The tension between short-cycle planning and hard deadlines

As Product Owner in the HR domain at a large Dutch bank, I am responsible for all IT changes submitted to the applications for personnel and payroll administration. Here, it is very important that the applications are adapted on time, because it would be unacceptable if a bank did not comply with laws and regulations on time.

One of the biggest challenges I face daily is the tension between short-cycle planning and hard deadlines set by the business. As a Product Owner, how can I continuously prioritise IT changes based on customer value, while hard (longer-term) deadlines apply to some IT changes? Is planning then required to meet these deadlines? I recommend doing so. Although following a schedule is not fully in line with Agile thinking, sometimes you can't escape it. Try not to make a detailed planning in which activities are planned at day level. Therefore, always keep room in the planning for new insights, this way the planning remains as flexible as possible.

My tip is to embrace Agile principles, but also to remain pragmatic in their application. Therefore, let Agile not be an end in itself, but a tool that helps organisations to be as agile as possible in this fast-changing world. In doing so, you will serve the most important purpose of Agile: adding value for the customer.