Agile organisations are known for their flexibility and resourcefulness. They typically have a customer-centric approach and fast learning cycles. 

Research suggests that there is good value in adopting the agile process. McKinsey reports that businesses that adopted an agile methodology before the COVID-19 crisis outperformed those that did not use it. They performed better in customer satisfaction, employee management, and operational performance. 

A 2022 survey of professionals working in various industries found that Agile is the second most popular method for software development after DevOps. A small percentage of the respondents favoured the traditional Waterfall method.  

Structural Features of The Agile Model

Agile organisations are different in their strategy, structure, and process. In this article, we will focus on the structural features of these organisations.

Network of Teams

The agile project management model has a top-down hierarchy like traditional models. But, below the top leadership, an agile organisation consists of a network of teams built to have clearly-defined roles and to be accountable for their work. 

The leadership provides an environment that encourages collaboration and transparency. The teams are grouped together based on their common goals. The groups and teams are flexible in that they can reorganise, if needed, to meet a new challenge.

Team-Level Decision-Making

Another feature of agile organisations is that the executives empower the team leadership to make decisions. Team members know that decisions are made close to them instead of somewhere at the top. This empowerment also benefits the top leadership as they can focus more on the macro instead of the micro.

Community-Building

Agile organisations have a strong community aspect to them. The community members – people working for the company at different levels – feel encouraged to share their knowledge and expertise. The talent nurturing process happens more naturally when people are in a team or move to a new team.

Team Members and Models

An agile team has the following roles: stakeholders, product owner, team lead, and team members. 

• The stakeholders are the users of the product.
• The product owner is responsible for providing the vision and priorities. They understand user needs and convey those needs to the developers. 
• The team lead provides direction to the team members so they can fulfil project objectives.
• Team members are the professionals who develop and test the product.  

The team model depends on the functions the team will perform. For example, the cross-functional model is commonly used for agile software development. A cross-functional team contains all the experts needed to develop the product. The product owner sets the priorities for the project, and the teams collaborate to deliver according to the owner’s vision.

Generalist vs. Specialist

There are different ways companies organise teams. The generalist approach is one in which team members generally understand multiple topics. This allows them to switch tasks with colleagues. The specialist team – prevalent in larger organisations – is one in which each professional works in a specific area. Yet another approach is the hybrid team, which has a mix of specialists and generalists. 

The structural features of the agile model make it suitable for the various departments in a customer-centric company. Compared to the traditional waterfall approach, an agile team works in small steps and implements changes faster because of regular contact with customers and users. Therefore, companies in fast-paced, rapidly-evolving industries can benefit from adopting this approach.