What Does Being Agile Mean?

Being Agile in today’s business world means being flexible and adaptable to market needs and continuously improving business operations to provide high-quality products for customers.

In our uncertain and turbulent world, agility is a much faster reaction to changing environments, enabling customer satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic was a very illustrative example. Those organizations that responded to changes faster and flexibly reacted to changing situations were more successful than others.

So, what does the Agile approach mean, and how can you use it for your benefit?

This article provides information about Agile’s history, core principles, and frameworks. You can also learn about Agile methodology, its benefits, challenges, misconceptions, and future trends. This guide reveals tools and techniques that Agile proponents use in their practice.

Start your learning journey from the beginning of Agile’s emergence. 

Historical Background of Agile

Agile has emerged to address customers’ needs faster. It is a flexible and adaptable concept. The Agile Manifesto and its 12 principles, proclaimed in 2001 to improve software development, were a starting point for the Agile methodology. 

The authors of the Agile statement prioritize customers’ demands, constant collaboration with them, the working product, and the adaptability to market needs rather than bolstering rules and processes, comprehensive documentation, and a set of plans.

Initially, Agile practices were implemented within a software development environment. Firstly, IT companies experimented with one or a few teams applying Agile technologies. Then, after feasible successes, those methods expanded to other teams connected to software development and other departments like marketing and sales. Some software businesses have begun putting Agile principles into action at scale. The Agile methodology has become a staple in some software development companies. 

Afterward, companies from other domains applied its principles to their everyday work. The popularity of a new customer-centric approach was growing.

The 2015 Learning Consortium Project, which included organizations like Microsoft, CH Robinson, Ericsson, Scrum Alliance, Magna International, and Riot Games, aimed to understand how Agile influences companies’ business processes. As a result, they confirmed that Agile at scale is up and running.

The prominent general management magazine Harvard Business Review published an article titled “Embracing Agile” by Darrell K. Rigby, Jeff Sutherland, and Hirakata Takeuchi. The authors took the innovative idea of ​​managing business processes from the IT industry and expressed a valid opinion about integrating this methodology into any existing organization.

McKinsey & Company organized a Global Agility Hackathon with 1,500 participants on the web in April 2016. This event emphasized transitioning from an obscure command management approach to a more relevant Agile methodology to market demands. Promoters of a newer progressive method stressed such components of Agile organization as value creation, purpose, collaboration, innovation, and evolution.

Later, the “2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends” study showed that 94% of surveyed companies stated that “agility and collaboration” are essential to their business success. Another report in CA Technologies called “The State of Business Agility 2017” claimed that 84% of companies value agility because it allows them to respond quickly to new opportunities, placing them ahead of the competition.

Now, for everyone researching ‘Agile’ as a notion, it is clear that it’s all about mindset and not a bunch of sophisticated techniques. The Agile Manifesto and its principles promote customer-focused values, which are then implemented using specific methods. In the next section, we will delve deep into the fundamental Agile core principles that modern organizations are guided by.

Core Principles of Agile

The backbone of the Agile approach is its principles and values. Summarizing information mentioned in their Agile manifesto and its principles, we can highlight its core aspects: 

• Customer-Focused Approach: The customer is the boss. Everything that a business should do is to understand customer’s needs and fulfill them quickly and continuously. Asking for users’ feedback is vital for creating a working application;
• Iterative Process: Teams involved in software development configure their work according to the feedback they get quickly. They learn, adapt, and adjust business operations iteratively based on ‘Sprints.’ This practice helps to improve practical approaches to software development frequently;
• Flexibility: Permanent adaptation to a changing environment is one of the core principles of Agile. Teams constantly adapt and change the way they perform and deliver results. This approach is more viable today than the rigid following of established rules; 
• Collaboration: People within the organization should work and communicate with each other on software development projects daily. Meeting face-to-face is essential to informed decision-making that enhances any business process; 
• Fast Delivery: Developers working together should focus on quick results production. The truly working software catering to customers’ demands gauges teams’ efficiency. Rapid development allows for faster application enhancement, bringing better outcomes;
• Motivation: Motivated individuals and teams work much more efficiently and productively. Organizations should create a convenient environment for software developers to improve the quality of their work;
• Self-Organization: It refers to the team’s ability to structure and manage their own work autonomously without the need for constant direction or micromanagement from leadership. In self-organized Agile teams, members collaborate, make decisions collectively, and hold themselves accountable for achieving their goals;
• Simplicity: The fewer steps needed to create a working application, the better. ‘Simplicity’ here means delivering only what is necessary to create value, minimizing waste, and keeping solutions as simple as possible;
• Continuous Improvement: Sustainable development involving all parties is impossible without permanently enhancing daily operations. Regular reviews and feedback loops are vital parts of this process. Developer teams that perform more efficiently and find ways to deliver better results have more possibilities to adapt to the ever-changing environment, save resources, and demonstrate the best outcomes.

