From the space night you can see a spider web of lights that flicker incessantly. A long night accompanies the daily hustle and bustle of 40 million walkers returning to their homes after a day of intense work. In the most populated city in the world, chance does not exist, much less in terms of public transport: 13 metro lines with a total length of 304 km - it is the second most used network in the world, after the Moscow Metro, with 2.5 billion users per year.

A color sketch that hides something much more captivating than the city itself: the application of agile methodologies shows off its beneficial usefulness in none other than the Tokyo subway.

Japanese culture is recognized for maintaining a pattern of principles and values, which leaves an indelible stamp on them over time: self-control, discipline, perfectionism and respect. As we illustrated a few lines before, the city of Tokyo, despite housing an unimaginable number of people, knew how to adapt almost perfectly - if not perfectly - to the bases that define its reason for being. And let's not forget the extra traffic: an annual average of 10.4 million tourists visiting Japan.

Something that comes from the discipline and that brings us to this article is the lifestyle that leads the citizens of this metropolis to move from one point to another, covering distances that would be unaffordable if they had to be traveled on foot, or even on two wheels. That is why the metro networks emerge as the most successful option - and the only one, since cars are not plentiful on the roads -  to arrive safely and on time to the workplace. 

What seems to be a scenario impossible to organize - and even more so to optimize - barely behaved as a challenge for the minds that considered it appropriate to application of methodologies agile. This sets a precedent example that Agile culture is much more than a framework, it is a lifestyle.

Road to S-01 Shinjuku station with agile methodologies

To analyze a little more about the subway trip and its relationship with agile methodologies, we must begin by detailing the following aspects: there are 13 lines in which 274 numbered stations are distributed, each line has its identifying color, the payment for the trip is per trip traveled and there are two types of tickets, manual and magnetic -currently-.

One of the first issues to address, from the vision of agile methodologies, was the purchase and sale of tickets. It was known that manual tickets needed to include the presence of personnel to preselect the trip. While in the case of automatic purchasing, two tasks were required to be completed: on the one hand, the optimization of the already existing vending machines and, on the other, the separation of machines by line colors.

By correlation to this, another of the tasks to be developed had to do with people's access to the stations: the rotating turnstiles - also known as "turnwheels" -, paper cards and ticket validation systems generated a much slower process for passenger access.

This is how we worked, with the help of agile methodologies, to make improvements in services through open passage systems - goodbye turnstiles -, enabling magnetic cards and a fine-tuned ticket validation system.

It was also noted that in the entrance and exit sectors of the stations, extremely long queues were generated, which logically were the cause of chaos and general unrest, which was even more potent during peak hours. As a result, studies based on agile methodologies determined that the measures should include separator bars on ascending and descending stairs. Communication campaigns were carried out about this, with the aim of “attacking” this first stage and training citizens in better and good habits within this public transport.

Finding the right platform

In this part of the analysis, another of the topics to be resolved was related to the long distances that the Japanese had to walk to find the indicated platform, in addition to the multiple line transfers. Another no small difficulty that they also had to deal with was the issue of long and complex platform names.

Taking these points into account, it was decided to develop a full-color signage system with all the necessary details so that people could optimally locate the place that corresponded to them. In addition to this, specialists in agile methodologies took the trouble to design signage for the blind. 

On board the subway

Here there was a single and obvious issue, the agglomeration of people that led to endless lines of people around the transportation entry and exit areas. For this reason, a planning plan was carried out at a visual/spatial and cultural level. How was this achieved? Well, in a very simple way - in the best style of agile methodologies -: on the floor of the platforms, the waiting and arrival areas for each metro line were delimited with paint in distinctive colors. This way there would not be any kind of inconvenience between people who are about to board and those who are leaving the means of transport. 

In parallel, we worked on short and medium-term educational measures to teach passengers how they should act while inside the platform area, always and everywhere respecting the space of others. It is worth clarifying that this task did not take too much time or resources.

Agile Conclusions

It is not new that Japanese culture contains in its DNA concepts that often seem exotic or difficult to understand, especially for Westerners. However, there is something that this community teaches us: the reason why the implementation of agile methodologies is successful and flows quickly within the processes did not essentially have to do with the application itself, but with social philosophy. What does this mean? The fundamental stone that guarantees beneficial results in terms of agile methodologies is nothing more than the culture itself, that is, the set of habits, behaviors and idiosyncrasies shared by a group of people.

That is why the development of communication campaigns about what action within the metro would be like from now on became the golden tool in every sense. Not only did it help streamline times and processes, but it also provided an increase in confidence in what at that time was a completely new event. And so, once again, the Japanese do not disappoint. 

It is forbidden to forget that no matter how much agility you want to impart within an organization, or as in this case, within a daily means of transportation, without a good cultural base that supports the principles of agile methodologies, it will be very difficult to reach a safe harbor and even more so, believe in obtaining results that last over time.