What鈥檚 in a word? 鈥淎gile,鈥� for instance? Lexico.com, an online dictionary/language
tool, says 鈥渁gile鈥� means the ability 鈥渢o move quickly and easily鈥� and/or 鈥渢o think
and understand quickly.鈥� In business, 鈥淎gile鈥� is a proper noun that鈥檚 an approach
to project management; or, per Lexico.com, 鈥渞elating to or denoting a method of project
management 鈥� characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and
frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.鈥� Suffice it to say that Agile is a
process or philosophy defined by agility. If you鈥檙e thinking about going Agile, the
foundational question is whether Agile project management is the business solution you need.
For Clarity鈥檚 Sake, Let鈥檚 Get on the Same Agile Page
Even now, roughly two decades after gathered and produced the , many old-school businesspeople see it as revolutionary, and not necessarily a productive revolution. The argument against that perception is that . To understand and initiate that evolution, you must:
- Learn .
- Adhere to the of the Agile approach.
- Embrace the software (or widget) development.
To get a basic understanding of Agile, you can check out the Agile Alliance鈥檚 primer, . Here鈥檚 an excerpt worth highlighting:
鈥淎gile software development is more than practices such as pair programming, test-driving development, stand-ups, planning sessions and sprints. Agile software development is an umbrella term for a set of frameworks and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.鈥�
So, what is Agile? Depends on whom you ask. There鈥檚 even an argument over whether
it鈥檚 a . It appears 鈥減hilosophy鈥� is getting the most traction.
You Might Need an Agile System if...
Progress, a company that provides customers 鈥渢he tools, services and platforms businesses need to enable highly productive teams,鈥� shares these :
- It鈥檚 hard to coordinate workflow in the analyst-developer-product tester chain.
- Your team is using yesterday鈥檚 tools to do today鈥檚 work.
- Your team鈥檚 efforts aren鈥檛 visible to other departments.
- Customer feedback isn鈥檛 reaching you.
- The product isn鈥檛 meeting customer expectations.
- You鈥檙e managing too many projects at once.
- Some stakeholders aren鈥檛 being apprised when plans change.
- You鈥檙e manually compiling data for progress reports.
- Systemic problems with deadlines, team performance, and product quality are taking too long to investigate.
- You鈥檙e trying to adopt the Agile approach but are having trouble training your staff.
Progress says you don鈥檛 need Agile if you check off fewer than three of those 10 boxes.
You need it if you check three to five of the boxes. And you have a pressing need
for Agile if you checked six or more boxes.
Your Company Might Be a Candidate for Agile if鈥�
So, your project management process needs to change, and you want to know whether Agile would be a good fit. McKinsey & Co., a management consulting firm founded in 1926, harnessed the expertise of its McKinsey Agile Tribe to list the .
The Tribe, 鈥渁 group of over 50 global colleagues bringing expertise from the digital, operations, marketing, and organization disciplines,鈥� says Agile entails a shift in perception of organizations as machines to organizations as living organisms.
Consider whether you can envision your company embracing some or all of these five
hallmarks of Agile companies.
5. North Star Mentality Embodied Across the Organization
The McKinsey Agile Tribe notes that Agile companies need a unifying vision and purpose, a North Star that guides decisions/changes and enables employees to 鈥渟ense and seize opportunities.鈥�
Stakeholder needs and satisfaction are the embodiment of these companies鈥� North Star, the Tribe says. Having an eye on that North Star facilitates the allocation of resources 鈥渇lexibly and swiftly to where they are needed most.鈥� So Agile companies:
- Have employees monitor customer preferences and external forces and act on them.
- Gather stakeholder input through myriad sources and means, from product reviews to crowdsourcing.
- Identify and use the tools and opportunities that help them understand and serve customers, from social media and internet forums to FaceTime.
The Tribe calls this a shift in strategy mindset.
From this: 鈥淚n an environment of scarcity, we succeed by capturing value from competitors, customers, and suppliers for our shareholders.鈥�
To this: 鈥淩ecognizing the abundance of opportunities and resources available to us, we succeed
by co-creating value with and for all of our stakeholders.鈥�
4. Network of Empowered Teams
The top of the hierarchy remains the same, but the rest becomes a network of teams that, the Tribe says, 鈥渙perate with high standards of alignment, accountability, expertise, transparency, and collaboration.鈥� To that end:
- Implement clear, flat structures.
- Ensure clear, accountable roles.
- Foster hands-on governance.
- Build 鈥渃ommunities of knowledge鈥� that offer a sense of stability and 鈥渉ome鈥� to people as they continually join new teams.
- Create partnerships that extend internal networks.
- Have open physical and virtual environments that empower employees.
The Tribe calls this a shift in your structure mindset.
From this: 鈥淧eople need to be directed and managed, otherwise they won鈥檛 know what to do 鈥� and they鈥檒l just look out for themselves. There will be chaos.鈥�
To this: 鈥淲hen given clear responsibility and authority, people will be highly engaged, will
take care of each other, will figure out ingenious solutions, and will deliver exceptional
results.鈥�
3. Rapid Decision and Learning Cycles
Forget waterfall or stage-gate project management processes. This is Agile, and it鈥檚 about 鈥渞apid cycles of thinking and doing.鈥�
Here are some of the characteristics of the rapid-cycle model:
- A focus on rapid iteration and experimentation
- 鈥淪tandardized ways of working to facilitate interaction and communication between teams鈥�
- Staying current on performance- and consequence-management approaches that are goal-driven
- Full transparency that enables teams to easily access and share information
The Tribe calls this a shift in your process mindset.
From this: 鈥淭o deliver the right outcome, the most senior and experienced individuals must define where we鈥檙e going, the detailed plans needed to get there, and how to minimize risk along the way.鈥�
To this: 鈥淲e live in a constantly evolving environment and cannot know exactly what the future
holds. The best way to minimize risk and succeed is to embrace uncertainty and be
the quickest and most productive in trying new things.鈥�
2. Dynamic People Model That Ignites Passion
Across the business spectrum, people are the heart, soul, and locus of an Agile operation. Empower your people to 鈥渃reate value quickly, collaboratively, and effectively.鈥�
The Tribe calls this a shift in your people mindset.
From this: 鈥淭o achieve desired outcomes, leaders need to control and direct work by constantly specifying tasks and steering the work of employees.鈥�
To this: 鈥淓ffective leaders empower employees to take full ownership, confident they will
drive the organization toward fulfilling its purpose and vision.鈥�
1. Next-Generation Enabling Technology
This is about being aware of the next thing in communication and work-management tools, and that includes effective and rapid sharing of technologies from team to team.
鈥淏usiness and technology employees form cross-functional teams, accountable for developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining new products and processes,鈥� the Tribe says. 鈥淭hey use hackathons, crowdsourcing, and virtual collaboration spaces to understand customer needs and develop possible solutions quickly.鈥�
The goal is for that to happen in weeks, not months, or in months instead of years.
The Tribe calls this a shift in your technology mindset.
From this: 鈥淭echnology is a supporting capability that delivers specific services, platforms, or tools to the rest of the organization as defined by priorities, resourcing, and budget.鈥�
To this: 鈥淭echnology is seamlessly integrated and core to every aspect of the organization
as a means to unlock value and enable quick reactions to business and stakeholder
needs.鈥�
Want to Go Agile? 国产短视频Can Help
Along with such as Agile Project Management and Service Excellence for Today鈥檚 Customers, the 国产短视频Office of Corporate Training and Professional education offers a redesigned project management certificate program and project management professional exam preparation.
If you want more information on what CTPE can do for you, email us at CE-Inquiries@USF.edu, or phone 813-974-0950.