{"id":144565,"date":"2019-10-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=144565"},"modified":"2019-10-17T12:58:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T11:58:18","slug":"an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"An introduction to the agile mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"

The theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working<\/h2>\n

Over the last few years, I have consistently heard and seen references to the terms \u2018agile\u2019 and \u2018scrum\u2019, most notably in a technology and project management context. However, more recently this has found its way into mainstream working environments, and I\u2019ve noticed more and more people talking about agile in memos, emails and even job ads. Take this example from a leading financial services provider:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur organization is currently embarking on a significant move towards more agile ways of working, giving our colleagues more accountable freedom than ever before and far more opportunity to make a difference to our customer experiences\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But what does \u2018agile working\u2019 mean and why has this become so prominent?<\/p>\n

A history 80 years in the making<\/h3>\n

\u2018Agile\u2019 is a mindset, a set of beliefs, principles and way of thinking. In the early 2000s, Carol Dweck popularized the concepts of fixed and growth mindsets<\/a>. In a fixed mindset, people believe their qualities are fixed traits that cannot change. In a growth mindset, people have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence can grow with time and experience.<\/p>\n

\"fixed

[Image Source<\/a>]<\/p><\/div>An agile mindset is about creating and responding to change in uncertain and turbulent environments. It\u2019s about thinking through how you can understand what\u2019s going on in the environment, identify what uncertainty you\u2019re facing and figure out how to adapt as you go along.<\/p>\n

According to some of the founding members of the agile movement<\/a>, agile methodologies originated in the 1930s, when the physicist and statistician Walter Shewhart of Bell Labs began applying Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to the improvement of products and processes. Shewhart taught this iterative and incremental-development methodology to his mentee, W. Edwards Deming, who used it extensively in Japan in the years following World War II. However, in 2001, 17 developers calling themselves \u2018organizational anarchists\u2019 met in Snowbird, Utah, to establish the Agile \u2018Software Development\u2019 Manifesto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n Growth hacking guide\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Download our Business Resource \u2013 Growth hacking guide<\/strong><\/p>\n

The growth hacking approach focuses on test and learn techniques to rapidly boost awareness, lead generation and conversion.<\/p>\n

Access the Growth hacking guide<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

The twelve principles of agile working<\/h3>\n

Although agile working originated from the world of software development, an agile mindset can be applied in nearly any context or situation. At its heart, there are four key values:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Individuals and interactions\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 over<\/span> processes and tools<\/li>\n
  2. Working software \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 over<\/span> comprehensive documentation<\/li>\n
  3. Customer collaboration\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 over<\/span> contract negotiation<\/li>\n
  4. Responding to change\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0over<\/span> following a plan<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While there is value in the items on the right, those choosing to take an agile approach take more from those on the left. You will notice a common theme around collaboration and flexibility.<\/p>\n

    In addition to these four values, there are twelve detailed principles that those investing in agile follow (I have highlighted some of the keywords and phrases):<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer<\/strong> through early and continuous delivery<\/strong> of valuable software.<\/li>\n
    2. Welcome changing requirements<\/strong>, even late in development. Agile processes harness change<\/strong> for the customer's competitive advantage.<\/li>\n
    3. Deliver working software frequently<\/strong>, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. Business people and developers must work together daily<\/strong> throughout the project.<\/li>\n
    5. Build projects around motivated individuals<\/strong>. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is a face-to-face conversation.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    7. Working software<\/strong> is the primary measure of progress.<\/li>\n
    8. Agile processes promote sustainable development<\/strong>. The sponsors, developers and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design<\/strong> enhances agility.<\/li>\n
    10. Simplicity - <\/strong>the art of maximizing the amount of work not done<\/strong> - is essential.<\/li>\n
    11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    12. \u00a0At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective<\/strong>, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For many companies and teams, a move towards an agile way of working will fit well. This is evident within start-ups, for example, where pace, testing and flexible collaboration are all essential when working towards a minimal viable product (MVP)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      However, for larger, more established organizations, this type of change is more difficult to adopt. An existing culture and way of working will have been developed over many years. But if small teams and individuals can start introducing agile concepts, then this approach can be tested and adopted in pockets around the business.<\/p>\n

      Adopting an agile way of working means taking into consideration all the different elements that go into it. This is best represented by the \u2018Agile Onion\u2019, which shows the combination of the tangible and intangible:<\/p>\n

      \"Agile

      Adapted image from Agile Onion by AWA, Simon Powers<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

      According to Simon Powers:<\/p>\n

      \u201cThe agile mindset is the outermost ring in the popular metaphor agile onion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      The model tells us the mindset is the most powerful of the layers that make up agile. It is where \u2018being agile\u2019 comes from, rather than \u2018doing agile\u2019, which is the domain of the inner rings of the onion\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      When to be agile?<\/h3>\n

