Let’s give this a bit of context. If you look at trends from the annual State of Agile report from Digital.AI, you will see that during COVID-19, we saw the use of Agile more than double across all segments. Then, in the latest report, we saw the adoption of Agile drop by about 20% in the largest segment, with a mix of gains and losses in others.
These numbers show that some of those who hurriedly adopted Agile during Covid took a (perhaps temporary) step back when people returned to the office.
But I think it’s also important to note that while we saw a step back in adoption in 2022, we did not go back to pre-Covid levels. This demonstrates that most of those who adopted Agile are sticking with it.
These numbers tell us that Agile is not dead. The adoption of Agile is still growing, even though some are taking a step back to regroup.
What I am seeing in the Marketplace anecdotally aligns with these figures. Many organizations adopted Agile during Covid because Agile approaches offer greater transparency and flexibility than traditional approaches. However, many organizations adopting Agile may not have adopted it well. Many clients I see are taking a step back and planning to re-launch Agile approaches on a firmer footing. These organizations are looking at questions like how we define our products and where Agile is most useful in our organization.
I hope to see organizations simplifying their approach to Agile and adopting a benefit mindset, removing unnecessary silos and roadblocks and focusing on value over perceived productivity metrics.
If your organization struggles with Agile delivery, contact Rebel Scrum to see how we can help.