How to use Agile outside of Software Development

It’s #wisdomwendesdays once again so it’s time to share something I learned.

Have you ever taken interest in seeing how the Agile methodology can be of value in other areas, such as the operations side of the business?

I have. And the first time I proposed this to certain business leaders, I’ve been shut down.

I’ve been told that it will only work in the software development industry, or that we’ve been successful at doing project management the current way (waterfall) so it doesn’t make sense to try something new.

Have you ever experienced the same thing?

If you have, then I’m here to tell you that it will work.

Eventually the business leaders whom I proposed this to recognized the shift in industry practices, and started to accept Agile more and more.

I guess I was just ahead of my time.

That being said, I’m here to share with you that I learned that it does indeed work. You just need to experiment with it and apply it where it fits.

Apparently I did a similar approach to how Barclays did their Agile Transformation, though on a smaller scale.

And at that time, I didn’t know that other organizations such as Barclays were already ahead of the game terms of deploying Agile outside of Software Development.

But you’re in luck, because you get to learn from our mistakes.

The gist of it is that similar to Lean Six Sigma, these are tools that will allow you to get things done.

There is no single best way, you should try it out and see what works.

And in the example that I’ll be showing you below, you’ll see quite an extreme case, where this family applied Agile at home, and you’ll see how it helped strengthen their bond as a family.

Moreover, it helped the children to become more responsible, have better teamwork, plus they said it helped them with school!

Read all about it here (slides from PluralSight):

Agile for Families

Hope you find these to be of value. If you want more of these, feel free to check out my other articles related to Agile.

Now if you want to learn all about Agile, then here’s how you can take action:

• Learn Agile today. Go to https://robbieagustin.com/courses for more information
• If you haven’t yet, download a copy of my book for FREE (for a limited time only) – The Business Optimization Blueprint, and learn how you can improve your business process and take it to the next level.