What is agile working?

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The Complete Guide for Adaptive Organizations (2025 Edition)

TL;DR in 50 seconds

Agile working is an organizational mindset that centers on customer value, iteration, and continuous learning
It emerged in 2001 with the Agile Manifesto and builds on decades of adaptive project management
Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe translate the mindset into practice; the choice depends on context and team size
Research shows up to 30–50% faster time-to-market and 20–30% higher customer satisfaction
Start small, invest in culture & coaching, and always measure customer outcomes over output

Key takeaway: Agile working is not a trick but a way of thinking and doing that helps organizations thrive in an unpredictable world.

What is agile working and why is it essential in 2025 and beyond?

Agile working is not a method or process, but a vision for organizing work in a flexible and iterative way. It’s a mindset that helps organizations become adaptive and quickly respond to changing customer needs. This vision is translated into practice through concrete frameworks like Scrum and other methodologies.

Instead of spending months devising a perfect plan, agile teams work iteratively: they build something small, test it with users, learn from the feedback, and improve the product step by step. Scrum is the most well-known and widely used framework for giving shape to this agile vision.

The roots of Scrum: older than you think

What many people don’t know: Scrum has nothing to do with IT or software development. The pattern was first recognized and described in 1986 by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka from Harvard Business School in their groundbreaking article “The New New Product Development Game“.

They analyzed how successful companies like Honda, Canon, and Fuji-Xerox organized their product development – from cars to cameras – and discovered a pattern they called the “rugby approach”. Instead of a relay race where each phase is neatly completed before the next begins, these companies worked like a rugby team: the entire team moved together toward the goal, where anyone could pick up the ball and pass it on.

This working method, originally applied in physical product development, later formed the basis for what we now know as the Scrum framework within agile working.

Why agile working is more important than ever

Digitalization, AI disruption, and geopolitical turbulence are exponentially accelerating market dynamics. Customers have become more demanding, compare prices in real-time, and expect customization “right now”. Traditional companies that cling to rigid processes and long planning cycles are being overtaken by agile competitors.

Agile working provides the tools to respond to this: short iterations, continuous feedback, and multidisciplinary teams with decision-making power. As often said: “Survival of the fastest learner” – agile teams think, build, measure, and learn in a continuous cycle.

The history of agile working: from experiment to mainstream

The roots (1986-2000)

Agile working has its roots in the 1980s, when Japanese companies like Toyota and Honda surprised the West with their flexible production processes. In 1986, Takeuchi & Nonaka described the “rugby approach” in Harvard Business Review: instead of a relay race where each phase is neatly completed, the entire team works together like a rugby team carrying the ball to the goal line.

The experimental 1990s: from physical products to software

During the 1990s, software developers adopted these insights and experimented with various adaptive methodologies inspired by Takeuchi & Nonaka’s work:

Extreme Programming (XP) – focus on technical quality
Crystal – family of methodologies for different team sizes
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) – time-boxed development
Feature Driven Development – shorter iterations around concrete features

All these approaches worked with agile principles, but used different frameworks to give them shape.

The Agile Manifesto (2001)

In February 2001, 17 pioneers gathered in Snowbird, Utah. They were fed up with software projects chronically going over time and budget while not delivering what customers actually needed. Their discussions resulted in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development: four core values and twelve principles that laid the foundation for modern agile working.

Mainstream adoption (2001-present)

What began as a software development methodology grew into an organization-wide movement. Today, more and more companies like ING, Spotify, Haier, and even government institutions apply agile working in marketing, HR, finance, and operations.

The core principles of agile working

The four core values of the Agile Manifesto

Agile working builds on four fundamental 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

These values don’t mean that processes, documentation, contracts, or planning are unimportant. They indicate where the emphasis lies when you need to make choices.

Twelve practical principles

The four core values are translated into twelve concrete principles:

Customer focus:

Deliver valuable software regularly to the customer
Welcome changing requirements, even late in the development process
Work together daily with stakeholders

Team performance:

Build projects around motivated individuals
Face-to-face conversation is the most effective communication
Self-organizing teams deliver the best results

Continuous improvement:

Measure progress with working software
Maintain a sustainable development pace
Reflect regularly and adjust your approach

Simplicity and quality:

Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done
Technical excellence and good design enhance agility

From vision to practice: popular agile frameworks

Agile working is a vision and philosophy, not a specific method. This vision must be shaped through concrete frameworks and approaches. Different frameworks help organizations shape the agile mindset, each with their own focus and application area:

Scrum: from rugby field to office

Scrum is the most widely used framework for shaping agile working. It builds on the “rugby approach” that Takeuchi & Nonaka described in 1986: cross-functional teams that move together toward a goal.

