Agile Strategies for Optimizing Business Processes

What is Agile?

Agile is a way of accomplishing work collaboratively to achieve the best business results possible. It provides flexibility to pivot from original plans based on learning what the market wants in a product or service and to deliver the right high-quality solution.

Traditional delivery methods that rely on rigid project planning, linear development, and wasteful handoffs lack the ability to effectively and efficiently adapt to unknown variables and new learning. Agile addresses unexpected obstacles and changes by building in the flexibility needed to respond and adjust accordingly.

Agile leans heavily on short inspect and adapt cycles to collect feedback and to continuously improve delivery. Quickly creating and evaluating output then adapting and iterating leads to more efficient product development. This process enables organizations to continuously evolve, improve, and compete successfully in today’s global market where disruption is frequent.

Although Agile originated in software development, it is easily applied to various areas of businesses including marketing, engineering, production, manufacturing, human resources, accounting, and operations. 

How suitable is your project for Agile? Download the scorecard.

Agile Frameworks

Different frameworks exist under the agile umbrella with Scrum, Kanban, and XP being the most popular. These frameworks can be customized to improve value delivery across your organization.

• Scrum organizes projects around a prioritized list of what needs to be done (backlog). Using a sprint, or short period of 1-4 weeks, the project team works toward a main goal from the backlog, with daily inspect and adapt meetings led by the scrum master.

  Scrum helps teams break up complex steps into more manageable milestones and deliver incremental value quickly.

• Kanban uses a board with columns and cards to help teams visualize their work. By separating tasks into workflow stages such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Under Review,” teams can identify bottlenecks and work to improve them.

  Kanban offers a flexible way to finish tasks without a pre-determined deadline.

• Extreme Programming (XP) focuses on delivering milestones early and often to gain momentum, launch faster, and continuously improve output. Its core principles are communication, simplicity, feedback, respect, and courage.

  XP values frequent customer input and responsiveness so that successes can build upon and furthered.

Enterprise Agile Transformations

Comprehensive, cross-organizational program to align around core objectives and achieve desired outcomes through optimizing delivery processes

Best for product development teams, C-Level/decision-maker groups, large to medium-size businesses

Team/Program Agile Coaching

Personalized support for companies at the team/program level through training, mentoring, and coaching while implementing process enhancements

Best for teams/programs within large organizations, small businesses, start-ups, and highly specialized teams

Individual Coaching & Mentoring

Individual coaching and mentoring to accelerate your personal agile journey to master agile concepts and move from “doing” agile to “being” agile.

Best for individuals who desire focused 1-on-1 support.

Agile Training

Customizable, interactive, on-site training, seminars and workshops that provide a foundational understanding of Agile and specific practices related to the frameworks 

Best for teams, individuals, consultants, and entrepreneurs