The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the legal profession to re-evaluate its working practices. Rachel Lewis, a partner at Farrer & Co, discusses how the firm decided to adopt flexible working practices. The firm began by surveying its staff to determine their preferences for flexible working. It then chose a 40% structure and refurbished its offices to accommodate agile working practices. The benefits of agile working are not only obvious but also measurable.
Kanban boards
Agile law and Kanban boards are complementary tools that help teams prioritize their work. They can be used to visualize progress and show the allocation of resources to projects. Traditionally, kanban boards were physical, leading to frequent iterations of workflow. But the practice was recently taken digital, allowing remote teams to use them too. In addition to streamlining work processes, these tools help teams limit risk, identify duplicate work, and evaluate the efficacy of work processes.
A Kanban board can help attorneys and law firms prioritize tasks by assigning priority to tasks and separating large, complex projects into small, manageable tasks. Because the legal industry relies so much on routine procedural tasks, a Kanban board can be adapted to the specific needs of each team. This way, the law firm can respond quickly and efficiently to a variety of client needs. As a bonus, each team member can view the status of his or her own tasks, and they can change priorities if necessary.
Another advantage of a Kanban board is that it discourages multi-tasking by setting limits on the total number of tasks in progress and individual stages of the workflow. This keeps teams focused on completing their work rather than pursuing multi-tasking. Kanban boards can also be updated and expanded to meet the needs of the business as it grows. So what are the advantages of Kanban boards? This article discusses a few key characteristics that make them successful in practice.
Despite its popularity, a Kanban board can help lawyers become more efficient and productive. Developed in an automotive factory, the kanban board has proven its effectiveness in other fields. Its simplicity is its greatest benefit. The Kanban board allows knowledge workers to quickly identify what needs to be done. It also encourages teams to be more responsive to their clients’ needs. A kanban board can even help law firms use software to automate documents generation.
Work-in-Progress limits
The agile law requires teams to adhere to Work-in-Progress limits to increase value throughput. Working within a WIP limit can increase team performance, organization capability, and team culture. Furthermore, it helps reduce clogs. Limiting WIP can be implemented in different ways, depending on team members’ skill sets and knowledge. Let’s consider some common examples of WIP limits. How can you apply these laws to your agile projects?
One simple method is to limit the number of work-in-progress (WIP). By setting a maximum number of work-in-progress limits for each status, you can identify inefficiencies early on. Also, limiting WIP allows for the application of lessons from recently completed projects. Lastly, working in sequential order allows you to apply recent lessons to a new project. This method is also helpful to reduce the risk of technology choices becoming outdated.
WIP limits are helpful in true Kanban style projects. While the most effective way to use them is to create a “work-in-progress” board where you can visualize the work in progress of each individual on a daily basis. When a team has no more than six WIP items, it can be difficult to balance WIP limits. But this limit helps the team balance its capacity to keep work-in-progress low and improve time-to-market.
In Agile law, work-in-progress limits protect a sustainable engineering culture. The limits are not intended to force developers to rush through their work. Instead, they help them support solid agile engineering practices that protect the health of their code base. With these limits, they encourage collaboration and make work easier to complete. So, limiting work-in-progress makes teams more efficient and enjoyable. The agile law of work-in-progress limits encourages teams to collaborate more effectively.
Time-boxes
Using time-boxes to schedule meetings is a proactive approach to overcoming procrastination. Time-boxing is a practice that involves defining start and stop times for each meeting, defining the main desired outcomes and creating an agenda. By setting specific time frames, people can focus on completing tasks within that time frame. In agile software development, time-boxing is often used for project management tasks, personal errands, or other daily activities.
Time-boxing is also an effective technique to incorporate mundane tasks into daily life. For instance, five minutes of meditation a day can be incorporated into the schedule of any day. Not only are there great physical benefits to meditating, but five minutes of quiet time can also provide a feeling of mental peace. A tidy bedroom saves time, so time-boxing is an effective way to fit this into your day.
Time-boxing is also effective in driving productivity. Because people tend to work smarter to a deadline, time-boxing can help you to overcome Student’s Syndrome and Parkinson’s Law. Additionally, time-boxing helps you to visualize the amount of time you spend on any given activity and prevents analysis paralysis. And the key is to set deadlines for yourself! You’ll be surprised at how effective time-boxing is.
As a project manager, on-time delivery is like the gold mine of project management. Most project managers work overtime to meet their deadlines. The project team works weekends to meet these deadlines. And that can cause both stress and burnout. By using time-boxes to schedule work, you can get your work done in less time, while still delivering results on time. It’s the El Dorado of project management.
Responsiveness
This article discusses the characteristics of a resilient leader. The Big Four of agile law are adaptive leadership, lightweight governance, and the ability to respond to change. Today, responsiveness is more important than ever. We need leaders who can respond to change in ways that benefit both the organization and their customers. Responsive leaders are essential to the success of an agile team. Listed below are some of the qualities of a resilient leader.
First, the firm’s culture is key. The tech industry has embraced Agile practices, and the law industry is no different. But it will be more successful if lawyers apply the principles of Agile to their practice. Organizational psychologists have found that people are motivated by intrinsic factors, such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose, as opposed to extrinsic factors, such as external rewards and avoidance of punishments.
Agile transformations should focus on the organization’s ability to adapt to change. But it is critical not to “throw out the baby with the bathwater,” and instead emphasize the importance of context-specific knowledge and understanding. Without this knowledge, organizations cannot sustain ongoing high productivity, sustainability, and profitability. Therefore, agile transformations should be based on transparency, value mapping, and the use of agile practices. Ultimately, this will help companies maintain a competitive edge in the market.
While the concept of agile development is new, the principles that underlie it are universally applicable. For example, an agile software company can respond quickly to changes in the market. A similarly responsive organization is able to test the market and make adjustments without stressing its internal systems. As an agile organization, a law firm can adjust to changing needs without undue strain. Ultimately, this means more efficient, effective, and profitable projects.
Client-centricity
The pursuit of shareholder value often leads to narrow focus on short-term value and shorter management horizons. Moreover, law firms often get stuck in a resource-allocation “doomsday” loop where they allocate resources according to current revenue and end up slowing down their digital transformation and strategy execution. To avoid a repeat of this cycle, law firms should free up their resources by focusing on client intimacy.
The key elements of fluidity are fluidity and engagement. If your firm wants to be an agile and engaging organization, prioritize fluidity and external client innovation. These elements can be implemented and conceptualised easily. So, why wait? Get started today! Here’s how. Embrace the future. Be a client-centric, innovative law firm! With these principles in mind, you can ensure that your firm remains a leading player in the legal profession.
In addition to flexibility, client-centricity also requires a high degree of professionalism and commitment from lawyers. Those with a background in law and business will be more likely to deliver excellent client service if they are genuinely committed to their work. It is important that attorneys maintain high standards and a positive work-life balance. If you can’t provide these qualities, clients will go elsewhere. If you want to create a better client experience, you need to adopt agile mindset.
To become a client-centric legal firm, you need to embrace project management and agile concepts. Legal project managers will handpick digital solutions from a large tech stack. It will require more time and energy to scout the tech-market. However, with agile project management, you’ll benefit from a larger circle of talent and a free flow of knowledge. By adopting the client-centric model, you’ll be able to fully utilize your specialized employees and their skills, and avoid resource doomsoop.