Understand the Benefits of an Agile Way of Working An agile software development approach concentrates on building working software every few weeks, optimising time to value, and dramatically increasing the visibility of true progress to all stakeholders.
This requires excellent collaboration not just between the team members but also with the business, and for the organisation to support that team in a timely manner.
Although the agile team will be self-organising and plan and coordinate its own work, management will have their responsibilities to ensure a successful outcome. Management need to form and nurture cross-functional agile teams which contain all the skills required, provide the right environment for the teams to work within, and support and assist the teams when they inevitably come across problems getting in their way of rapidly delivering software.
Management also have to monitor the progress and health of agile projects, with an appropriate level of governance that avoids stifling the flexibility and creativity of the teams.
The shift to an agile approach from the traditional approach is profound. We have found that no amount of explaining can adequately convey the differences between the approaches; one has to experience the agile approach in order to appreciate the benefits and the challenges of this new way of working.