What is Agile?

AGILE MEANS BUSINESS.

Very often, I get the question ‘What does Agile or Business Agility really mean?’ and this comes from across all levels in organizations – first-level managers and senior executives alike.

Well, very simply, Agile means business! I imagine most of us are quite familiar with the term ‘Business’ which according by Wikipedia’s definition “Is the activity of making money by producing or buying and selling products”. At the core of business is the product, the sale of which gives life to the business and satisfy the customers’ need.

So in essence, all departments within a business - from supply chain, and production to marketing, sales, and even HR, work together to satisfy the customers’ needs through the product.

You’ll agree, that in today’s world, customer (or consumer) preferences are not only fast-changing, but they are also being fragmented (partly due to the huge amount of information on choices available in the digital space). The places and spaces for consumer interactions are also changing, putting huge pressure on businesses to provide the right offerings ‘spot on’, and doing so at speed.

It follows therefore that for businesses to meet today’s customer needs, they must do so by driving innovation at speed – which is essentially Agile. Critical considerations for success will include rethinking business models, making business operations smarter, and leveraging big data.

So, to add a bit more ‘flesh’ to my earlier response, Agile or Business Agility is business. It is the mindset, and the organization of a business to ensure it listens and understands its customers, design and deliver products that meet the customer needs while adopting an approach that enables a fast customer feedback loop for innovation and incremental value delivery.

Hope this makes some #AgileSense.