How to Achieve Enterprise Agility
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The corporate sector is experiencing a rise in agile analysis. Agile analysis, which was referred to as “the warm concept of business troubleshooting” by Modern Analyst, is often carried out by an agile team.1 Any big endeavor starts with the right mindset and the journey to achieving enterprise agility is no exception. The right environment needs to be created and it requires:
- A Commitment to Education and Training
- New Tools and Techniques
- Patient Transition and Cultural Change
Benefits of Agile Analysis at the Enterprise Level
Agile Analysis is becoming more prioritized within the corporate community for several reasons. Seventy-seven percent of Corporate Members indicated a faster time to market as the top imperative for an agile transformation2. According to the Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide, developed by IIBA in collaboration with Agile Alliance, agile business analysis uses continues feedback at all levels of planning to:
- Prioritize delivery
- Minimize Waste
- Increase customer value
Agile teams accomplish this by interpreting the constant flow of feedback and learning to prioritize work with enough speed to meet stakeholder needs. In turn, they enable their organization to quickly respond to change and capitalize on opportunities. They increase customer value without overspending. This “not only satisfies the client, but it also makes project teams more quality-oriented as they know that the product is the result of their efforts and skills.” 3
Support Agile Teams Through Intentional Upskilling
Most of the learning happens informally.4 However, companies that want the advantages agile analysis has to offer cannot afford to be complacent about their analysis professionals gaining agile skills informally. With any process or methodology implementation, practices will need to be adapted and localized to support agile teams.
To successfully achieve enterprise agility, organizations need to be intentional about empowering their agile teams by addressing emerging skills gaps and aligning training and development with business needs. In our recent virtual roundtable, Ali Cox from Netmind shared her Enterprise Transformation Methodology she uses to help businesses ranging in size, from a single team to enterprise level, implement agile successfully.
Providing agile skills to team members can be challenging without the help of subject matter experts or trainers who understand agile methodology and frameworks inside and out. A simpler and more cost-effective approach is to join a program that provides your organization with support and resources to build and upskill its internal professional business analysis capabilities, such as IIBA’s Global Corporate Program. Our program allows companies to network with global experts across various markets, drive development, growth, and more.
Learn more about IIBA’s Global Corporate Program and how it can enable your organization to best support its agile teams here.
Agile analysis helps companies take their ideas and make them a reality. It is how new ideas “are rapidly iterated, improved and deployed,” said Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO.4 When companies invest in agile and support their agile teams, they are simultaneously investing in the future of their organization.
Get Certified in Agile Analysis
Seventy-one percent of business analysis professionals practice agile approaches, and those certified in agile analysis earn up to sixteen percent5 more than their peers. Analysis professionals interested in specializing in agile analysis should take a look at the IIBA Agile Analysis Certification.
You might be interested to know
IIBA’s Global Corporate Program has the Agile Analysis Resources to help your organization get better results with your agile initiatives and enable it to quickly adapt to customer opportunities. Fill out the form below to learn about how IIBA’s Global Corporate Program can help support your Agile teams. A program manager will get back to you within 2 business days!
Reach out to a program manager now.
About The Author:
I find puzzles to be fascinating. To solve a puzzle, you start with one piece. Eventually, you gather more and find the perfect match. Solving a puzzle can be complex and timely, however, once the puzzle is solved, you are always left with a complete picture.
Being an account manager is similar to solving puzzles. I listen to problems current organizations are facing with the development of their current Business Analysis professionals, and provide recommendations based on their organizational needs.
Could I be your missing piece to help advance the practice of your current Business Analysts? If you are interested in seeing how I can assist with your puzzle, please reach out via LinkedIn or email me at sereena.kang@iiba.org.
Being an account manager is similar to solving puzzles. I listen to problems current organizations are facing with the development of their current Business Analysis professionals, and provide recommendations based on their organizational needs.
Could I be your missing piece to help advance the practice of your current Business Analysts? If you are interested in seeing how I can assist with your puzzle, please reach out via LinkedIn or email me at sereena.kang@iiba.org.
References:
1. Modern Analyst. https://www.modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/197/What-is-Agile-Analysis.aspx.
2, 4. IIBA Global Corporate Benchmark Survey Report - Business Analysis in an Agile Context (IIBA Corporate Member only resource)
3. Agile Testing Days. https://agiletestingdays.com/blog/5-main-benefits-of-agile-project-management/.
4. Steelcase. https://www.steelcase.com/eu-en/research/articles/topics/agile/six-ways-support-agile-teams/.
5. 2019 IIBA’s Global BA Salary Survey (IIBA Member only resource)