Agile Methodologies and Frameworks

The theory behind the Agile methodology is dead without practice. Therefore, organizations that constantly stick to Agile principles create the most efficient methods deployed in business to grow and satisfy customers’ needs. Although most frameworks are well-known here, we will focus on those methodologies that are usually used in software development specifically. Discover these practices below.

Scrum

Scrum is a widespread Agile framework. This approach divides the work into digestible components called Sprints, which last one to four weeks. Sprint participants are focused on delivering a product increment. Scrum artifacts consist of:

• A ‘project backlog,’ which contains the work to be done;
• A ‘Sprint backlog,’ which consists of team stories, fixes, and comments on the project flow;

Members of Sprint have specific roles: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team Member.

The product owner’s primary goal is to increase value, delving deep into customers and market requirements and highlighting the most critical components of the development process. Then, they communicate with the developers about the highest priority directions for creating the final product. The product owner’s responsibilities include: 

• Creating and overseeing the product backlog;
• Collaborating with the business and the team to explain the product backlog items;
• Guiding the team and prioritizing features to be delivered.

A Scrum master is a coach who facilitates the work of team members, product owners, and the whole organization according to Agile principles. This role implies a deep understanding of business processes and how to improve them.

The development team refers to employees who work daily performing tasks mentioned in the product backlog and discussing the Sprint backlog to deliver the Scrum goal.

The Sprint team has specific events that require communication and collaboration. These events can also be called ceremonies. Typical events or ceremonies are Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. Let’s break down them below:

• Sprint: This is the fundamental component of the Scrum. Every event that happens belongs to Sprint. Its length may vary from one week to one month. Usually, two weeks is enough for the Sprint. Some experts believe that the more complex the project is, the shorter the period should be. However, it is up to your team to decide its length because you know better what works best for you;
• Sprint Planning: It is a meeting led by the Scrum master, where Sprint members decide on the scope of work to be done during the next Sprint. Participants agree on the following steps, tasks to be completed, and products to be delivered;
• Daily Scrum: This is also called daily standup meetings. They are super short and do not exceed 15 minutes. The goal of such meetings is to be on the same page with each other to achieve Sprint’s goal. After such daily communication, team members become aware of their daily tasks; 
• Sprint Review: As the name suggests, the development team reviews the work done during the Sprint. They showcase increment to the product owner, stakeholders, and teammates. The product owner decides whether the increment should be released and reworks the backlog;
• Sprint Retrospective: This is a meeting team members conduct to determine what is working and what should be improved. The discussion focuses on anything related to daily practices, tools, methods, people, and relationships. Less effective routines and approaches may be changed in the next Sprint to deploy higher-quality results.

Kanban

Kanban is a well-known Agile framework that originated from the Japanese manufacturing industry. It is based on visual or Kanban boards that assist in appropriate work management. The board comprises three parts that characterize the workflow stages: to do, in progress, and done. Tasks change their status as the work progresses.

Four Kanban principles stand at the center of this technique:

1. Describe What You Know

Managers analyze the workflow, finding business processes that work well and those that need improvement. This policy helps adjust financial, marketing, and other indicators and enforces changes for every team member if required.

2. Small Changes over Massive Overhauls

The Kanban approach values incremental changes much more than considerable appeal upheaval. Significant changes overwhelm any team and can potentially lead to worse outcomes. Team resistance, costly errors, and the omittance of stages in product development can put this process out of control like a fast-driving car on a slippery road.

Otherwise, altering the current workflow by making small steps is a much more manageable practice. Team members agree to micro-challenges that result in faster product deployment and employees’ higher productivity and efficiency.

3. No Disruption but Improvement

Incremental changes do not affect enterprises’ existing organizational and staffing structures. By integrating Kanban with an already operating business and improving it, companies can gradually improve their performance without fear of significant changes that could wreck the existing work organization.

4. Encouraging Leadership at Every Stage of Workflow Performing Specific Business Operations

This principle empowers employees to be accountable for what they produce. They work in the field, are aware of business processes that work or don’t work, and can suggest improvements to existing business operations.

Contemporary tools, including software programs, allow proper visualization of tasks and their efficient management. Visualization makes this process more manageable and convenient for staff members.

Lean

The lean concept originated from Toyota, Japan’s famous auto manufacturing company. This approach focuses on providing customers with more value and reducing waste. Lean technology supports quality, continuous improvement, and efficiency.