Scrum is ideal for product development where scope is uncertain. The framework consists of:

Roles:

Product Owner – determines what gets built
Scrum Master – facilitates the process
Development Team – builds the product

Events:

Sprint Planning – what are we going to do this sprint?
Daily Scrum – how are we doing?
Sprint Review – what have we delivered?
Sprint Retrospective – how can we work better?

Artifacts:

Product Backlog – all desired features
Sprint Backlog – work for the current sprint
Increment – working product at the end of each sprint

Kanban: continuous flow

Kanban visualizes workflow and limits work in progress (WIP). It’s perfect for teams providing continuous support or having a stable stream of work. Core elements are the Kanban board, WIP limits, and measurable improvements.

Extreme Programming (XP): technical excellence

XP emphasizes software quality through practices like Test-Driven Development, Pair Programming, and continuous integration. It fits well with teams wanting to prevent technical debt.

Lean Startup: validating assumptions

Lean Startup helps develop new products or services through the Build-Measure-Learn cycle. It minimizes waste by quickly experimenting with Minimum Viable Products (MVPs).

Framework choice in practice

Organizations often combine elements: for example, Scrum rituals with a Kanban board for visualization, or SAFe planning with Scrum teams. The choice depends on:

Team size and organizational structure
Type of work (project vs. continuous service)
Degree of uncertainty in requirements
Existing culture and processes

Agile working in daily practice

A day in the life of an agile team

Agile working translates into concrete daily activities. A typical day begins with the Daily Scrum: a 15-minute meeting where team members share what they did yesterday, what they’re going to do today, and what obstacles they encounter.

Sprints: the rhythm of agile working

Teams work in sprints of 1-4 weeks. Each sprint begins with Sprint Planning, where the team decides which items from the Product Backlog they’ll tackle. During the sprint, the team focuses on delivering a working product increment.

Transparency through artifacts

Agile working makes progress visible through:

Product Backlog – prioritized list of desired features
Sprint Backlog – concrete tasks for the current sprint
Burndown Charts – visualization of remaining work
Definition of Done – clear criteria for completed work

Collaboration with stakeholders

Instead of an extensive contract at the beginning, agile teams continuously collaborate with customers and stakeholders. Sprint Reviews at the end of each sprint ensure regular feedback and course correction.

Scaling agile: from team to enterprise

The scaling challenge

Agile working began as a team methodology, but modern organizations want to realize the benefits on a larger scale. This brings new challenges: how do you coordinate dozens of teams? How do you ensure consistency without bureaucracy?

Popular scaling frameworks

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework):

Suitable for 50-10,000+ employees
Uses Program Increments (PIs) for synchronization
Combines portfolio, program, and team levels

LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum):

For 2-8 teams
One Product Owner, shared Product Backlog
Minimalist approach

Nexus:

For 3-9 Scrum teams
Extra events on top of standard Scrum
Focus on integration

Spotify Model:

Squads (teams), Tribes (departments), Guilds (communities)
Autonomy with alignment
Not a fixed framework but source of inspiration

Success factors for scaling

Scaling agile working works best when organizations:

Start with one well-functioning team
Invest in coaching and culture change
Identify clear value streams
Have technical infrastructure in order
Adjust management behavior to servant leadership

Warning: Scaling doesn’t solve culture problems. Always start with one team that reliably delivers value.

