“Agility” is a big buzzword in tech, and for good reason. Agile software development has transformed the way teams approach project management and product development.
It focuses on incremental learning, progress and teamwork to find continuous solutions. To be “agile” in this sense means being flexible and collaborative.
Too often organizations lose sight of those key points and instead find a blueprint for being agile and stick to it like it’s law, undermining the entire goal of progress. You always need to tailor agility to needs, company culture, goals, resources and talent.
Below are four areas to focus on when making sure agility and flexibility are working in tandem for your IT team and your entire organization to ensure that agility is more than just a buzzword.
- Team Dynamics & Composition
Experience, skill and working styles are all going to differ from organization to organization, and even within your own department. You can only bend those qualities so far in your individual team members. Strictly adhering to agile frameworks such as Scrum or Kanban, for example, may not always suit the particular dynamics of a team.
For instance, a team of seasoned developers with strong problem-solving skills might prefer fewer daily stand-ups and longer sprints, allowing them more time for deep work. On the other hand, a junior team may benefit from more frequent check-ins and shorter sprints to ensure that blockers are quickly identified and addressed. In both cases, adjusting agile practices to fit the team’s needs enhances productivity and morale.
Ultimately, flexibility means striking a balance between autonomy and structure.
CW Karstens
Director of Digital Transformation, PPAI
2. Project Requirements & Complexity
Not all projects are created to be equal. The level of complexity, the size of the project and stakeholder requirements are all going to differ. If you sacrifice those requirements for the sake of being able to say you are adhering to an agile framework, there are going to be consequences.
Projects with highly dynamic environments, such as those requiring frequent pivots based on user feedback or evolving technologies, may benefit from a more flexible interpretation. Conversely, more straightforward projects might only need a few agile principles to maintain momentum without the full complexity of a traditionally agile approach.
For example, software development for a small-scale internal tool with well-defined requirements may not require exhaustive sprint planning and review processes. A more tailored approach, such as focusing on a few key agile ceremonies (project management meetings) and reducing overhead, could streamline the process and allow the team to deliver more quickly.
3. Company Culture & Values
There shouldn’t be a department in the entire organization that is allowed to undermine company culture, and that includes IT.
It’s simple: Agile frameworks should complement the cultural norms of the organization, not disrupt them. In a company that values face-to-face collaboration, introducing remote agile practices like asynchronous stand-ups may not be well received. Conversely, in a remote-first organization, enforcing strict in-person meetings or long, synchronous sprint reviews could disrupt the workflow.
Similarly, agile frameworks advocate for decentralized decision-making, but you can’t just disrupt the hierarchy of an organization. That can cause interpersonal clashes and slow down progress. Continuously introducing collaboration between all levels of an organization is a much better start than upending a hierarchy.
4. Innovation & Experimentation
One of the greatest strengths of an agile framework is its encouragement of continuous improvement through experimentation. By tailoring agile practices, teams can innovate and refine their processes over time, adapting to new challenges as they arise. It’s hard to successfully experiment without flexibility.
There’s always enough time for big-picture progress. Be willing to redefine what agile practices look like to your organization. One project can implement them slightly differently from another while successes and slowdowns are noted.
Karstens is PPAI’s director of digital transformation.