Lean principles that can apply to Agile methodology comprise the following:

1. Determine Customer Needs 

Identify the value that your product can bring to customers. Communicate with them to understand their pains and how to resolve them. After defining core values and features needed in your product, meet with your team to describe how the product should look to fulfill customers’ needs. Knowing customers’ values will prevent your team from wasting time on processes that don’t bring any value to them.

2. Decompose Value Streams

Use value stream mapping to visualize the business processes. Firstly, you need to choose the team to satisfy customers’ demands. Then, break down the overall problem into components or tasks and visualize it using existing tools. Understand resources capacity, equipment, and how much time is needed. Implement the work into a life that offers value to customers. Apply measures for constant improvements, asking yourself, “Can this process be done better?”

3. Encourage Working in the Flow

Employees performing their tasks in the flow state are much more productive and efficient. To encourage such work, collaborate with other departments, motivate your staff, and monitor work progress.

4. Establish Pull System

Pulling from the customers’ values and feedback, you are fueling your team only with the relevant business tasks that allow delivering the product with predetermined features without waiting on something else.

5. Continuous Improvement

Every team member should strive to achieve the best result possible. Permanent enhancement of daily routine can significantly reduce resource waste, including employees working hours.

Applying a lean concept to software development encourages developers to eliminate redundant operations or app features that do not bring value to customers, developing only those app features that provide the most customer satisfaction.

Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme programming (XP) is another Agile framework for software development. This approach works best for changing software requirements and technologies that allow automated unit and functional tests.

Typical practices that pertain to this technique comprise: 

• The Planning Game;
• a 40-hour week;
• Coding Standard;
• Simple Design;
• Testing;
• Small Releases;
• Metaphor;
• Refactoring;
• Pair Programming;
• Collective Ownership;
• Continuous Integration;
• On-site Customer.

Fundamental XP principles include:

• Communication: Software development team collaboration involves face-to-face meetings and discussions using whiteboards and visualizing tools; 
• Feedback: Constant feedback is essential for the improvement of the product characteristics; 
• Simplicity: Work on the existing requirements and provide the most simple solution possible; 
• Respect: Teammates should respect each other, give feedback, and maintain the relationships; 
• Courage: Means taking actions that reduce ineffectiveness or taking more responsibility for specific aspects of the project.

Like other Agile approaches, extreme programming implies collaboration with customers to understand their needs and focus on continuous improvements during the working process.

Why is being Agile and doing Agile essential for your business? You can get answers to this question in the next section. 

Benefits of Being Agile

Actual upsides of practicing the Agile approach include:

• Enhanced Flexibility and Adaptability: Businesses can quickly adapt to any changes in market preferences. Basic framework settings allow efficient collaboration with customers and rapid reaction to any environmental alterings;
• Improved Customer Satisfaction: Efficient communication with customers and understanding their needs better inevitably leads to their contentedness;
• Faster Delivery of Value: Focusing on the tasks needed for product development and reducing waste results in quick delivery;
• Better Team Collaboration and Morale: Respect for each team member’s contribution encourages employees to work more productively and efficiently;
• Continuous Improvement Culture: Offering incremental adjustments to existing business processes cuts costs and time on production and product release, improves product characteristics, and shortens the time to market. This constant process should be deeply ingrained in the organization’s principles and employees’ mindset. It should also provide value to every stakeholder, from staff members to the customer.

Challenges and Misconceptions About Agile

Common hindrances for Agile implementation consist of: 

• Team resistance to change;
• The lack of long-term goals and vision;
• Deficiency of new skills and training; 
• Not implementing properly Agile principles;
• Overreliance on tools.

There are typical misconceptions about the Agile approach that also prevent organizations from implementing this methodology. Let’s describe them: 

1. Agile is chaotic and unstructured;
2. Agile means no documentation;
3. Agile means no planning;
4. Agile means no set deadlines;
5. Agile equates to rapid delivery at the cost of quality;
6. Agile doesn’t require leadership or management;
7. Agile is only suitable for software development;
8. Agile teams don’t need to follow processes;
9. Agile requires full team consensus.

Paradoxically, the most effective strategy for overcoming misconceptions and challenges is training, workshops, meetings, and presentations involving all stakeholders, especially employees, C-suite managers, and sometimes even customers. Answering problematic questions during such discussions can help clarify the benefits of Agile methodology, overcome challenges, and demystify misconceptions.

Agile in Action: Real-World Examples

Are there successful cases of Agile implementation in practice? Here are a few companies that successfully integrated Agile into their business.

Zara

A Spanish fashion brand named Zara applied the Agile approach to its business. Now, it has a flexible and fast supply chain. It can respond to the latest fashion trends and market demand and allocate relevant inventory. Agile operations assist it in fulfilling customers’ needs in a timely and efficient manner.

