• Agile Transformation

Creating effective flow between Business and IT in 6 steps

It seems like a classic challenge: the business has great ideas, but as soon as they reach the IT department, they seem to end up in an endless queue. The result: frustration and a sense of inefficiency. The question facing many organizations is: how do you ensure that good ideas from the Business are effectively taken up by IT? The key lies in creating an effective flow between the two departments. To work well Agile, we use Lean techniques to get the flow in the work. How to achieve this flow? These are the key steps.

1. Shared vision and goals

Good collaboration between Business and IT begins with a shared vision. Both departments need to understand how their work contributes to the organization’s strategic goals. This requires joint sessions where the vision and goals are clearly communicated and where everyone can give their input. When Business and IT have the same end goal in mind, it becomes easier to set priorities and make decisions that align with the business strategy.

2. Cross-functional teams

A traditional separation between Business and IT is often a barrier to effective collaboration. Cross-functional teams, in which both Business and IT specialists work together on a project, break down this barrier. By promoting this from the beginning, the IT department can identify technical feasibility and constraints early on. And the Business department provides valuable input on customer needs and market insights. This leads to more realistic solutions that are realized faster. IT has become so important that it cannot be a separate department, but must be fully integrated into the organization.

3. Transparent prioritization and backlog management

It is essential to have a transparent process for prioritizing ideas and projects. Instead of the Business simply throwing ideas “over the fence” to IT, there should be a collaborative backlog. This backlog is managed by a Product Owner who monitors a balance between Business value and technical feasibility. The ideas with the highest value and lowest implementation risks are picked up first, ensuring a continuous flow of valuable deliverables. Here, quarterly schedules help increase insight and have the right conversation about value.

4. Continuous feedback and improvement

Scrum and other Agile approaches emphasize the importance of continuous feedback and iterative improvement. This also applies to collaboration between Business and IT. Regular retrospectives help identify collaboration bottlenecks and implement improvements. This feedback loop makes teams continue to learn and processes are refined, ultimately leading to better flow.

5. Focus on value, not output

One of the biggest pitfalls is that IT teams focus too much on delivering output rather than creating value. It is the wrong focus to always be focused on solutions, when often it is not clear what value a solution should provide. This can happen when there is an emphasis on speed and deadlines. We believe it is important to focus more on value and less on solutions. It is crucial that both Business and IT focus on creating customer value. This means that IT should focus not only on delivering features, but also on realizing the desired business impact. A shared focus on value creation fosters a culture where good ideas do not end up at the back of the queue, but rather are promoted and implemented.

6. Autonomy and trust

For smooth cooperation, mutual trust is essential. Business and IT must see each other as partners rather than customers and suppliers. This means that IT trusts the Business to set the right priorities, and the business in turn trusts IT’s technical expertise. This trust must be supported by autonomy: give teams the mandate to make decisions within the framework of shared goals. Autonomy leads to more involvement and responsibility, which improves the effective flow between Business and IT.

Conclusion On the flow between Business and IT

Creating effective flow between Business and IT is not a matter of one-time action, but of continuous collaboration and alignment. By developing a shared vision, deploying cross-functional teams, using transparent prioritization, embracing continuous feedback, focusing on value creation, and fostering trust and empowerment, you ensure that good ideas no longer end up at the back of the queue, but are realized quickly and efficiently. This makes the Business and IT happier as well as contributing to a more successful organization.

Together, let’s break down the walls between Business and IT and build a culture of collaboration and joint value creation!