      Taking an agile approach will not be appropriate in every situation. There will be times when a more traditional \u2018waterfall\u2019 approach will work best. The key is to determine what process to use based on the individual situation, team, objective and stakeholders involved. Many agile evangelists will say that agile can and should be used all the time, but as with anything, you need to strike a balance.<\/p>\n

      \"Agile

      [Image Source<\/a>]<\/p><\/div>Nevertheless, one of the biggest opportunities that agile provides is the ability to work quickly, respond to customer needs faster and reduce the cost of change. The main challenge of the waterfall approach is the time and effort required over the period of a project.<\/p>\n

      In the traditional approach to project management, teams have to wait for an earlier stage or process to be complete before moving on to the next. The approval process can lead to further changes and amendments which complicates the process and produces complexity and delay.<\/p>\n

      In an agile environment, teams respond to a brief but work in shorter \u2018sprints\u2019, at each point evaluating and responding to feedback. This means that ideas can be tested faster and alternative solutions put forward.<\/p>\n

      \"Agile<\/p>\n

      Conclusion<\/h3>\n

      Agile is essentially a mindset and way of working that takes time and effort to work. It\u2019s not something that can be implemented overnight but can be tested on small projects or in smaller teams or companies, e.g. start-ups.<\/p>\n

      Agile can be summarised using the following four categories:<\/p>\n

      \"Agile<\/p>\n

      By working in an agile way, people are able to focus on a continuous way of improvement and respond to a brief flexibly. Rather than relying on a fixed way of working with a limited number of decision-makers, agile empowers teams to work quickly and make decisions in a more democratic way.<\/p>\n

      With egos put aside, teams can challenge one another and test and learn in a \u2018safer environment\u2019 without concern for hierarchy or senior decision-makers. Everyone is a decision-maker who can contribute value to the project at different stages.<\/p>\n

      Developing an agile mindset is essential, and once mastered you can quickly tie this to the values and principles outlined above. But the next stage is to put agile working into practice. In a future post, we will explore some of the pros and cons of agile working practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working Over the last few years, I have consistently heard and seen references to the terms \u2018agile\u2019 and \u2018scrum\u2019, most notably in a technology and project management context. However, more recently …..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1025,1502],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smartinsights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-04T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-17T11:58:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gavin Llewellyn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@smartinsights\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@smartinsights\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gavin Llewellyn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/\",\"name\":\"An introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-04T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-17T11:58:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec72ac3813aaa3acc8c07a89022070cc\"},\"description\":\"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An introduction to the agile mindset\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Insights\",\"description\":\"Digital Marketing > The Marketing Strategy Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec72ac3813aaa3acc8c07a89022070cc\",\"name\":\"Gavin Llewellyn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d183a179b2b715b48b441ad2e456d701?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d183a179b2b715b48b441ad2e456d701?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gavin Llewellyn\"},\"description\":\"Gavin Llewellyn (LinkedIn) is an independent consultant. He is a Chartered Marketer who specialises in digital marketing, specifically in social media, SEO and online strategy. Gavin blogs at One Too Many Mornings where he offers advice, guidance and ideas on how individuals and companies can use digital marketing effectively to get found online, build engagement and generate conversion. You can Follow Gavin on Twitter.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/author\/gavinllewellyn\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights","description":"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights","og_description":"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/","og_site_name":"Smart Insights","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smartinsights","article_published_time":"2019-10-04T08:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-10-17T11:58:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png"}],"author":"Gavin Llewellyn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@smartinsights","twitter_site":"@smartinsights","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gavin Llewellyn","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/","url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/","name":"An introduction to the agile mindset | Smart Insights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png","datePublished":"2019-10-04T08:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-17T11:58:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec72ac3813aaa3acc8c07a89022070cc"},"description":"Take a look at the theory, principles and practices of agile ways of working to see if it could benefit you and your organization.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fixed-and-growth-mindsets-700x358.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/digital-marketing-strategy\/an-introduction-to-the-agile-mindset\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An introduction to the agile mindset"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/","name":"Smart Insights","description":"Digital Marketing > The Marketing Strategy Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec72ac3813aaa3acc8c07a89022070cc","name":"Gavin Llewellyn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d183a179b2b715b48b441ad2e456d701?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d183a179b2b715b48b441ad2e456d701?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gavin Llewellyn"},"description":"Gavin Llewellyn (LinkedIn) is an independent consultant. He is a Chartered Marketer who specialises in digital marketing, specifically in social media, SEO and online strategy. Gavin blogs at One Too Many Mornings where he offers advice, guidance and ideas on how individuals and companies can use digital marketing effectively to get found online, build engagement and generate conversion. You can Follow Gavin on Twitter.","url":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/author\/gavinllewellyn\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144565\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}