The term “agility” comes from the Latin agilis, which can be translated as “dynamic, swift, and fervent.” In general linguistic use, agility now means the ability to adjust to changes flexibly, quickly, and proactively.
Agility in a work context is defined less clearly. The term has been used by the scientific community since the 1950s, but with various meanings. For instance, Talcott described the AGIL paradigm (adaptation, goal attainment, integration, latency) for social, self-preserving systems.
According to the 2017 report by the SD Learning Consortium in New York, agility in a business context is based on four key characteristics: delighting customers, descaling work, enterprise-wide agility, and nurturing an agile culture.
The Agile Business Consortium offers a similar definition. Here, agility is the “ability of an organization to adapt quickly to market changes, internally and externally; respond rapidly and flexibly to customer demands; adapt and lead change in a productive and cost-effective way without compromising quality; [and] continuously be at a competitive advantage.”
Agile working typically involves small interdisciplinary teams, short feedback loops, an iterative approach, as well as incremental improvements and flat hierarchies.
The Agile Manifesto represented a milestone in the spread of agile working. It comes from software development, however, the four principles presented can also be applied to agile working in other industries:
- Individuals and interactions are more important than processes and tools
- Functional software is more important than comprehensive documentation
- Collaboration with the customer is more important that contract negotiations
- Responding to change is more important than following a plan