What is agility about?

Rapid changes require companies to develop and test ideas at an early stage and prepare them for the market. Preferably before the competition. Doing the right thing really well and, above all, in good time is not an easy task and fraught with a lot of uncertainty.

Today we are in what is called the digital age. All companies are now tied to software applications. We can give as an example the company Tesla, which relies on new technologies to build its cars and which has already surpassed many other car manufacturers, renowned and with years of experience. Agility is no longer an option, it is an imperative.

The market is constantly changing, what customers and users want is constantly changing. A company cannot wait long to start bringing its product or service to market, otherwise it may even become obsolete. In addition, we are in a market with increased competition, an increasingly reactive market. Technologies change, customer and user demands change very quickly. We are talking about a complex business, technical and functional environment. For this reason, organizations need to be more flexible, more adaptable, more responsive, faster…in one word, more “agile”.

Traditional project management methods are divided into stages. For example, the specification analysis stage, the design stage, the code and implementation stage, the test stage and then the release and maintenance stage. This means that in classical methods, we are truly operating in utopia. Utopia that all specifications created at the beginning of the project are correct and will not change, product view or product will not change. And we already know that usually a product is something in constant evolution and the desire of customers and users, too. In addition, any delay in the specification phase, for example, will certainly have an impact on the following phases (development, tests, etc.).

Also, in traditional project management methods, because collaboration with the client is reduced, we have what is called the tunnel effect, i.e. the client has no visibility during the project, but he will only see the final product, at the end of the project. And it will be too late if he wants to change anything.

So, in theory, for a classic method project to ideally succeed:

• The customer knows what he wants

• The developer understood the customer need

• The developer knows how to implement it

• Contextual data does not change

… In reality :

• The customer discovers what he wants

• The developer integrates into his understanding

• The developer learns how to implement it

• The market and the company also evolve

Agility introduces a culture change. Companies have spent years developing with traditional methods, and this transition to agile methods is sometimes difficult. To succeed in this transformation, it is essential to have the customer close, and for this he must be available.

The characteristics of the agile culture are:

• Trust and transparency

• Respect

• Collaboration

• Common interests and collective responsibility

• Problem solving and continuous improvement

The predictive approach, where everything must be planned, is moving to an empirical approach, based on experience. Also, in agility we talk about the incremental and iterative approach. Iterative because teams work in short cycles called iterations and they repeat the same ceremonies throughout an iteration.

Incremental because at the end of each sprint (iteration), the team will have an increment, i.e. a functional part of the final product. At the end of the project, all these increments will constitute the final product.

The priority of an agile team is to create value for the customer. The iterative and incremental mode allows to have a result very early and very quickly, customer feedback at the end of each iteration but also a daily and collective inspection. Iterations give the opportunity for continuous improvement, all the ceremonies of an iteration are created around the Deming cycle, Plan-Do-Check-Adjust and allow transparency, inspection and adaptation.

Now, you will discover the 4 values ​​and the 12 principles which are at the base of agility and which were defined in the Agile Manifesto. The values ​​are:

• People are more important than processes and tools;

• Working software is more important than comprehensive documentation;

• Collaboration with the client is more important than contract negotiation;

• Responding to change is more important than following a plan.

Of course, the processes, tools, documentation, contract and plan remain important elements, but it is the elements that you see on the left that matter most when talking about agility.

The 12 principles are:

1. Our top priority is to satisfy the customer by delivering quickly and regularly
2. Changes are welcomed even late in the project
3. Frequently deliver operational software with a preference for shorter cycles
4. Users or their representatives must work together daily throughout the project
5. Carry out projects with motivated people. Provide them with the environment and support they need and trust them to achieve the goals set
6. The easiest and most effective method of conveying information to the team and within the team is face-to-face dialogue
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress
8. Agile processes encourage a sustainable development system
9. Continuous attention to excellence and good design improves agility
10. Simplicity – that is, the art of minimizing unnecessary work – is essential
11. The best architectures, specifications and designs emerge from self-organizing teams
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on ways to become more efficient

It is very easy to identify in the values ​​and principles of agility all the elements that will help organizations go beyond the limits of traditional project management methods.

Among the benefits of agility we can mention:

Limitation of documentary noise (the documentation that remains is the “just necessary” documentation)

Limitation of estimation, planning and change management activities at the start of the project (we are talking about short-cycle iterative work)

Motivation of teams (individuals are more responsible and committed)

• Customer and user satisfaction

The benefits for the customer are:

• Visibility of actual product progress (vs. project progress)

• Fast feedback and possibility of interaction (vs. tunnel effect and rigid perimeter)

• Has earlier and faster usable deliverables

• Better suitability to business needs and better software quality

The benefits for the project hierarchy:

• Visibility of the actual progress of the product, and respect of deadlines and costs

• Customer satisfaction and collaborative customer relationship

Also, agility promotes an optimized use of Human Resources: we are talking about a rapid development of the versatility of teams and synergy of a motivated team that bears responsibility for the project.