How does Agile working work?

Is Agile working a situation where everyone does what they feel like doing? Or is it just working harder and doing what the manager says. The answer: neither. Agile comes in different working forms and frameworks: Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP) and Lean, among others.

Scrum is different from Agile, but is just one of the ways to implement Agile thinking. Each framework has its own rules and guidelines. In any case, there is always a flexible, uncluttered way of project or product development.

How does Agile working work? Is that Agile for dummies? We certainly wouldn’t say so, but in this article we’ll go a little deeper into the agile way of working.

Different Agile practices

To work truly Agile, there are all kinds of practices available. Right now, these are the most important Agile practices. Scrum Academy briefly elaborates them for you:

Scrum

The approach uses 3 roles (including a Scrum Master and Product Owner), 3 lists and 5 meetings. The successful Scrum approach not only works for software, but is also perfect for use in other sectors. You work in short cycles, regularly showing a product to the customer in the meantime. This makes it possible to be continuously agile and work with customer feedback.

Kanban

The kanban method is an Agile working method that lends itself well to (production) work, work with a degree of predictability, or short deadlines: for ongoing work. Kanban is literally “visual board,” which is why the kanban board is central to this Agile working method. Work flows across the board and through clear steps.

eXtreme Programming

eXtreme Programming, also known as XP, has a comprehensive description of values, principles and practices. The values (Simplicity, Communication, Feedback, Courage and Respect) provide a complete palette of principles and practices that are all implemented in the development process. A nice loophole has been inserted into the system called Baby Steps. This way there is always room for improvement and everyone is free to choose which practices and principles are implemented when.

SAFe

Or, Scaled Agile Framework. This Agile framework assumes three organizational levels: portfolio, program and team. It describes roles and processes for each level. SAFe is appropriate when the content of releases must be predictable. SAFe is now a popular model for large-scale Agile working.

Large Scale Scrum (LeSS).

Multiple multidisciplinary Scrum Teams (Feature Teams) work on a common end result. Unlike the Scrum approach, LeSS is also applicable to organizations with more than 8 teams working on the same product. The LeSS approach comes into its own particularly well when a lot of flexibility and agility is needed, due to more frequent communication with other teams.

Spotify model

Large organizations such as ING, for example, have fully embraced this way of working. The multidisciplinary teams, called squads, are organized into a tribe. They find each other in loose alliances called guilds. The old functional departments have thus disappeared and been replaced by chapters. The Spotify way of working combines autonomy within teams with shared goals and direction.

Agile way of working

Agile working is elaborated in The Agile Manifesto written by Jeff Sutherland, among others. He is also the co-founder of the Scrum framework: a method for working Agile. The Agile Manifesto gives direction to an Agile team and includes 4 values.

Value 1: People and interaction take precedence over tools and processes;
Value 2: Working product takes precedence over all-encompassing documentation;
Value 3: Cooperation with client takes precedence over contractual negotiations;
Value 4: Responding to change takes precedence over docile adherence to a plan.

Your Agile team looks like this

An Agile team is a group of people assigned to the same project or effort. The term team implies shared responsibility: good or bad, results are attributed to the team and not to an individual. Roles and responsibilities are not as important as results.

Agile is not a set protocol with rules. It is a way of thinking in which staying flexible is central. An Agile team, as well as a Scrum team, does not work through checklists, but rather stays oriented to stakeholders. Let’s take a Scrum team as an example. The criteria below are taken into account:

Focus on people with a positive attitude toward working with Agile and Scrum. Being motivated and showing commitment are important to keep and make all team members enthusiastic, but of course also fuel the work process.

Agile team members must have skills to perform 80% of the work. The number of members is monitored during selection: too many Agile team members can also hinder the work process. Despite the possibility that you can keep the work within the team.

Agile team members are expected to communicate with colleagues, as well as gather knowledge from outside parties. Involvement should also be created within the organization and the results of the project will be presented to stakeholders. It is very important to have a balanced mix of young and old, men and women and all types of people with a variety of skillsets.