Agile Methodologies: XP Scrum, Kanban... Are We Going Crazy?

Over the past few years, these techniques have been implemented in the largest and most successful organizations. But there are many of us who do not trust these “new old” methodologies yet…

Abraham Lincoln already said that history is full of false prophets: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”.

Nowadays, many organizations see their business models threatened, mostly because of issues related to digital transformation, among others. New competitors specialized in certain phases of the value chain are able to respond more quickly to the client’s needs – with the help of tools that process a huge amount of data that they are then skilled enough to understand and exploit.
So, how can we make a client get up and go to the store? Only those who define their customer experience strategy will be able to answer this key question.

How? The new market rules put companies in the perpetual spotlight: client evaluation, strategy adaptation and evolution. This provides a feedback loop about clients so that a company can then build an attractive go-to-market strategy that gives them a chance to compete.
When it comes to leveraging our strengths, agility and velocity are indeed key factors for a consistent value proposition. 

Traditional companies preserve organizational structures that were born to compete in markets that do not exist anymore. Now they must coexist with companies offering “freemium” pricing, which is forcing them to adapt their way of working radically. So, thinking back to the question at the beginning of this article, we have not gone crazy: These methodologies are critical in order to respond to what the market is asking for and build our sustainable go-to-market strategies.

As Peter Drucker said: “Elephants have a hard time adapting. Cockroaches outlive everything”
Who will lead this transformation? Are they already inside your company? Can you get them in? Which are the capabilities they should have? There is plenty of work to do because transformation is not only a matter for the board; it’s a matter of having the right people, from the ground up.

Agile methodologies are management methods that aim to develop projects in a quick and flexible way in order to generate competitive, profitable advantages

Important: do not think these methodologies are a goal itself. They are tools that must adapt our culture and strategy, not otherwise

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