Be flexible when applying Agile

Agile is a mindset: a set of values and principles that are practised to reduce risk and increase transparency for both the team and the customer. 

It must be noted that while understanding what Agile is may be easy, finding a way to put it into practice is hard. Scrum and Extreme Programming are two of the best-known frameworks you can follow with your team and customers. In both cases, there are several techniques such as specific ceremonies, artefacts, engineering practices, etc. that can be implemented so as to help everyone to align with the agile mindset. 

Also, these approaches are really effective when a project faces uncertainties: When a new market, a new technology, a new kind of service or even a crisis unexpectedly turns up, respecting the agile values and principles involved in the chosen framework will reduce risks. 

However, sometimes such risks are not so dire so a more "relaxed" approach can be used. You must always keep in mind that the values and the principles are the key components of the agile mindset, so any framework or "way of working" that allows you to put into practice at least some of those values and principles, will be adding agility to the overall approach. 

Understanding the risk while choosing the framework

The level of risk given by the context will determine the level of flexibility that you can apply when following a certain framework. In turn, the decision of what framework to choose will be determined by the sort of challenges you are facing. The following schema can bring some light on the matter:

Scrum

When you are dealing with a project in which what your customers will love is not clear, you are facing a particular kind of uncertainty. Startups and innovative initiatives in big companies are used to dealing with such uncertainties and Scrum provides a successful option to cope with this kind of situations. This framework helps you maintain time and costs fixed while keeping the scope extremely flexible. It also helps you to validate each new version with users before moving forward.

Lean Kanban

But sometimes the challenges are not about what your customers will love, but rather when. The Lean Methodology is the most powerful one when tackling this kind of uncertainty. McDonalds is a great example: They offer a controlled list of types of hamburgers which they know how to prepare but they need a method to prepare them “Just in time” when a new customer arrives. Lean methods are closer to processes than to projects and controlling queues and waste are key elements. 

Scrumban

In some situations, you already have some visibility about what to do and when to deliver so you need to pay attention to the How. You are also in the middle of something that is not 100% a process and it is not 100% a project. In these contexts you will find many digital or advertising agencies applying Scrumban when working with customers that are recurrently asking for services with some level of complexity: a new logo, articles, a banner or some T-shirts as merchandising. 

Scrumban is flexible in production allowing on-demand planning and offers transparency about who is doing what and which activities are in progress. However, following Scrumban might also be a challenge when trying to avoid associated risks: an outdated board, difficulties in estimation or a desynchronized team may lead you straight to failure.

Recognizing the kind of risks and challenges you have ahead will help you choose the right framework for your agile journey. Of course, there is also room for “hybrid” or custom approaches; a good Agile or Lean coach will prove essential in order to keep risks as low as possible while at the same time respecting principles and values.