Are you one of those businesses that are still at crossroads when it comes to using Agile for Business?
Think again! The Agile adoption rate increased a mere 37% in 2020 to a staggering 86% increase in 2021.
Are you in denial or not a fan of Agile? Whatever be the case, this blog post will do its best to convince you to use Agile for business.
This blog post ‘8 Reasons why you need to use Agile for Business’ isn’t clickbait. Before we discuss the reasons to use Agile for business, the meaning of Agile is a better way to get started.
What is Agile?
Agile is a time-bound agile project management methodology that follows an iterative approach that builds software in increments from the start till the completion of the project.
It breaks down the larger project into phases into user stories and then builds the features in sprints which typically last 1-2 weeks.
The Agile Manifesto is based on these 4 Agile values-
● Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
● Working software over comprehensive documentation
● Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
● Responding to change over following a plan
The Agile Methodology functions on the following 12 principles
1. Customer satisfaction through continuous delivery of the product
2. Divide large tasks into smaller parts for faster and achievable tasks for quicker completion and easier integration of changes
3. Adhere to the decided timeframe for the delivery of a working product
4. All stakeholders must frequently collaborate to ensure that project is headed in the right direction
5. Create a supportive environment to motivate team members and encourage them to perform better
6. Prefer face to face communication over other methods 7. Working software is the primary measure of progress
8. Strive to maintain a steady pace of development
9. Maintain the quality of the product by paying attention to the technical details
10. Keep things simple
11. Self-Organized teams produce more results
12. Self-Reflection helps in correcting mistakes and improving performance
Benefits of using Agile for Business
The benefits of using Agile for business are numerous. However, here are the 10 benefits of having Agile for business that will convince you of its efficacy.
1. Increase in productivity
Agile builds products in increments. This allows for work to be done in shorter sprints by focusing on features that are a priority. In such iterations, the work is completed faster and the deadlines are realistic. Since work gets done quickly, there is a rise in productivity.
2. Improved performance
Agile improves team performance by including a few items in the sprint backlog. Since, testing and quality check is done regularly in Agile, the bugs are resolved
before time. There is continuous improvement since any mistake done in the previous sprint is not repeated in the next.
This offers employees to learn and coordinate with each other increasing team morale thus improving employee engagement.
3. Business Value
Any feature that is added in the backlog must add business value. Business value refers to the tangible and intangible benefits that a business can get from a product.
4. Customer satisfaction
The customer is actively involved in the decision-making process which leads to customer satisfaction. Customer retention is a byproduct of customer satisfaction.
Feedback is taken regularly and corrections are made so that the product delivered to the customer meets expectations.
5. Quicker time to market
One of the Agile values is ‘Working software over comprehensive documentation’. The prototype is launched in the market and customer response to the product is gauged. The product doesn’t have to be built entirely. A beta test can be conducted so that product improvements can be made based on client feedback. This ensures faster time to market offering you a possible first mover advantage.
6. Employee engagement
Adopting Agile practices for business can improve employee engagement to a higher degree. In a Gallup study of 200 organizations, the companies with high levels of employee engagement were found to be 22% more profitable and 21% more productive with those having low employee engagement.
7. Competitive Advantage
Agile ensures product development happens speedily. The working software is launched in the market. This beta test offers you an opportunity to remain one step ahead of your competitors.
This not only helps you increase profitability but also makes innovations to compete against market forces. This can be your trump card to disrupt the market.
8. User centric product
Agile helps you build a product that is focused towards addressing the pain points of the customers. The user stories contain descriptions from the perspective of the end user. The product owner liaisons between the customers and the stakeholders and determines the product feature that serves business value.
Conclusion
Using Agile for business can speed up productivity, profitability, build high quality products, add business value, and ensure customer satisfaction.
That’s not all. User centric products, faster time to market, increased employee engagement, and competitive advantage are the other benefits. So, that were 8 reasons why you need to use Agile for business.
What is your favourite? Write down in the comments.
Read more: 4 Tips to Protect Your Growing Business