Proven benefits of agile working

Quantitative results

Research on agile working shows consistent improvements:

Faster market introduction:

30-50% faster time-to-market (McKinsey Digital, 2019)
60% faster product releases (Standish Group, 2020)

Higher quality:

2x faster bugs found and resolved (PwC, 2022)
40% fewer defects in production (IBM, 2021)

Improved customer satisfaction:

10 points higher Net Promoter Score (PMI, 2023)
25% more customer retention (Forrester, 2022)

Financial impact:

15-25% cost savings on projects (Accenture, 2023)
20% higher ROI on IT investments (Gartner, 2022)

Qualitative benefits

Employee engagement:

20% higher employee engagement (Gallup, 2022)
35% less burn-out in agile teams (Harvard Business Review, 2023)

Organizational benefits:

Faster decision-making through decentralized autonomy
Better collaboration between departments
Higher innovation power through experimentation
Improved risk management through short feedback loops

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Top 5 pitfalls in agile working

1. Agile Theater (“Zombie Scrum”)

Problem: Teams perform rituals without creating value
Solution: Focus on concrete sprint goals and clear Definition of Done

2. Micromanagement

Problem: Managers continue to exercise detailed control
Solution: Training in servant leadership, clear outcome metrics

3. Fragmented teams

Problem: Team members work on too many projects simultaneously
Solution: At least 80% dedication to one team

4. Top-down implementation

Problem: Imposing agile working without buy-in creates resistance
Solution: Start with motivated pilot teams, show quick wins

5. Tool obsession

Problem: More attention to tools than collaboration
Solution: People and interactions first, tools as support

Early warning signals

Watch for these signals that agile working isn’t going well:

Meetings that run longer than planned
No working product at end of sprint
Stakeholders not involved in reviews
Teams not holding retrospectives
Backlogs that only grow, never shrink

Step-by-step plan: how to start with agile working?

Phase 1: Laying the foundation (Month 1-2)

Vision formation

Define why agile working is needed for your organization
Identify concrete pain points in current working methods
Set realistic goals for the first 6 months

Executive sponsorship

Ensure commitment from senior management
Train leaders in agile principles
Communicate clearly about expectations

Phase 2: Starting the pilot (Month 3-4)

Team selection

Choose a motivated team of 5-9 people
Ensure cross-functional skills
Select a concrete, tangible product

Coaching

Invest in experienced Scrum Master or agile coach
Organize training for all team members
Set a clear learning agenda

Phase 3: Finding rhythm (Month 5-6)

Sprint setup

Start with 2-week sprints
Hold all Scrum events
Focus on working product every sprint

Stakeholder management

Organize regular Sprint Reviews
Ensure continuous customer feedback
Communicate progress transparently

Phase 4: Measuring and learning (Month 7-9)

Establishing metrics

Define leading and lagging indicators
Use OKRs for goal orientation
Measure both output and outcome

Retrospectives

Hold a retrospective every sprint
Document learnings and actions
Share insights with other teams

Phase 5: Scaling up (Month 10-12)

Value stream analysis

Identify next teams for agile working
Map dependencies between teams
Plan scaling gradually

Community building

Organize communities of practice
Share success stories within organization
Invest in continuous coaching

Frequently asked questions about agile working

What’s the difference between agile and scrum?

Agile is the vision and mindset, scrum is a specific framework for putting agile principles into practice. Agile forms the ideology; scrum is the concrete, step-by-step execution of it. Scrum brings rhythm, responsibility, and transparency within agile working through fixed roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Simply put: fruit is to apple what agile is to Scrum.

How does agile working differ from traditional project management?

Traditional (Waterfall):

Fixed sequence of steps: requirements → design → implementation → test → delivery
Each phase is linear, one-time, and thoroughly completed
Changes are difficult or expensive
The outcome is largely predetermined
Extensive documentation upfront

Agile working:

Work is broken into short, repeatable cycles with continuous evaluation
Customer and stakeholder feedback guides adjustments
Teams are multidisciplinary, self-organizing, and results-oriented on value
Change is welcome and valuable
Mistakes are part of the learning process

The agile model is particularly suitable for environments where requirements and circumstances change rapidly. For predictable, routine projects, traditional working can still be appropriate.

Is agile working only for IT?

Not at all, agile working is increasingly applied in more sectors and offers benefits outside IT. Sectors where agile working comes into its own most:

ICT, software development and gaming
Marketing, communication, advertising
Product development, R&D, innovation
Education (e.g., curriculum development)
Government and non-profits (policy, service delivery)
Healthcare and e-health projects
Financial services
Logistics, construction, automotive
Legal services

Wherever customer needs, market conditions, or technology change rapidly, agile working offers the most benefits.