Spotify

Well-known music streaming company Spotify implemented Agile principles by creating autonomous cross-functional team groups called ‘squads.’ Each squad works independently, deciding what and how to develop and with whom to communicate.

Larger ‘groups’ and ‘chapters’ are responsible for communication and coordination between autonomous teams. Spotify’s daily use of Agile technology has allowed it to stay competitive and excel in the music streaming industry.

Dell

A famous American company had different marketing departments that worked independently, were disorganized, and did not connect with each other. This interfered with the business’s coordinated marketing activities.

So, Dell reorganized the existing model into an Agile marketing structure, which includes an inbound marketing approach. Then, they created a global team that was organized into an Agile formation that worked on one-month Sprints. A new model led to more coordinated and effective marketing actions.

Numerous other examples of the Agile methodology are implemented in different business spheres, including software development, marketing, sales, supply chain management, and manufacturing.

The key takeaway from implementing an Agile approach is that the willingness to stay competitive, innovate, and provide customers with the best product possible can overcome any obstacles that hinder progress and flexibility.

Tools and Techniques for Agile Business Operations

The Agile approach implies using specific tools and techniques for communication and task management. Here are the most popular tools below:

• Trello: This is a user-friendly, visually appealing, and intuitive tool for task management and progress tracking; 
• Slack: This is not a generic app. Slack is a powerful tool for collaboration that enables file sharing, discussions, and integrations with other tools like Trello and Jira;
• Asana: Asana is another visualization tool for task management and collaboration. It visualizes goals, tasks, and timelines and can display who is doing what and by when;
• Jira: Specifically designed for Agile, this famous tool facilitates Scrum, Kanbun, Lean, and other Agile frameworks. This solution assists teams in planning, tracking, and managing Agile projects;
• Scrumwise: Groups that follow the scrum methodology use this tool to plan and track scrum projects. It also has sprint backlogs, burndown charts, and other scrum-related features.

Agile teams also use particular techniques that facilitate their work. Team members actively use a backlog to manage tasks. They can see the tasks that have higher priority and start performing them first. Teammates can also know each member’s responsibilities.

The backlog also contains user stories and bug fixes. A user story is informal information about features explained in simple terms from the end-users or the customer’s viewpoint. Such information brings context to the Agile team. For instance, the software development squad knows what features customers want and why they want them. With user stories, team members stay informed about customers’ values that the building of a specific feature provides them.

Nowadays, technology plays a pivotal role in applying and supporting Agile practices. They have become an inevitable part of daily life, facilitating teams’ performance and making them more productive and efficient. Visualization tools assist in making informed decisions on project status, customers’ values fulfilled, projected increments, and ways for improvement.

Future of Agile

The proliferation of Agile worldwide is here to stay. The future of this methodology looks bright. Because of the customer-centric approach, permanent communication, and continuous improvement, Agile has gained more and more proponents.

Projections of Agile’s future distinguish the following trends:

1. The Agile model continues to spread from software development to other industries and business functions. Even universities have started to use this methodology in their practice;
2. As AI and automation continue to develop, they will deeply integrate with the Agile model, streamlining mundane operations, providing business insights, and improving the decision-making processes;
3. Developing soft skills, especially leadership, will be one of the central priorities in the following years because Agile is more about an advanced mindset focused on continuous improvement and leading others;
4. New tools and techniques will emerge, improving business processes and offering faster time to market and needs satisfaction.

Emerging technologies change the shape of Agile, but its core fundamental principles remain the same. They have led to multiple success stories in software development and now in other domains. Agile continues its confident gait, further overcoming challenges and misconceptions.

Discover this approach in its entirety to implement it successfully in your business.

At Jelvix, we leverage Agile methodologies, ensuring responsive and adaptable workflow. With contemporary Agile Frameworks, our team delivers projects timely, strictly adhering to ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and PMI standards, resulting in successful project outcomes.

Reach out to Jelvix professionals to take your product to new heights.

FAQ

What is Agile?

Agile is a software development and project management approach that values collaboration, quick delivery, and continuous improvement.

How does Agile differ from traditional project management?

Traditional project management usually adheres to a linear and inflexible plan, while Agile permits iterative advancement, frequent evaluations, and the capacity to adjust to changes swiftly.

What are the key roles in an Agile team?

The Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team are key positions within an Agile team. Each role carries distinct responsibilities crucial for the Agile process’s success.

Can Agile be applied outside of software development?

Yes, Agile principles and methodologies can be utilized in different industries and business areas, such as marketing, sales, HR, and procurement, to enhance efficiency and flexibility.

What are some common tools used in Agile project management?

Jira, Trello, and Asana are commonly utilized in Agile project management. These tools aid teams in efficiently organizing, tracking, and managing their work.