‘Agile’ methodologies and principles are one of the most used tools in software development today to help teams deliver faster, more valuable results. They are being adopted by the C-suite across a range of industries. For optimal results, business leaders seeking total agile transformation should develop an active mindset and adequate training.
A top-down approach would enable them to trickle down knowledge to every member of their organization and ensure a seamless integration of appropriate agile methodologies and best practices through all functions. For every function to provide agile-backed solutions, executives are responsible for building a mature project management office (PMO), operations and processes with an agile lens. If not, they run the risk of disunity amongst their teams. Studies show that more than 70% of agile practitioners report tension between their teams.
On the other hand, large firms can also fix this disunity by following the bottom-up approach by starting small and letting it snowball. Agile-running organizations build their projects around a cadre of motivated members, usually software developers. Creative teams will typically outperform command-and-control groups in leading agile projects and spreading it across other functions.
Agile innovation has revolutionized the software industry, which has arguably undergone more rapid and profound change than many other areas of business over the past 20 years. Those who can learn to lead agile’s extension into a broader range of business activities will likely accelerate the firm’s profitable growth.
