What do you do if your organization is struggling to find the right balance between agility and stability? (2024)

Last updated on Apr 19, 2024

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Assess Needs

2

Define Balance

3

Implement Frameworks

4

Train Teams

5

Monitor Progress

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6

Adapt Regularly

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Here’s what else to consider

Finding the right balance between agility and stability is a common challenge for organizations adopting Agile methodologies. Agile, a set of principles for software development under which requirements and solutions evolve through the collaborative effort of self-organizing cross-functional teams, promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continual improvement, and it encourages rapid and flexible response to change. However, this focus on flexibility can sometimes lead to instability if not properly managed. As someone in your organization looking to navigate these waters, your goal is to harmonize the dynamic nature of Agile with the need for predictability and control in your processes.

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  • Amit Anand Atlassian DevOps SME | DevOps Architect | CloudOps | SRE | DevSecOps | Agile | Software Delivery Automation| DevOps…

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What do you do if your organization is struggling to find the right balance between agility and stability? (8) What do you do if your organization is struggling to find the right balance between agility and stability? (9) What do you do if your organization is struggling to find the right balance between agility and stability? (10)

1 Assess Needs

Start by conducting a thorough assessment of your organization's needs. Understand the specific challenges you face in terms of project management, product development, and team dynamics. Talk to various stakeholders, from team members to customers, to gather insights into where your current approach may be lacking. This will help you identify the areas that require more stability without compromising on the agility that's necessary for innovation and responsiveness.

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  • Amit Anand Atlassian DevOps SME | DevOps Architect | CloudOps | SRE | DevSecOps | Agile | Software Delivery Automation| DevOps Service Delivery

    Find the right balance between agility and stability: Organizations need to balance the need for speed and adaptability with stability and consistency. There are various approaches to achieving this balance, such as creating cross-functional teams, using agile tools, or adopting a hybrid model that combines both agile and traditional practices.

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  • This balancing act demands:•Strategic Planning: Map out a strategy that incorporates agile practices without sacrificing the core stability essential for long-term success. •Clear Communication: Foster an environment where objectives, changes, and roles are communicated transparently. •Commitment to Continuous Improvement: Cultivate a mindset that views every setback as a learning opportunity and every success as a step towards further optimization. By evaluating your strategic needs, embracing adaptable methodologies, and nurturing a culture open to experimentation and feedback, your organization can thrive amidst uncertainty, leveraging agility for innovation while relying on stability for resilience.

  • Examine your organization's unique requirements and conditions before attempting to tackle the problem of striking a balance between stability and agility. Determine the elements such as organizational culture, internal procedures that are causing the obvious imbalance. Based on your sector and your strategic goals, ascertain the necessary degree of stability and agility. This assessment will assist you in creating a focused strategy to help your organization strike the ideal balance between stability and agility.

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  • If your organization is struggling to find the right balance between agility and stability, it's essential to foster open communication and collaboration between teams. Encourage dialogue to understand each team's perspective on the importance of agility and stability. Work together to identify areas where adjustments can be made to achieve a better balance. Implement processes that allow for quick adaptation to changes while also ensuring stability and reliability of systems. This might involve adopting agile practices such as iterative development and continuous integration alongside robust testing and monitoring procedures. Regularly review and reassess your approach to ensure it aligns with evolving business needs and industry trends

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  • I would have to analyze the organization's culture and existing structures. Are there rigid hierarchies hindering quick decision-making? Do information silos prevent effective collaboration across teams? Identifying cultural roadblocks that might be limiting the ability to embrace Agile principles. Addressing these cultural aspects alongside process improvements will pave the way for a more sustainable balance between agility and stability.

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2 Define Balance

Defining what balance means for your organization is critical. Consider what aspects of stability—such as regulatory compliance, quality control, or predictable release schedules—are non-negotiable. Simultaneously, identify agility factors—like the ability to pivot based on customer feedback or market changes—that are essential for your competitive edge. Striking a balance will involve making trade-offs; clearly understanding your priorities will guide these decisions.

