ING's Agile transformation—Teaching an elephant to race
M Calnan, A Rozen - Journal of Creating Value, 2019 - journals.sagepub.com
M Calnan, A Rozen
Journal of Creating Value, 2019•journals.sagepub.comThe present article is a practitioner case study of an ongoing event for the period from 2010
to 2018. It examines a key period during which ING Bank has attempted to transform itself
from a traditional bank to a 'platform bank'with the help of both benchmarked and ad hoc
agile methods and mindset. The research is extensively based on a review of the agile
methods and creating value literature, semi-structured interviews of the key ING Group and
ING Netherlands stakeholders, a documentary review of existing literature on ING's …
to 2018. It examines a key period during which ING Bank has attempted to transform itself
from a traditional bank to a 'platform bank'with the help of both benchmarked and ad hoc
agile methods and mindset. The research is extensively based on a review of the agile
methods and creating value literature, semi-structured interviews of the key ING Group and
ING Netherlands stakeholders, a documentary review of existing literature on ING's …
Abstract
The present article is a practitioner case study of an ongoing event for the period from 2010 to 2018. It examines a key period during which ING Bank has attempted to transform itself from a traditional bank to a ‘platform bank’ with the help of both benchmarked and ad hoc agile methods and mindset.
The research is extensively based on a review of the agile methods and creating value literature, semi-structured interviews of the key ING Group and ING Netherlands stakeholders, a documentary review of existing literature on ING’s transformation, ING public information (annual reports, special reports, marketing materials) as well as ING internal documents (presentations, internal documents, training materials, etc.).
To ensure multi-layered coverage of the full story, interviewees were chosen to capture the points of view of key participants in the transformation journey and who represent the full range of major internal stakeholders, namely representatives from IT, Business, HR and Corporate.
The aim of this case study is to gain a more granular understanding of the key factors, people, processes and insights that helped drive ING’s profound transformation of its operations, management, strategy and vision and how this ongoing ‘agile transformation’ is value accretive (or not) for ING and its stakeholders. The article identifies the three stages of a successful agile transformation as well as the underlying paradox for an organization to remain agile over time and at scale.