In February 2001, a group of software developers met in Snowbird, Utah, to discuss a new approach to project management. Their goal was clear: to overcome aside the rigidity of traditional models, and create a more dynamic and adaptable method. This meeting gave rise to the Agile Manifesto, a document that, through four values and twelve principles, profoundly changed the software development business, and subsequently spread to other contexts.
Today, more than twenty years later, agile is still an important point of reference, however the context it is applied in has changed, and is continuing to evolve. 
What role does it have nowadays? How can it be adapted to face new challenges?

1. Agile is an opportunity to evolve

Over the last twenty years, the agile approach has been adopted by numerous industries, extending beyond software development and becoming a reference model for project management. Frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban have helped make teamwork more efficient through closer collaboration and iterative development cycles. The main challenge today, however, is not so much whether or not to adopt the agile approach, but rather how to do it effectively. More than being a set of practices, the agile approach is a mindset based on adaptability, experimentation, and customer-centricity. To best use this approach, companies should not simply implement tools and processes, rather they need to foster a culture that encourages continuous learning and flexibility.

2. Agile is not just software: its value in hardware

One of the most interesting developments over the last decade has been the spread of the agile mindset into new areas, such as hardware design. In a world where innovation is faster and faster, even industries that traditionally have had longer development cycles are experimenting with iterative methods to improve time-to-market and reduce product risk.
The hardware sector, in fact, has a number of unique challenges, with physical constraints and production costs making continuous experimentation even more complex. However, many companies are finding effective solutions, such as rapid prototyping, which can be used to validate ideas with functional models before investing in production, or modular design, which allows individual parts of the product to be updated without having to redesign the entire system. Another key aspect is the use of digital simulations, which reduce testing times and optimise performance before physical production.
The application of the agile method to hardware development demonstrates that, with the right approach, its principles can be exploited to obtain greater flexibility and responsiveness even in complex contexts.

3. Agile for cultural transformation

One of the key elements in the success of the agile approach is its ability to permeate the entire organisation. Often, companies successfully implement agile methods in their development teams, achieving significant improvements in terms of speed and quality, yet if the rest of the company continues to operate using traditional management models, they risk creating a misaligned ecosystem. To maximise the value of being agile, the entire company structure needs to be consistent with this approach.
One key factor in this process is leadership. When managers and executives truly embrace an agile mindset, creating an environment that encourages autonomy and experimentation, teams can work more effectively. This means having a mindset that is based on collaboration and removing barriers, rather than tightly controlling processes. The company structure also plays a fundamental role. For an organisation to be truly agile, it needs to implement practices that support an iterative and adaptive model, aligning budgeting, governance and resource allocation from a viewpoint of continuous experimentation. In this way, teams don’t need to deal with organisational barriers that slow them down, rather they can work in an environment that fosters agility. Another important aspect is a change mindset. Agile is not a static method; it is a principle that helps deal with uncertainty and promotes continuous improvement. Companies that are able to successfully integrate this philosophy into their corporate culture create a more dynamic work environment in which teams have the incentive to innovate and can respond more quickly to market needs. Organisations that extend the agile mindset beyond the confines of individual teams can gain a significant competitive advantage by being able to meet market needs more effectively.

More than twenty years on, the Agile Manifesto is still an important reference point for any organisation that wants to innovate and improve their processes. However, to fully exploit its potential, organisations need to go beyond simply applying practices and frameworks, and focus on creating an environment that fosters agility. Organisations that manage to successfully integrate the agile approach into their processes, strategies and culture can build a more responsive, collaborative and value-driven business. It’s not simply a matter of adopting agile methods, it means being agile across the entire organisation.

Bibliography:

¹. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/its-coming-home-the-return-of-agile-hardware-product-development
². https://hbr.org/2018/05/agile-at-scale
³. https://agilemanifesto.org/
⁴. Sammicheli Paolo: Scrum for Hardware Explained: Achieving Industrial Agility