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  • Balachandhiran Sankaran Transforming business for better outcomes by weaving holistic learning experiences | TBR Practitioner | SPC 6.0 | PSM 3 | PMP | AI/ML Digital Product Management

    I prefer reframing the question as balancing Stability and growth, not just Agility and stability. Agility offers flexibility to balance stability and growth. Instability may arise from - Busyness overshadowing business, - Feature factory mindset, and - Viewing Agility solely as speed. To address this, - Focus on customer problems adding value, - Empowering the team with strategic guidance - Agility is moving in right direction and learn swiftly from feedback. - Improving quality of thinking and product before scaling- Measuring progress towards outcomes. - Improving the flow of value by following Lean PrinciplesBalance is achieved by doing more with less and focusing on continuous learning!

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3 Implement Frameworks

Agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban can help structure your agile practices while allowing for stability. These frameworks provide a scaffold for iterative development and incorporate regular checkpoints for alignment and evaluation. By implementing these frameworks, you can maintain the agility of your teams while ensuring that there are stable processes in place to manage workflows and deliverables.

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  • Sahana Ramesh Strategy | Quality Engineering| Agile Program Management | Innovation | Transformation | Cloud computing | SMIEEE

    1. Foster open dialogue: Encourage discussions among stakeholders to understand the specific needs and challenges faced by the organization in balancing agility and stability.2. Implement a hybrid approach: Consider adopting a hybrid model that combines elements of Agile methodologies with more traditional project management practices. This approach allows for flexibility and adaptability while also providing a level of structure and predictability to ensure stability in key areas of the organization.3. Continuously evaluate and adjust: Regularly assess the effectiveness of the organization's approach to balancing agility and stability and be willing to make adjustments as needed.

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4 Train Teams

Training your teams is vital to ensure everyone understands how to work within the Agile frameworks you've adopted. This includes not just the developers or project managers, but everyone involved in the product lifecycle. Training helps inculcate a mindset that values both agility and stability, and equips individuals with the tools to navigate between the two as needed.

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  • Noor K.

    Make the training relevant to your team’s day-to-day experiences, so they can see how to apply these principles in real-world scenarios, helping your organisation to navigate changes smoothly and maintain its core strength.

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5 Monitor Progress

Constant monitoring of both agile and stable elements in your processes is necessary to ensure that the balance is maintained. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) and regular retrospectives to measure how well your organization is adhering to its defined balance. This ongoing evaluation will help you make informed adjustments and prevent any one aspect from overshadowing the other.

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6 Adapt Regularly

Lastly, remember that finding the right balance is not a one-time achievement; it's a continuous effort. As your organization grows and as market conditions change, you'll need to adapt your balance between agility and stability. Be open to feedback and willing to make changes to your approach. This adaptability is itself a core principle of Agile and is crucial for long-term success.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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  • Addressing the struggle between agility and stability involves implementing a flexible framework that supports both rapid change and sustained operations. Start by assessing current processes to identify bottlenecks and stability issues. Encourage cross-functional teams to collaborate, share knowledge, and innovate solutions. Focus on continuous improvement and adaptability, allowing for iterative changes while maintaining core stability. Implement Agile practices like Scrum or Kanban to manage workflow efficiently. Finally, foster a culture of open communication and feedback, enabling the organization to respond effectively to change while ensuring stable and reliable operations.

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  • Christopher Radones Software Delivery and Agile Coaching @Boost inc. | SaaS, Startups, Scale-ups, Enterprise

    1. Bring visibility to all current initiatives that are currently happening2. Ask the stakeholder 'Why should this be added in this sprint?'3. Make visible what the team is doing and then let the stakeholder decide on what can be dropped and let this person know the impact of this4. Confirm what will be dropped and the impact and then move forward

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  • Ademir Filho Business Agility | Kanban | Service Delivery Manager | IT Project Manager |

    What are the current value tour company bring to the market? Are the customers satisfied with it?And what market share is your company not involved? What value your customer is not having with you? Does it make sense to you to improve your product making the current experience better, or adding new things?Innovation is part of stability. They are not two separate things. Stability is when you don’t see things to do or improve, and that’s dangerous.

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  • Sahana Ramesh Strategy | Quality Engineering| Agile Program Management | Innovation | Transformation | Cloud computing | SMIEEE

    Finding the right balance between agility and stability can be challenging for organizations. In my opinion, a good approach is to adopt a hybrid model that combines agile methodologies with traditional stability practices. Encouraging open communication, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and regularly reassessing strategies can help strike a harmonious balance.

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