Agility is not a buzzword. It was always needed.

In times of social and economical change, agility-adaptability is the key to survival. That's what the majority of companies realize each and every day.

Some of them in a soft manner -adapting on time-, and thus, remaining a player of this infinite game called market.

Some others in a hard way -adapting too late-, and going out of business (or in the happy scenario, being acquired by a third company)

Implementing a Digital Transformation project is a good example where a company's agility is really tested. The whole organization needs to operate within the same frequencies. Understand what needs to change, how to change it, and move forward as one entity.

Below is an illustration of how Agility looks like in a Digital Transformation project.

Step 1: Connect all your business units

Make sure you create one voice. Having a sponsor from/to every layer of the organization assures higher percentage of uniformity in the message delivered across the organization.

Don't forget, confusion is the last thing you want to create in times of change.

Step 2: Build your architecture incrementally

Time is money. But when it comes to establishing your architecture, speed can be the enemy which can destroy everything.

Hence, make sure to build good communication channels where modeling - feedback - testing will be integral part of your architectural build-up.

It may take time, especially if the company is large enough, or has complex business processes. But, its ROI is countless. It will significantly increase the possibility of building an architecture which can withstand change and scale-up.

The two constants which hardly ever change.

Step 3: Execute the project in a Disciplined Agile Delivery approach.

Be agile on the way you incorporate agile methodologies. Allow your teams to work in Kanban, Scrum, XP, or even in Agile Modeling approach.

In the meantime, make sure you create one funnel of incoming requests where all functional and technical requirements are gathered in.

From this point onward is pretty much a known journey.

Apply what fits best for your team, in that specific moment in the project. If that is a Kanban approach for few weeks, and then a shift to scrum, let it be. Allow the "Develepment Team" together with the Scrum Master decide what is best for creating a working outcome.

Conclusion:

Agility throughout the whole delivery. Remember, agility is not a buzzword. It was always needed. Just in different amounts.