For those who work in project management, Agile is probably a keyword you’ve heard thrown about in various meetings over the past few years. Despite being a simple word – common, even – Agile has nonetheless evolved into something rather powerful in the project management world.
Along the way, the Agile method, with its emphasis on adaptability and efficiency, became a remedy for facing a number of frustrating management challenges. If you’re like us, you might have wondered whether it would truly revolutionise how you approach every tech project.
The idea of continuous delivery and customer-centricity is very appealing, after all, especially for teams plagued by lengthy projects, delayed turnarounds and slow results. But again, if you’re like us, you might have realised that Agile, despite its advantages, also comes with a few pitfalls. The endless meetings – many of which have lost sight of delivering efficient value, one of Agility’s initial charms – and the sprints, the retrospectives, the rigidness of it all… in truth, it’s less flexible, more ritualistic, and has become a bit of a burden.
There are other issues we could discuss; though, if you’ve worked in project management, you’re probably already familiar with a few. Among the Mondo team, these issues eventually became a core focus.
The general consensus, after plenty of back and forth, was that it was time for something new. To move to a post-Agile future.
But what does Post-Agile mean?
It’s a fair question, as any attempt at declaring a move beyond a method, ideology, movement or otherwise is bound to raise a few eyebrows.
But, in essence, our central idea of entering a post-Agile era is to maintain the general Agile fundamentals and leave the rituals and rigidness in the past. Too much talking about what it means to be agile is a big constraint, in our view, one that distracts teams from what they should be doing: developing.
It also suggests a lack of trust within the business, a means to overmanage the entire process rather than empower the team and show confidence in their capabilities.
That is not how we like to do things at Mondo. Instead, we prefer a culture where trust is key. As a result, we are able to work together to meet a common goal – delivering results quickly and efficiently. The way it should be.
In our post-Agile era, our approach is as follows:
Stay flexible
Being adaptable is a core part of agility, and we remain committed to integrating it into our day-to-day approach. Instead of being constrained by one idea of how a project should be done, our teams are able to adapt to the needs of the project – and, as any developer knows, that can vary considerably. This way, we are able to deliver the outcomes our clients deserve without too much time spent on trying something that won’t work.
Outcomes come first
Speaking of outcomes… At Mondo, delivering value is vital. This ties into the previous point, where flexibility is key and allows us to break away from the precise nature of Agile. By placing our focus on outcomes and not sticking to a rigid process, we can efficiently create value.
Collaboration is key
When you think about it, the point of business meetings should be about working together to reach the same goal. That, however, isn’t always the case.
We’ve all been in meetings where viable ideas – the type that requires input from everyone to succeed – are presented, only to be shot down by someone with more sway suggesting a less collaborative and effective proposal. Hopefully, that isn’t the case in your current place of employment. We’ve made it our mission to ensure it doesn’t happen at Mondo. Instead, we stick to true and meaningful collaborations.
We’re not saying that organisations that practise the Agile method fail at doing the same. Perhaps a good number of those routine stand-ups do offer a collaborative nature, one that leads to successful outcomes.
Our thought, simply, is that along the way, the Agile method became more about ticking boxes than actually working to prioritise teamwork and communication. In our post-Agile era, our focus is always to do exactly that. By utilising the right tools and practices to prioritise collaboration and enhance communication, we can set ourselves up for success.
Trust each other
We view trust as being integral to any business looking to succeed and remain successful. Trusting our teams to understand what their project needs and how they plan to achieve results – without micromanaging each step – is important in maintaining a positive culture at Mondo. It also leads to some other great benefits, including a more innovative team, a sense of ownership and solutions that deliver exactly what our clients want.
Keep learning
In life, we never stop learning, even if we don’t realise it. Growth, however, is a different story. Some people – some businesses, even – remain stuck in their ways. That is not ideal for an industry that is constantly evolving and requires a certain level of pivoting.
The ability to adapt, change and try something new, and learn from previous and present experiences are integral parts of project management (the successful ones, at least…). It’s also a great example of being agile. And it is something that we bring to every one of our project cycles so that we stay innovative and constantly refine our skills and processes.
Evolving from Agile is perhaps not for everyone. And we’re not suggesting that every business should try it out. What works for one might not work for another, after all.
But for us, our post-Agile era has been a success. Our efficiency has increased, productivity has been boosted, and our clients are seeing the benefits through rapid delivery. If you’re interested in learning more about these benefits, or have a project in mind that you think has our name on it, drop us a note, and we’ll talk outcomes.
