Agile Methodology – Why it Fails

If you are trying to be more nimble and reduce time to market while getting a more customer focused, result, then you may have heard of the Agile Project Methodologies (Agile).  Agile is an approach (or more precise a group of approaches) to managing projects that can yield lower cost and better results.  However, many organizations try Agile only to fail miserably or at best get mediocre results.   If you want the results that Agile promises, then pay attention to your corporate culture and the four critical success factors below. 

Agile is another tool in the project manager’s toolbox, and like every tool it is designed for a particular purpose.  In order to be effective, Agile requires an organization that is culturally prepared to accept the compromises and differences between this and other project methodologies, like Waterfall.

Critical to success are;

1. The organization must support negotiation and debate.
2. Project team members must be empowered and trusted.
3. Companies must be prepared to live with the decisions of project team members (the front line developers, analysts, writers, marketers, engineers, etc.). (Note; this is a different spin on the empowerment and trust mentioned above).
4. An environment that supports rapid and frequent communication between all team members.

These critical success factors imply a number of other conditions.  For example, the rapid communication and empowerment necessary for successful agile methodology implies that command and control cultures will repress the team and hamper results.  So consider your corporate culture and if your culture demands control, then stick with a waterfall approach.

Another implied condition is the combination of the level of trust required of the project team and the need to live with the decisions of front line project team members.  Because successful Agile methodology implementation requires front line worker to rapidly make good decisions, the organization must have significant, direct, and frequent business involvement with the project team.  The front line team members need to know the business and its processes, customers, target markets, strategies, etc.  Without this critical information, you might trust your project team, but they will be making uninformed (i.e. costly, incorrect) decisions.

Agile is a great tool, but like all tools there is a, appropriate time and place for them.  Think about the critical success factors and their implied meanings within your corporate culture before embarking on an Agile crusade.

- Ken Simonelic