Why Agile Doesn't Work in Every Case & What Are the Top Agile Challenges?

It's not a lie that here at Businessmap, we are big fans of business agility. Every day, we read, write, research, and implement our new findings on Agile in our organization. We also give our best in our day-to-day work to practice what we preach. However, blindly preaching that a coin is one-sided, doesn't wipe out the existence of the other side.

We won't be these blind preachers. Agile is far from a silver bullet. Simply adopting Agile methods without understanding what means to be Agile , won't lead your organization to a successful transformation. In addition, such change has its challenges and issues, which, if not addressed correctly, will inevitably lead to another failed transformation and another blog post explaining, "Why Agile doesn't work."

In this article, I'll address the major challenges an organization could face during an Agile transformation and how failures could be avoided.

And because we believe arguments should be backed up by data (if possible), we used two of the hottest 2021 reports in the Lean/Agile community.

Just don't give up on Agile. It's worth it.

Challenge #1: Resistance to change. A company's culture clashes with Agile values.

It is hard to change the way people think and operate. The habits and beliefs of a big organization are naturally deep-rooted. Typically, people do fight against change, and when Agile transformation is used to challenge them, they come out with phrases like "that's how we've always done things around here" or "that never works here."

Giving room for a change implies that you're admitting that whatever you're doing currently might not be done the best way, or even worse, it may be challenging to a person's established values. In this paper, the authors found out that human-related perceptions about the change process have been the major transition challenges.

• Communicate the need for change to your people

People find it very easy to retain their old methods and processes except in the case when they are vividly presented with solid "whys" they need to embrace the transition to Agile. Thus, your organization must communicate the need for change to your people accurately.

• Address the desired results from the transition

Also, the management needs to address the desired result from this change. Whether you are looking to achieve a faster time to market or to increase the predictability of your process, your people will embrace it more easily the change if they understand and believe in the desired result.

You'll find that some of the biggest problems with Agile originating from management are due to an old-fashioned perception of doing things.

Challenge #2: Lack of Management Support.

Inadequate management support is still one of the leading reasons why Agile doesn't work for each and every case. To go agile, all executives, middle management, and senior management have to be aware that there will be some changes in project management practices. They must understand the benefits of Agile, as well as the details of how this transformation will affect the operational aspects of the business. In order to support the Agile adoption adequately, they need to fully understand what is expected of them.

• Communicate the benefits of the transformation and the expected support.

Communication and cultural issues can be easily mitigated through aligning with every level of management before the actual Agile transition.

Challenge #3: Lack of Team Ownership. Team Resistance.

The resistance of some teams to adopt Agile practices is still a huge obstacle to the success of Agile transformations and scaling agility.

Agile fights that internal culture by empowering team members to take full responsibility for the ownership of their work and give up the habit of depending on what others tell them to do. Doing so effectively requires the project manager to encourage more communication among team members and engagement with the Agile project.

• Encourage participation and facilitate progress

By increasing team members' ownership of the process, they would be free to analyze and figure out how to come up with solutions by themselves whenever they encounter issues instead of wasting valuable time waiting for approval after approval just for something to be done.

Moreover, when members focus on ownership, their engagement and sense of belonging to the vision that the business preaches increases. Their work efficiency and productivity increase, too, while the resistance to change is naturally fading away. At the end of the day, it's the team members who do the work for the customers, so it's only natural for their voices to be heard.

Challenge #4: Inconsistent Processes and Practices across Teams.

Customer satisfaction is at the heart Agile approach and a leading principle. To achieve this, Agile frameworks such as Kanban suggest creating a network of services within the organization. This network of services includes all departments, teams, and individuals who can self-or ganize around the work, collaborate, and evolve the way they operate while driven by quality improvement. Improving the service, product, and work processes to deliver greater value.

For this network of services to work, the people need to follow the same rules and apply the same principles. In other words, you need consistency to make Agile work for you. You need Agile teams that communicate and collaborate. This entails cross-functional Agile roles or teams responsible for helping a project's delivery.

• Create a network of services with cross-functional teams to ensure productive feedback

Agile cross-functional teams work iteratively and incrementally, which maximizes opportunities for feedback, ensuring that a working product is always available. Even though cross-functional teams are not a new idea, many organizations are still struggling to absorb this concept.

Challenge #5: Poor communication and collaboration.

Communication plays a crucial role in Agile. Team members must communicate constantly and efficiently for the project to work well. Doing this right requires that the company provides proper communication channels and, most notably, for distributed teams.

Typically, in Agile organizations, teams are co-located, and Agile will be more naturally adopted. Being present in the same office facilitates the immediate flow of information and feedback. Also, one benefit of having co-located teams is the availability of osmotic communication. It means that the information flows into the background hearing of the team members, making the cost of communication low and the feedback rate high.

• Make sure the flow of feedback is easy and quick

However, in reality, over 50% of all knowledge workers worldwide are expected to be working remotely by the end of 2021 . In other words, the growing number of distributed teams and individuals working from their homes calls for ingenious ways to smooth communication. The new norm is no longer "face-to-face" communication but to ensure the possibility for "direct" communication and collaboration.

Challenge #6: Fragmented Tooling and Measurement.

The Agile Manifesto prescribes no particular method. To pick the ideal option, you need to consider the nature of the business and the characteristics of the organization as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different Agile approaches.

Another critical prerequisite to success with Agile is choosing the right tools. Explore tools like Businessmap (formerly Kanbanize), Jira, ClickUp, or some of the ClickUp alternatives available on the market.

Please note that tools will help the transition, but you need to stick to them. Fragmented data scattered across tools is overwhelming and can easily lead to work process disruptions.

• Customize the framework to reflect your project needs and be consistent when using tools and techniques

Indeed, the Agile philosophy values individual interactions over processes and tools; however, effective communication and collaboration play a crucial role in a successful Agile transformation, especially for distributed teams and large Agile companies.

After using a particular method well enough to gain significant experience, go ahead and customize it to suit your organization or project needs. Make sure all project-related data and measurements are clearly defined.

Challenge #7: Lack of Training and Education.

Insufficient training and education on Agile methodologies are among the top reasons why Agile transitions fail.

To make it all work out for you, you need the knowledge and understanding of the Agile concept itself: its principles, values, practices, and frameworks. That's where the Agile Coach is meant to help you.

The Agile coach/evangelist plays the role of a servant-leader who ensures the whole organization succeeds with the Agile transformation. It is in their hands to educate throughout the organization on how Agile practices work, train teams on how to think and approach decision-making in line with the Agile mindset and instate continuous learning.

• Aim at consistency in Agile processes, practices, and use of tools

Agile coaches greatly impact the transformation of the company culture toward the Agile mindset, change of existing processes, and more motivated teams.

Conclusion

"Going Agile" is more than just adopting a given method or framework for a single project. You need to have a solid reason before rushing into an Agile journey. If you just want to follow a trend, you better not do it. Try to figure out "Why do you want it?"

After you answer this question, you will feel much more comfortable to start your Agile journey. However, whether you commit to a particular method or you start by implementing some of the Agile practices, there will be day-to-day operational problems, and you might still find yourself wondering "why Agile doesn't work". Thus, it is crucial to have your company's management support and experienced team members, which can help the mitigation of any problems, issues, or challenges that may occur along the way.