2023 has ushered in a transformative year for agilists, marked by a shift in the landscape of agility and Agile Coaching. Notable companies have reduced their tech workforces and downsized their agile coaching teams, leading to a perceived contraction in the agile community.
Conference attendance numbers have also dwindled in comparison to pre-pandemic times. Does this mean that agile methods are passé?
It’s crucial to clarify that this does not signify the obsolescence of agile methods.
A recently released report by the Scrum Alliance and the Business Agility Institute sheds light on the evolving skills demanded by companies. The report indicates a decreased need for specific Agile Coach roles, and instead and a growing demand for skills such as those possessed by ScrumMasters, Product Owners, Project Managers, and Business Analysts.
Source: Scrum Alliance / Business Agility Institute Report, October 2023, “Skills in the New World of Work”
The business world is on a multi-year journey towards achieving enterprise agility. At our recently concluded Lean+Agile DC 2023 conference, many senior leaders shared details of their organizations’ multi-year journeys towards enterprise agility.
Along with Jim Highsmith, we believe that this enterprise agility journey is a progression encompassing moving from team agility to portfolio agility and, eventually, to strategic agility.
In my kickoff message at the conference, I shared the “double s” curve below.
The “double s” curve model illustrates the shift in agility needs. While the requirement for agile coaching and specific agile methodologies might be waning, there is a surge in demand for skills that underpin true enterprise agility.
These include robust product management, agile engineering discipline, timeless lean management principles, and scaled innovation through AI-enhanced Agile practices.
To actualize this new era of enterprise agility, we at LitheSpeed introduced the Agile Value Management Office (Agile VMO) some years ago, and it has gained traction at several companies worldwide.
The VMO organizational construct facilitates a transition in multiple directions—shifting left towards business units, right towards agile engineering and DevSecOps, and up towards Lean management with agile budgeting, portfolio kanban, and dynamic strategy.
3 Essential Shifts, Enabled by the Agile VMO
If you are eager to lead your organization into this exciting new era of enterprise agility, we invite you to join an upcoming Certified Agile VMO Practitioner class.
Discover more about this operating model and learn how to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of agility.
Register Now: https://lithespeed.com/certified-agile-vmo-practitioner-ala-cvp/.