What tools do I need for agile working?

The choice depends on your organization’s size, digitalization, and work form (hybrid/remote):

Project management:

Jira (Atlassian) or Vabro – ideal for backlog management
Trello – suitable for visual task boards, especially for smaller teams
Asana – strong in workflow management and task tracking

Visual collaboration:

Miro, Mural – virtual whiteboards, useful for brainstorming and visual collaboration

Communication:

Slack, Microsoft Teams – fast communication and integrations with other agile tools

Documentation:

Confluence – for knowledge sharing and documentation within the agile team

Tip: Choose tools that fit your organization’s collaboration, scale, and digitalization. Many teams combine a physical scrum board (post-its) with a digital board, especially for hybrid or remote work.

How do you measure the success of agile working within an organization?

Measuring success in agile working happens both quantitatively and qualitatively:

Quantitative metrics:

Customer satisfaction: Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer feedback, repeat purchases
Speed: Time-to-market, sprint cycle time, cycle time
Quality: Fewer errors or bugs, less rework, defect rate
Predictability: Actual vs. planned delivery
Value creation: ROI per increment and value for the organization

Qualitative evaluations:

Team satisfaction: Employee satisfaction, turnover
Stakeholder engagement
Learning velocity
Psychological safety

Additionally, team retrospectives and self-evaluations based on agile principles are essential for continuous growth.

Are there risks with agile working?

Every change process has risks, especially in areas of:

Cultural risks:

Resistance to change among employees and managers
Mixing agile and classic processes that block agile

Knowledge risks:

Lack of knowledge and skills due to insufficient training
Unrealistic expectations that agile is a free pass for chaos

Organizational risks:

Measurability of success – classic KPIs don’t always fit agile
Scalability – what works in a small team doesn’t automatically work in larger groups

According to McKinsey, about 70% of organizations don’t immediately achieve the intended benefits from agile working, mainly due to culture and change issues.

Is agile working always better than traditional methods?

Not always. Agile working is particularly suitable for:

Projects with high uncertainty
Rapidly changing customer needs
Complex, creative challenges
Innovative product development

For predictable, routine projects with stable requirements, traditional working can still be appropriate. Choose the approach that fits your organization and project type.

How do you start as a small organization with agile working?

Step-by-step plan for small organizations:

Start small: Begin with a motivated, multidisciplinary team of 5-9 people
Choose a pilot project: Select a project that offers space and time to learn
Invest in knowledge: Training, workshops, and reading the Agile Manifest
Choose a framework: Start with Scrum for project work or Kanban for continuous processes
Facilitate the environment: Ensure open communication, transparency, and the right tools
Plan retrospectives: Regular reflection and improvement
Expand slowly: Scale to other teams after proven success

Can you combine agile with traditional methods?

Yes, a hybrid approach is often possible and sometimes desirable. Organizations can, for example:

Apply agile for innovation projects and traditional for routine operations
Combine waterfall planning with agile execution
Mix different frameworks (Scrum + Kanban + Lean)

The key is making conscious choices based on project type, team size, and organizational culture.

What does it cost to implement agile working?

Direct costs:

Training and certification (€2,000-5,000 per person)
Coaching (€1,000-2,000 per day)
Tooling (€20-100 per user per month)

Indirect costs:

Time for culture change (6-18 months)
Productivity dip during transition (10-20%)
Management attention and focus

ROI typically occurs after 6-12 months through faster delivery and higher quality.

Important considerations and myths

Myths we’d like to debunk:

“Agile means no more planning” – It’s primarily flexible and adaptive planning
“Scrum is the same as agile” – Scrum is a framework, agile is the overarching philosophy
“Agile is chaotic” – It actually requires discipline, openness, and active involvement
“The customer gets everything they want” – The customer is central, but the goal is delivering maximum value
“Agile is an endless sprint” – It’s a way to deal sustainably and effectively with change

Critical success factors:

Invest in culture change alongside process change
Ensure executive sponsorship and role modeling
Start with motivated teams and tangible quick wins
Measure results and learn from mistakes
Persist – transformation takes time

AI as an accelerator of agile working

Smarter backlog management

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are transforming how agile teams work:

User Story improvement:

