An Introduction to Agile and a Few Industries Which Stand to Gain the Most by Adopting It

Agile management was originally called Agile software development because that’s where it all began back in 2001. It was created by seventeen software developers together at Snowbird, Utah, based on twelve primary principles. Each of those twelve principles is dedicated to ensuring the quality and speed of one or more aspects involved in creating the final product.

How Agile Software Development Became Agile Project Management

A few years later in 2004, Agile project management was expanded in its application by one of the original software developers that created it, to include a much wider range of industries into the system.

Over the course of years following the new inclusions, Agile as a project management technique has gone through multiple iterative stages of evolution, and can today be applied in nearly any industry. Nevertheless, there are a few particular industries that stand to gain the most by adopting the core principles of Agile.

Law Firms

From the outset, it might seem that there is little room for agility in an industry that’s built on the methodical approach, but in reality, that isn’t entirely how it always goes. Lawyers and attorneys have to find loopholes in the legal system and bend laws without breaking them, quite often in their careers. It’s essential to get projects under them in line with the targets they have.

If they had to go upstairs and check with firm policies every time they made a move to get a client or solved a legal issue for them, it would not be an efficient legal team! When a legal team adopts Agile management though, it gives structure, meaning and leadership to guide and best utilize the skills of each team member.

The whole team can work on the project together and adapt together in accordance with each other’s moves, while the project leader can keep tabs on what, how, and why every move is being taken by members of the team, without having to interfere unless necessary.

Construction

Construction is, in many ways, quite similar to software development in planning, so the fact that Agile is a natural fit for the construction industry should be expected. Both construction and software have the following stages of development common to them:

• Designing or planning
• Pre-Production / Pre-Construction
• Procurement 
• Development / Construction
• Post-Production / post-Construction
• Complex constructions can be broken down into multiple smaller construction projects, often known as sub-projects. Time management is more often than not a huge and very practical issue in construction, due to the multiple variability factors related to weather, local laws, accidents, etc. Time management can effectively be improved by Agile adoption as it implements constant reviewing of all concerned processes to find potential problems and address them before they can become real problems.

  To understand and then implement Agile construction management techniques into your own construction business, visit the Kanbanize website. Not only does the page linked above explain how Agile construction is possible, Kanbanize implements the principles of Agile in construction projects by devising personalized solutions for their clients as well.

  Automotive

  Another natural fit would be the automotive industry as it can benefit from Agile production methods. When implemented with the special needs of the industry in mind, we can expect the following advantages of Agile manufacturing and management in the automotive sector:

  • Manufacturing of high-value products by incorporating customer feedback and even their collaboration
  • Creation of multifunctional teams which consists of multi-skilled members
  • The multifunctional or cross-functional teams will reduce steps and shorten the chain of command
  • This also enables easier cross-departmental collaborations, which can often be an issue

  Are Agile and Lean both Applicable in the Same Sectors?

  Agile and lean have multiple similarities and dissimilarities between them, but they can both be applied in the same sectors as each other. However, due to the fact that lean is more of a philosophy and greater strategy, while agile is somewhat limited but more precise in its application, they cannot always be mutually included in the same project.

  However, the same company can adopt both simultaneously in two different projects of similar nature, to see which one works well in respect to their specific needs and values. The same result will not always be reflected, but either one will improve the speed and quality of the projects significantly on adoption.

  The goal of any Agile management technique is to prioritize the goals of a project, over the need for documentation and maintaining set methodology. Although Agile isn’t anti-methodic in its approach, it is built on the principle of adaptation, which may not always go well with a methodical approach. Nevertheless, there is little doubt about the fact that in industries where there are usually multiple,