To be or not to be agile, that’s the question.
What is more worthy the action of the spirit,
suffer the misinformation of unjust fortune,
or oppose the arms to this torrent of calamities,
and end them with proactivity and innovation?
To be or not to be Agile. That's the question, isn't it? It is in this amusing adaptation of the world's most famous soliloquy - Hamlet's play - that we seek to reflect the more sensitive and poetic side of agility. Agility derives from simplicity as a philosophy of life. Having a thirst to create, being permeable to sudden change, constantly seeking to find value in the little things, and empowering people in their diversity are sentences that in some way give a definite shape to what constitutes the competence of agility.
If we dare to answer Hamlet's solitary question, but in our adapted version, there is only one option to select: to be Agile. In today's world, where dynamism is the currency, companies that maintain traditional management systems should even question themselves more about what they want for their companies and where they are aiming: are they where they always wanted to be? That's why all roads lead to agility.
A lot of Agile here, a lot of Agile there - what is it all about and why is it so useful for companies? To delve into this wonderful dimension of innovation, we should start by learning about one of its many areas, Project Management (PM).
Project Management + Agile
Whether they are artistic, construction, technology, or sales projects, all about them are equally important and worthy of being carried out. At a business level, for example, these plans are essential because they generate business value, that is, a tangible benefit from the tangible and the intangible as well. By this, we mean the prestige of the brand and the set of values it inspires both for its customers and collaborators.
Increasingly, results need to be obtained in shorter and shorter periods of time. In addition, projects are developed in complex environments that undoubtedly affect management methods. We talk about technical, economic, social, environmental, and political aspects.
It is in this scenario that the figure of project management appears; the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the activities of a project to meet the defined objective within a given period of time.
The objective of project management is to obtain an original and practical product that satisfies the needs of your company's customers.
But when does agility appear? The first step comes from adopting an agile mindset -described at the beginning of this article- and secondly, it brings its methodological application, which is Agile Doing. Its usefulness in these circumstances lies in providing people with a shared point of view to be able to adopt a specific approach when developing products and services in a work environment..
Whatever the organization is, it is up to them to accompany the transformation towards agility, especially if we consider that it is not only a way of doing but also a way of being. Those companies that maintain their traditional schemes have surely wondered how it is possible to transition from an installed organizational culture to a totally different one. Although that may inspire a bit of fear and uncertainty, we must not forget that everything that implies simplification of steps and reduction of time will benefit any company.
It is all about going step by step, respecting the processes of each area, and trying to count on a team specialized in these new methodologies that execute mentoring and advisory actions.
That is why if we focus only on procedural aspects, it is likely that the new procedures that have been put into practice will end up returning to their origins - the traditional - if the organizational culture has never been worked on to shift towards flexibility.
On the contrary, if these beliefs are more agile than the processes themselves, they tend to become more agile. In other words, we talk about the collective vision of the teams working within the company that will determine the degree of difficulty that managers will face when making the transition.
Agile involves an iterative approach that focuses on delivering value during short work cycles to obtain rapid feedback from the client and then better adapt to the new requirements.
In terms of project management, there are four commandments that configure the management process as an agile project:
- Prioritize the individual and his interactions so that he is happy with what he is doing and is aware of his usefulness to the project.
- Focusing on developing a product or service that addresses the customer's needs, rather than focusing on obtaining documentation
- Close collaboration with the customer to ensure smooth communications
- Responding quickly and efficiently to circumstantial changes, rather than focusing on adhering to a pre-planned schedule
