Agile: Myths, Misunderstandings, and Practical Solutions
Fatimah Abbouchi
Helping Businesses Coordinate Chaos | Australia PMO Influencer of the Year | LinkedIn AUS Top 100 Profile | Adaptive Governance Specialist | Partner @ The PMO Leader | Agile Ideas Host | Founder & CEO - AMO
Agile empowers businesses to be nimbler and more resilient in the face of uncertainty. Yet, Agile is often misunderstood. Particularly in large organisations where rigid structures are the norm. An excellent Agile strategy must complement people's desire to change intrinsically. This is where culture is essential, and its role helps organisations achieve Agile outcomes.
?
‘Agile is a key enabler of innovation. But, Agile-based methods alone will not make an organisation more innovative or adaptive.’
?
In my latest Agile Ideas podcast episode , I sat down with Maarten Dalmijn , Author of the popular book Driving Value with Sprint Goals . We aimed to dissect some misconceptions about Agile and offer practical insights for applying it to drive business value.
In this article, I’ll draw on our conversation and share perspectives to provide actionable advice on transitioning to Agile. Particularly in complex organisations like Banks. While busting the most persistent myths that can hinder success.
?
?Understanding Agile Beyond the Manifesto
?One common misconception is that Agile follows the Agile Manifesto to the letter. While the manifesto is an essential foundation. Maarten explained that Agile's true essence lies in adaptability and responsiveness. These principles existed long before the Manifesto was formalised. Agile is about evolving, not adhering to a set of rules. This is a critical distinction for organisations trying to put in place Agile in a way that solves business problems. Rather than ticking boxes.
?Agile promotes a mindset that values adaptability, agility, and quick decision-making. It is about business change and the shifts in mindset, attitude and beliefs. Needed to help organisations innovate and become future-ready.
?As Maarten said, "Adaptiveness is the key—Agile evolves because it works, but it’s not enough to follow it blindly. We need to make it work for us."
?
Transitioning to Agile in Established Organisations
?
At its heart, the Agile approach is about cutting red tape. Speeding up the delivery of products and services to customers. And making it easier to get things done. While most Agile systems have these things in common, they look different based on the company, industry, and other factors. There are diverse Agile-based methodologies and frameworks. Many people and organisations choose to create a hybrid. That means one company’s Agile might look quite different to another – but that is part of the point. Agile systems should not be rigid. They are customised, so they work for each company. Business leaders must be realistic about what can happen when introducing Agile. We should not expect large organisations to undergo an Agile transformation overnight.
?
One of the biggest challenges is applying Agile to large, established companies is layering. This? relates to Agile being layered on top of pre-existing processes. Without addressing deeper organisational issues. As a consultant, Maarten highlighted the importance of speaking the client's language. Solving their specific problems instead of forcing a rigid Agile framework on them.
?
In my experience, companies too often think Agile is about "going faster." But, as Maarten and I discussed, speed doesn’t come from simply restructuring teams. Rather from addressing the underlying governance and processes holding the organisation back.
?
When transitioning to Agile, it’s essential to:
?
?
“Success today requires the agility and drive to rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent constantly.” — Bill Gates
?
For example, I have not seen one way of adopting Agile over the last ten years, working with clients worldwide and across many industries. It has varied from which frameworks, methods, and tools they used to where they started and stopped rolling it out.
?
Managing Agile in Large Banks
Banks have been at the forefront of Agile for several years now. They know that to stay competitive, they must adopt Agile principles and continuously refocus on the customer. This process requires transforming the entire business process to make change an enduring part of it.
Banks can (and have) benefited from using Agile practices on a business-wide basis. Across many divisions, including marketing, customer service, wealth management and more. For an Agile strategy to be effective, banks need to take a holistic and cross-functional approach. This can be challenging, but by addressing potential obstacles head-on, they can overcome them.?Some of the challenges affecting larger organisations like Banking:
?
When banks get it right, they see impressive results and lasting change. Agile is undoubtedly here to stay; yet there is also disagreement on how well it is being implemented.
