What is Agile? A Strategic Guide to Adaptive Delivery in Business Transformation

What is agile?

TL;DR

Agile is a flexible, iterative approach to project delivery that champions collaboration, responsiveness to change, and customer-centricity. It empowers teams to deliver business value quickly and continuously, making it the cornerstone of modern digital and organisational transformation.

Introduction: Agile as a Response to Complexity

In over three decades of leading technology and business transformations, one framework consistently delivers—Agile. Whether you're in manufacturing, retail, logistics, or finance, the Agile methodology offers a transformative approach to navigating today's fast-moving environments. It prioritises people, flexibility, and outcomes over rigid plans and outdated hierarchies.

What is Agile?

At its core, Agile is a mindset—a way of thinking that empowers teams to deliver value incrementally through collaboration, transparency, and constant feedback. It was born out of the software development world but has since expanded to business transformation, strategy, operations, and beyond.

Agile doesn't mean chaos; rather, it introduces structured flexibility. Unlike traditional "waterfall" models, Agile embraces change—even late in the process—because it recognises that adaptability drives competitive advantage.

The Principles Behind Agile

Agile is defined by its 12 core principles, first outlined in the Agile Manifesto. These include:

• Customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery

• Welcoming changing requirements—even late in development

• Delivering working solutions frequently (from weeks to months)

• Building projects around motivated individuals

• Using face-to-face conversation as the most effective communication

• Measuring progress through working outputs

In practice, this means that businesses don’t wait 18 months to realise value. They iterate, test, and refine in cycles—known as sprints—delivering tangible results continuously.

Why Agile Matters in Business Transformation

Having led transformation programmes with budgets exceeding £120 million and teams of 600+, I’ve seen first-hand how Agile frameworks fuel business agility. In one engineering manufacturing group, implementing Agile principles helped reduce technical debt by £2 million in just eight months. It empowered cross-functional teams to align under a shared vision, deliver faster, and adapt more effectively.

Agile isn’t just for IT. It’s vital in mergers and acquisitions, supply chain optimisation, product development, and customer experience. It ensures the business can pivot as new insights emerge—crucial in today’s data-rich, fast-paced world.

Agile Methodologies in Practice

There are various Agile methodologies, each with its own emphasis:

• Scrum: Focused on sprints, roles (e.g., Scrum Master), and ceremonies like stand-ups.

• Kanban: Visualises workflow with continuous delivery.

• SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): Designed for enterprise-wide Agile adoption.

• Lean-Agile: Emphasises waste reduction and continuous improvement.

Each can be tailored to your organisation’s culture, maturity, and strategic goals.

The Agile Advantage

The benefits of Agile include:

• Faster time-to-market

• Enhanced collaboration and morale

• Greater flexibility and risk mitigation

• Better alignment between IT and business goals

• More relevant and customer-driven solutions

At Northumbrian Water, the application of Agile and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) saved over 75,000 hours annually. That’s the power of Agile-enabled transformation.

FAQs

Q: Is Agile only for software development?No. Agile is now widely applied across marketing, HR, product management, and even corporate strategy.

Q: How long does it take to adopt Agile?It varies. Small teams can begin within weeks, while enterprise adoption may require several months of coaching and cultural change.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge with Agile?Changing mindsets. Agile demands trust, empowerment, and a shift from command-and-control to servant leadership.

Final Thoughts: Start Small, Scale Fast

Adopting Agile isn’t about overnight change—it’s a journey. Start small, celebrate early wins, and evolve with confidence. Whether delivering digital platforms, transforming operations, or navigating a merger, Agile provides a proven path to adaptive success.

Richard Keenlyside is the Global CIO for the LoneStar Group and a former IT Director for J Sainsbury’s PLC.

Call me on +44(0) 1642 040 268 or email richard@rjk.info.

Follow me on X https://x.com/cioinpractice & LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardkeenlyside/