For enterprises and companies, in this competitive market, being agile is the way forward. It proves to be very beneficial as it allows responding to change quickly and adjust to changing requirements. Teams create a product that is developed in iterations in less time which is better tested, delivered faster and with the lean utilization of resources.
Agile methodologies bring a wave of transformation in the mindset of the people that work in an enterprise. It enhances trust and transparency in the working environment, which breeds innovation and creativity.
In theory, this is every enterprise’s dream. But in reality, companies have to take huge steps to become agile.
In this article, we focus on the 7 key aspects that you should keep into your consideration while becoming agile. Regardless of the field of interest of your company, these tips will guide you.
1. Self Analyze and be Agile to the Core
Companies and enterprises think that having a few practices of agile will make them agile. Wrong. It does not. And that is why, analyzing and truly actualizing your company’s standpoint is essential. If you are deciding to transform to Agile then it is a time taking process. It requires a shift in mindset and culture of the working environment. Involvement across all levels of your company is vital. Organize sessions by having an agile coach. They can enlighten you developing a lean and agile approach and make the process of implementing an agile model smooth. For example, they guide you on doing the right documentation and how the right amount of teams will help you achieve that.
2. Know when to Scale
Scaling brings agility to your business and infrastructure. Learn to scale using agile only when you already have implemented agile at team levels. Faster delivery is ensured with continuous integration and DevOps. This step by step approach will help teams to adopt agile in steps without any complications.
3. Removing Silos and Focusing on Teams
All is one and one is all. All of the work that is done is a team effort. One person cannot be blamed if something unfavorable happens. And as far as breaking down silos is concerned, build cross-functional teams. These teams consist of individuals that consist of people that belong from different fields of interest. This adds to making these teams diverse and versatile. These teams should be comfortable to communicate, share and dispense knowledge.
4. Be Goal Oriented
Majority of companies and even traditional companies that have been in business for years sometimes have a project-based approach. This results in having a very limited vision. With agile, you are in for the long haul. You tend to create products that are meant to last. This can only be done if you have a solid vision and that you are staunchly focused on to fulfilling it.
5. Know Agile Activities and Tools
Find the processes and the right tools and see how it can work around for your enterprise. Start to introduce Scrum, XP, Kanban or DevOps. There are a handful of popular agile tools like Kendis, Yodiz, Jira and so on that help in project management and to carry out the daily agile activities.
6. Deliver What Matters
Companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google created their market. And thus they know what their users want. Focus on satisfying what the customer really wants. Requirements change and with agile you should tackle this change. Break down the project into sprints and align business and financial goals along. Start with a high level plan and then break it down piece by piece.
7. Instill Trust
Trust, possibly the foundation of creating an agile model. Trust lifts the covers off of everything that happens in an enterprise. It promotes growth, empathy, innovation, and creativity. It helps create an environment where there is a free flow of ideas without any hesitation.