Managing Agile in large institutions, particularly banks, presents unique challenges. One major issue at a tactical level in teams (which I experienced first-hand many times) is the rollover of unfinished work between sprints. This can be mitigated by adopting more flexible sprint approaches. As well as emphasising meaningful progress tracking over metrics like velocity or story points.
Maarten pointed out the dangers of relying too heavily on traditional Agile metrics. He says, "Velocity and story points can be misleading. Instead, focus on what actually delivers value."
For organisations struggling with this, some practical solutions include:
?
Many organisations fall into the trap of becoming "feature factories". Where the focus is on cranking out features rather than solving user problems. This is especially common in product-driven companies. As Maarten mentioned, delivering features for the sake of delivery. Often leads to costly, unused functionality that doesn't add value. He also writes about this in his book.
?
To avoid this, Agile teams need to:
?
“It's not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen.” — Scott Belsky.
领英推荐
?
Rethinking Product Roadmaps
Another critical insight from Maarten was around product roadmaps. He warns against overcommitting based on uncertain estimates, a common mistake in Agile implementations. Instead, product roadmaps should be flexible and adaptive, allowing organisations to adjust as new challenges arise.
Rather than rigidly sticking to prioritisation frameworks like MoSCoW, Maarten advocates for focusing on desired outcomes. This approach helps companies stay flexible and responsive, even when facing unforeseen challenges.
?
Moving Beyond Frameworks: The Future of Agile
As Agile continues to evolve, there’s growing fatigue with rigid frameworks (that I won’t mention)! ?Maarten and I discussed the idea of an "agnostic Agile era". Where the focus shifts from strict adherence to one framework. Towards adaptive patterns that work for specific business environments.
?
We also discussed our view on adaptive governance. Blending Agile and traditional governance models to achieve successful organisational outcomes. This approach allows companies to maintain Agile flexibility. While adhering to regulatory and governance requirements.
?
Addressing critical challenges around governance, capability, delivery, and cultural misalignment is essential. In my experience, an agile strategy plays a vital role at the intersection of this union.
?
A Call for Adaptability and Strategic Integration
?Agile is more than a buzzword—it’s a powerful approach to delivering real business value when applied correctly. However, organisations often fall into traps of rigid adherence to frameworks or focusing too much on speed and metrics. As Maarten and I discussed, adaptability is the key to successful Agile implementation. As well as address underlying issues and focus on outcomes.
?
In my experience, implementing an Agile strategy requires a top-down and bottom-up approach. We need management buy-in from the top to endorse the strategy, release funding, and help drive the culture change. Just because management wants it to happen does not mean people will automatically comply. We also need a bottom-up strategy to motivate teams. Using this to create links between the top-level strategy and everyday implementation.
?
Consider this: Have you taken stock of where you are today and how much your organisation needs to change? Is your organisation ready? What other meaningful change is going on?
?
If you’re in a leadership role or part of an Agile team, consider going beyond just following and reciting the manifesto. Instead, tailor your approach to address the real problems your users and clients face.
?
"The best way to predict the future is to create it while honouring the past that has shaped us."
?
?
Ready to apply these insights to your organisation? Tune into the full episode of Agile Ideas or watch on YouTube with Maarten Dalmijn for even more valuable takeaways.
What resonated the most? What other challenges have you faced in your agile endeavours?
Please share your thoughts. If you and your team need help, please feel free to look for an external perspective and further insights with AMO !
Have you checked out 'The PMO Playbook' yet?
Master project management and PMO strategies with practical, in-depth guidance from my two decades of industry experience. Certifications are valuable, but they often need actionable steps. The PMO Playbook fills that gap, offering detailed how-to's, expert insights, and real-world advice to help you advance one step at a time.
Already released are my detailed playbooks on:
Join me on this journey to enhance your PMO capabilities. Sign up for The PMO Playbook Newsletter and transform your project management approach today.
Are you enjoying this newsletter?
Want to work together?
Please book an obligation-free introductory call to learn how I can help your team/business here .
You can also learn more about my team's work at AMO here.
?