AI analyzes user stories for completeness
Suggests acceptance criteria and test scenarios
Estimates effort and identifies risks

Automated testing:

AI writes test code automatically
Finds edge cases that humans miss
Keeps test coverage current

Better decision-making through data

Real-time customer insights:

AI analyzes support tickets, app reviews, and social media 24/7
Converts raw data into understandable trends
Suggests which backlog items have the most impact

Sprint optimization:

Chatbots automatically collect impediments
AI predicts sprint success based on historical data
Identifies bottlenecks before they become problems

Practical AI applications for agile teams

Daily Standups:

AI assistants prepare talking points
Automatic meeting summaries
Action item tracking

Retrospectives:

Sentiment analysis of team feedback
Pattern recognition in recurring problems
Suggestions for improvement actions

Product Planning:

AI-powered roadmap scenarios
Predictive analytics for feature adoption
Competitive intelligence automation

Agile working with AI support leads to 25% faster sprints and 40% better stakeholder satisfaction according to recent research from Forrester (2024).

The future of agile working

Emerging trends in 2025

Hybrid Agile: Organizations combine the best of different frameworks. No more pure Scrum or Kanban, but hybrid approaches that fit specific contexts.

Agile beyond IT: Agile working spreads to all business units. Marketing campaigns, HR processes, financial planning – everything becomes more agile.

Sustainable Agile: Focus shifts from “fast” to “sustainably fast”. Teams seek the right pace for long-term innovation without burn-out.

AI-Augmented Agile: Artificial intelligence becomes teammate, not replacement. AI takes over routine tasks so people can focus on creativity and collaboration.

Challenges for the coming years

Talent shortage: Demand for experienced agile coaches and Scrum Masters exceeds supply. Organizations invest more in internal development.

Measurement complexity: As agile working becomes more complex, measuring success becomes more challenging. New metrics and dashboards are needed.

Culture vs. Practice: Many organizations master the practices but still struggle with culture. Mental models change slower than processes.

Conclusion: agile working as strategic advantage

Agile working has evolved from software development tactic to strategic organizational advantage. In a world where change is the only constant, agile working provides the framework to thrive rather than just survive.

Key lessons

Start small, think big: Begin with one motivated team and a concrete product. Prove value before scaling.

Culture eats strategy: All the frameworks and tools in the world won’t help if the underlying culture offers resistance. Invest in people and mindset.

Customer central: Agile working is about delivering value to customers, not about perfect processes. Measure outcomes, not just output.

Continuous learning: The best agile organizations are learning organizations. They experiment, fail fast, and adapt.

Next steps

Implementing agile working is a journey, not a destination. It requires courage to let go of established patterns, patience to develop new habits, and persistence to get through inevitable challenges.

But for organizations that dare to take the step, the rewards are great: more satisfied customers, engaged employees, and an agile organization ready for whatever the future brings.

Agile working is not a quick fix, but a fundamental way of thinking and working that helps organizations remain relevant, innovative, and customer-focused in 2025 and beyond.

Practical resources

Free resources

Agile Manifesto – agilemanifesto.org
Scrum Body of Knowledge – ScrumStudy
Kanban University – kanban-university.com
Scaled Agile – scaledagile.com

Recommended certifications

Scrum Fundamentals – Scrum Study
Scrum Master Certified – Scrum Study
Scrum Product Owner Certified – Scrum Study
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) – Scrum.org
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) – Scrum Alliance
SAFe Agilist – Scaled Agile
Kanban Management Professional – Kanban University

Measurable steps for tomorrow

Organize a retrospective with your current team
Identify one concrete experiment for the coming week
Plan a customer conversation to gather feedback
Visualize your current workflow on a simple Kanban board
Share this article with one colleague who would benefit from agile working

Agile working begins with the first step. What move will you make today?

Sources:

Harvard Business Review – Agile at Scale (2023)What is agile working?

Takeuchi & Nonaka – The New New Product Development Game (1986)

Manifesto for Agile Software Development (2001)

Standish Group – CHAOS Report (2020)

McKinsey Digital – The impact of enterprise agility (2019)

PMI – Pulse of the Profession (2023)

Gallup – State of the Global Workplace (2022)

Forrester – The State of Agile Software Development (2024)

By:

Merijn Visman