Today, agility appears in a wide variety of contexts and media and has become a hype. Many companies want to work in an agile way in order to become more efficient, more resilient and more flexible and to promote innovation. But is that the idea behind it?
Origin and history of agility
Agile working is not all that modern. The first agile ideas and approaches date back to the 1950s and 1970s. At this time, the computer and software industry was still in its infancy. The agile movement really took off a good 20 years ago. A number of software developers were dissatisfied with the way projects were running and thought together about how they could do things better. The idea was to focus more on the result, the customer and their wishes. This meeting gave rise to the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development”. As a compass of values, it redefined the weighting of aspects of software development. So to speak: both are important, but the left is more important to us.
- Individuals and interactions are more important than processes and tools
- Functioning software is more important than comprehensive documentation
- Collaboration with the customer is more important than contract negotiation
- Responding to change is more important than following a plan
This marked the beginning of a paradigm shift in software programming. Countless methods and tools were developed to implement this set of values in day-to-day work. Among the best known are Scrum, Kanban and Extreme Programming, which brought completely new ways of working into everyday project and company life. And not just in software development. Today, agile working has arrived in almost all areas: agile marketing, agile controlling, agile logistics, the agile craft business, the agile school class, the agile family…
With all this progress, services, consultant products, certifications and new models have emerged. And with them at least as many definitions of what agile actually means…
Why agility anyway?
Before we venture into a concrete definition, we first need to look at the benefits of being agile. There is no doubt that social, economic and technological development has exploded in recent years and decades. Innovations and new achievements have been coming thick and fast. Globalization, the Internet and the constant availability of information are accelerating this development even further.
Traditional company and project procedures based on planning and optimization are reaching their limits here. In contrast to the past, a plan that has been meticulously worked out over a long period of time will be obsolete tomorrow. We live in the much-cited, so-called VUCA world. This is made up of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Agile methods attempt to provide an answer to this by giving us the opportunity to navigate through this VUCA sea.
Definition: What is agility?
The crux of this definition is, of course, that it would be nice - but a method that helps us to cope with fluctuations, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity cannot itself be a rigid procedure. Working in an agile way is a holistic, systemic process. With a set of principles, values and a mindset to deal with uncertainty & co.
What are agile values? Agile values are all those that help us to deal with VUCA. A few examples: Courage, openness, self-responsibility, transparency, communication, optimism, appreciation, …
What is an agile mindset? An agile mindset is an attitude that lives these values on a daily basis, not only in day-to-day business, but also - and especially - around it. And there is more to an agile mindset, e.g:
- Welcome change
- constantly questioning the status quo
- accept that being agile means ongoing adaptation and change
- acting in a solution-oriented manner
- to maximize the possibilities for action
- …
When thought through to its logical conclusion, agility is above all one thing: individual. Finding your own agile path, finding your own answers to VUCA.
The values and the mindset are beacons. They help you navigate, but do not replace the work on deck.
What are Scrum, Kanban and Co?
Frameworks and methods such as those used in Scrum or Kanban are an ideal start for the agile path. All of these methods are tried and tested best practices, i.e. they are derived from practice because they have worked for successful teams, projects and companies. And you can experiment with them yourself. Orientation towards best practices offers a possible starting point for living agile values and thus developing your own individual agile mindset.
It is important to remember that these are best practices from others. Much more important are your own experiences, insights and experiences of trying out a specific procedure yourself as a team. What works is developed further, what doesn’t work is changed or discarded.
The result is a tailor-made model, your own set of methods and tools for your own agile path.
What is agility not?
A bit of Scrum here, a table football in the break room there and Casual Friday every two months. Then agile works too. With this approach, it is challenging to find a growing agile path. Detached, one-off activities unsurprisingly end in eye-rolling and unrest among those involved. Agility only shows its full potential when a holistic approach is taken: People, methods, tools, environment and mindset - only when everything interacts in a flow will there be a leverage effect for real innovation. Only then does agility become the team’s attitude.
Application areas of agile methods
Even though agility originated in software development, it has long since evolved out of this area. Agile approaches can be applied in all contexts. After all, they are not a method, but rather a way of thinking about work in a new and different way, e.g: Logistics, insurance, banking, trades, medical technology, SMEs, start-ups, social institutions, families or scaling across corporations, etc.
The future of agile work
The boundaries are already blurred today. Many perspectives on the work of tomorrow share common values and a similar mindset. Whether they appear as agility, NewWork or something similar. But they all have the same goal: to help us create a working and living environment that meets today’s challenges. They also help us to remain capable of action and creative despite all the uncertainty. And this will become even more important in the future and will encompass all areas of life. Agility, like other disciplines, will become even more holistic and systemic. They will consider people in their entirety and in all their contexts. This will develop an attitude that can be used to constructively shape the future. In companies and teams, but also in the thoughts and actions of each individual.
And perhaps the term agility will then disappear from the language again. At best because the way we work, live and think has become completely normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do traditional planning approaches reach their limits in projects?
Because a plan that has been meticulously crafted over a long period of time can become obsolete as early as tomorrow. Globalization, the Internet, and the constant availability of information are accelerating developments. This is described as a VUCA world: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Traditional business and project approaches, on the other hand, rely on planning and optimization. Agile methods aim to make navigation in this environment possible.
Is agility a method that can simply be implemented?
No. Something intended to help deal with fluctuations, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity cannot itself be a rigid procedure. Working agilely is a systemic process consisting of principles, values, and a mindset. That’s why agility takes on a unique form for each team: every team finds its own answers. Values and mindset serve as lighthouses—they help with navigation but do not replace the work being done on deck.
Does working in an agile way mean that plans and documentation no longer play a role?
No. The Agile software development Manifesto reorders priorities; it does not eliminate anything: individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, collaboration with the customer over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan. Both sides are considered important, with the one on the left deemed more important.
How can best practices from other teams benefit your own agile journey?
They offer a starting point—nothing more. Frameworks and methods like those in Scrum or Kanban are derived from real-world experience because they have worked for other teams, projects, and companies. You can experiment with them. More important are your own experiences: what works is refined; what doesn’t work is changed or discarded. This is how you develop your own tailored set of methods and tools.
Is it enough to introduce a little bit of Scrum and make the work environment more relaxed?
No. Isolated, sporadic activities—a bit of Scrum here, a foosball table in the break room, and the occasional Casual Friday—usually end up causing people to roll their eyes and feeling of unease among those involved. The full potential only becomes apparent when people, methods, tools, the environment, and mindset all work together. Only then does a leverage effect for true innovation emerge, and agility becomes the team’s mindset.
Do agile approaches also work outside of software development?
Yes. Agility originated in software development, but it is not a method tied exclusively to that field; rather, it is a way of rethinking work in new and different ways. Examples include logistics, insurance, banking, skilled trades, medical technology, small and medium-sized businesses, startups, and social organizations—even extending to the family. By 2021, agile work had already made its way into nearly every sector, from marketing to financial control.
How are agility and “New Work” connected?
The boundaries are blurred; both share common values and a similar mindset. The goal is the same: to create a work and living environment that meets today’s challenges and keeps people capable of taking action and remaining creative despite uncertainty. The 2021 article predicted that such approaches would become even more holistic and that the term “agility” would disappear once this way of working had become the norm.
