ADAPT - The Helix Group LLC

Unlocking Learning Agility with ADAPT©

The Helix Group LLC is a leading learning agility organization specializing in providing comprehensive services and solutions for Agile DevOps Agility Product Transformation (ADAPT©). As the exclusive authority for ADAPT©, we are committed to helping businesses, professionals, and teams effectively implement the ADAPT© program, leading to higher productivity, better collaboration, and faster product delivery.

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What is ADAPT©?

The ADAPT© program is an immersive outcome-based learning program that through the use of cohort groups allows organizations to take ownership of their own transformation. The ADAPT© program is unique because it’s the only program on the market that takes a systemic view of a transformation and focuses on outcomes, not frameworks. ADAPT© allows the organization’s employees to take ownership of the transformation by surfacing impediments through discussions and taking concrete steps to implement the changes needed in a transformation. ADAPT© is not about theory, it’s about doing!

Transformations require learning and re-learning on a large scale

Many organizations are undertaking Agile, DevOps or Digital transformations, but few are actually succeeding. The Helix Group introduces and incorporates an elevated concept called learning agility for individuals and organizations so that they can develop the holistic skill set they need to deal with the complexity and challenges they face today.

How the ADAPT© Program Works

The ADAPT© program is made up of thirteen learning paths, each of the learning paths is made up of a series of modules. The ADAPT© program does make recommendations for which learning paths individuals should take based on their role. We also recommend that the cohort groups that are formed be cross functional in makeup. When a cohort group is formed, they will undertake the learning paths one at a time.

Typically, each module in a learning path is one week in duration, with two one-hour sessions each week and one optional one-hour open session each week. ADAPT© is flexible, so the cohort days/times can be adjusted to fit your schedule.

During each learning path the cohort group will use a journey board where they will track every Quest they are experimenting with. Quests are experiments where an individual, pair or even entire cohort put into place what they learned in each week’s module. The cohort group uses a journey board (can be setup on apps like Confluence, SharePoint or even Mural) to track the status of each Quest, provide information on the Quest, list who is running the Quest and store the results so that others can use this information. We want to highlight how important Quests are in the overall process, by the cohort groups transparently showing the experiments they are running we start to ingrain experimentation into the culture. In addition, because others can see these experiments being run and recognized, we start to show others in the organization that it is ok to experiment, and we need to recognize the peer pressure this asserts to bring others on board

Lastly, we need to talk about facilitating ADAPT© sessions, this type of facilitation is complete back of the room facilitation. The entire objective of the ADAPT© program is for the individuals in the cohort groups to discuss and put into place the needed changes required for their transformation. The facilitator is simply there to help the cohort group dive deeper into discussions, clarify any questions and coordinate the sessions. Our ADAPT© facilitator guide and mock session video will help facilitators fully grasp their role in ADAPT©.

One of the issues with the way most organizations attempt to implement a transformation is their belief that they can bring in an army of coaches or hire a consulting firm to come in and in a sense do the transformation for them. The problem with this is quite simple, in order for an organization to truly transform, this requires changes in mindset, culture and behaviors and this can only happen when the individuals and teams in an organization take ownership of the transformation. The simple truth is that to truly transform you can’t give agency to a third party. The people that have the best insights into transforming your organization are your own employees.

One of the cornerstones of transforming in today’s rapidly changing business environment is building experimentation into the organization’s culture. The ADAPT© program accomplishes this in two ways, first through the weekly exercises that the cohort groups work through and secondly through the Quests that accompany every learning path.

As the cohort groups start their journey through the ADAPT© program, another key attribute of the program is the two-way communication channels that develop within the cohort. Two-way communication channels are shared conversation that goes back and forth between one or more individuals. It’s a dynamic process where information and ideas are exchanged between senders and receivers.

Lastly, the ADAPT© program is based on creating visible, actionable outcomes. What we mean by this is that the cohort groups that are going through the various learning paths in the program will be taking their learnings from the readings, discussions and exercises and putting these into practice in the form of experiments every week on their Quests board. The Quests board will be visible to everyone, so that others can see the experiments actually taking place and see that real change is taking place.

Why ADAPT© Works?

Tackles Organizational Culture and Behaviors head on.
Organizations of any size can use ADAPT©.
No need to hire an army of coaches or consultants.
Individuals develop learning agility.
Creates a culture of experimentation.
Focuses directly on the steps needed for a transformation, not a framework.
Develops two-way communication.
Is not a framework, instead focuses on problem solving and mindset shift.
Transformation agnostic works with Agile, DevOps, Business Agility or Digital transformations.
Is outcome-based, not traditional output-based.
Creates an environment of psychological safety.
Cohort groups actually enjoy learning.
Kick starts organizational learning.
Breaks down silos.
Focuses on ingraining new ways of working.
Creates excitement in an organization.

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Inez Eldewek

Wells Fargo

I attended the ADAPT sessions while working as an Agile Transformation Coach at Wells Fargo Bank. The sessions were informative and are an eye opening on how to run a successful Agile Transformation

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Dorothy Aubrey

Kobumura LLC

The ADAPT program has been a game changer for our org! By focusing on outcomes and really digging in to encourage experimentation, we’ve been able to create an environment where employees take ownership of their individual and shared transformation journey. The cohort-based learning approach fosters collaboration, allowing us to break down silos and drive real, measurable change. Unlike traditional frameworks, we're not just doing different things, we're thinking differently, and the results speak for themselves.

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Kyle McAdams

Concord Servicing

At Concord, we had become stagnant in our ways. The Helix Group team came in and helped shape our organization to be more agile and process business requests more efficiently. More so than any of that, it was a great learning experience that helped push me forward as a developer; I still adhere to a lot of the concepts today.”

Transformations, What’s Gone Wrong?

Today’s Agile and DevOps transformation landscape is marked by widespread disillusionment. Organizations and practitioners alike are disenchanted with the continuous changes that haven’t delivered on their promises. Despite the low success rates of Agile transformations—falling between 10 to 20% compared to a historical average of 30% for other transformations—many in the Agile community remain in denial, failing to acknowledge the need for a different approach.

At the Helix Group, we’ve long advocated for a better way to handle transformations, and we’re beginning to see some practitioners take heed. A key issue is the confusion between “Change” and “Transformation.” Change involves finite initiatives with a clear focus, while Transformation is about reinventing the organization through a broad, interdependent portfolio of initiatives aimed at discovering a new business model. It’s a riskier, more unpredictable process that requires a different mindset.

A common mistake is equating Agile frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe with Agile itself. These frameworks represent change, but Agile is a transformation that demands a broader set of initiatives. Additionally, there’s a widespread misunderstanding of organizational alignment. True alignment means that the vision and strategies set by leadership permeate every level of the organization and are reflected in the work performed.

Misalignment is often evident in organizations overwhelmed with meetings and emails, where employee’s express confusion over the adoption of Agile practices. Another critical aspect is the distinction between organizational culture and behaviors. A transformation must begin with a baseline assessment of these elements and a plan to shift them accordingly, well before implementing any frameworks or tooling.

Furthermore, transformations require redefining roles and incentives to align with the new organizational vision. The sad truth is that most organizations are incentivizing their employees to resist change and transformations. Learning during a transformation also needs a shift in focus, with an emphasis on unlearning old ways before adopting new ones, a concept known as Active Inertia.

For more insights and assistance with ADAPT, feel free to reach out to us.