Strategies for doing agile in a non-agile environment

Abstract

Background: Most companies practicing Agile are not fully Agile but instead they combine both Agile and traditional practices in their operations. It is not clear how these practices can be successfully used together in an organisation. Aims: We investigate practitioners' mitigation strategies related to the challenge of doing Agile in a non-Agile environment. Method: Strategies were collected during two studies, an online survey and an interactive workshop run at an Agile meetup and analysed thematically. Results: Strategies related to the wider organisation and not just software development. Two perspectives emerged from the data: an organisational and a change perspective. Five organisational themes were identified with Management and decision-making and Culture the two biggest themes. Nine change themes were identified, with Being open, Using specific approaches and Educating the biggest themes. Conclusions: Better understanding is needed of how Agile practitioners can accomplish bottom-up change in their organisation.