to deliver sustainability and include it in OKRs.  As Joanne explains, a corporate vision needs to include planetary impact and the protection of ecosystems. Tensions can arise though, as top down can be faster, but perhaps there is more buy in from a bottom-up approach. 

Another key driver is cost. This is a useful approach as monitoring costs are part of all business strategies, and is an indicator that is widely used and understood at all levels. Jo points out that by reducing costs, often a more sustainable product or operation is created. Cloud costs are a case in point – through the lens of energy usage, savings can be made.

Onboarding sustainability

If reporting requirements are now boosting policies and strategies, delivery and action can still lag behind. In terms of onboarding, raising awareness is needed before any modification of existing goals can happen. Generating excitement and enthusiasm for creating change is important and hackathons can be a great way to explore sustainability issues and determine how to best measure impact for certain aspects of workload and activity. Joanne also uses the term ‘twisted technique’, where sustainability goals are added into existing sprint goals, helping to minimize extra workload.

Additional ideas include creating a team charter to help embed sustainability objectives into existing goals as well as themed weeks with related events. The use of both internal and external speakers can be used to inform and inspire employees about digital sustainability throughout the entire organization. X cites Y as an example, where an action week was programmed to create a high-level roadmap. This in turn highlighted the need for training and skills development, driving the upskilling of the workforce.

Another entry point is accessibility, even though this is something that should have long been incorporated into work-loads and management approaches.

Sticking points

JS believes that, “Agilists have many beautiful skills… and it allows us to get right in there, roll up our sleeves and make a change.” But teams still do need space and time to work on issues, and these teams need to be diverse. Transparency is needed too, in order to tackle head-on any problems, and to provide effective and efficient solutions. Yet the tech community is generally agile at heart, and so changes can be made front end and back end, so operating at team level is hugely important. New approaches can be tested directly at this level, before it becomes integrated at the corporate level.  

Resources to share

Agile Alliance has developed a sustainability initiative and with it a sustainability manifesto. We Hope Magazine has great stories too, and is available on the Agilist for Planet website. Another key resource is passion, something which both Jo and Joanne have aplenty, and this passion and drive is found across the tech sector. By increasing knowledge and awareness, positive action and results can and do follow!