Agile methodology: What it is and how to use it in business

Published Wednesday 5 November 2025

Table of contents

• What is agile methodology?
• Which business types can benefit from agile methodologies?
• The 12 agile principles in business
• Different types of agile frameworks
• Benefits of using agile techniques in business
• Traditional vs agile project management methodologies
• How to implement agile methodologies in your business
• FAQs on agile methodology

Key takeaways

• Implement agile methodology by starting with comprehensive team training on core principles, selecting an appropriate framework like Scrum or Kanban based on your business needs, and forming small cross-functional teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

• Organize work into short iterative cycles called sprints (typically 2-4 weeks) that allow you to deliver working solutions regularly, gather customer feedback continuously, and adapt quickly to changing requirements rather than following rigid long-term plans.

• Measure agile success using key performance indicators such as sprint velocity, team satisfaction surveys, cycle time for task completion, and quality metrics from customer feedback to track progress and identify areas for improvement.

• Utilize digital project management tools like Jira, Trello, or Asana to support agile practices by creating visual workflow boards, tracking sprint progress, centralizing project information, and enabling effective collaboration even in remote team environments.

What is agile methodology?

Agile methodology is a flexible approach that completes work through short, iterative cycles instead of long, linear phases. It prioritizes people over processes, working solutions over documentation, and adapting to change over following rigid plans.

Agile is different from traditional project management in several ways:

• Deliver work in short sprints instead of one large launch
• Gather regular customer feedback to shape the final product
• Collaborate in cross-functional teams throughout the process

You plan, design, develop, test, and review in cycles when you use agile methodology.

Which business types can benefit from agile methodologies?

Agile methodologies work best for businesses that need flexibility and rapid adaptation. You can apply agile principles across most industries, particularly when projects have:

• Uncertain requirements: When you're not sure exactly what the final product should look like
• Ongoing deliverables: When you need to release updates or improvements regularly
• Close customer engagement: When customer feedback directly shapes your product or service

Industries using agile include:

• Software development and technology
• Engineering and construction
• Marketing and advertising
• Finance and banking
• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
• Aerospace and government sectors

Agile principles help your team adapt quickly to change and deliver value in small, regular steps.

The 12 agile principles in business

The 12 agile principles form the foundation of agile methodology, originally outlined in the Agile Manifesto. You can use these principles to guide your team’s work, decisions, and how you deliver value to your customers:

1. Early and continuous delivery

Deliver value to your customers early, then keep improving it using their feedback.

2. Responding to changing requirements

Embrace change, even late in a project. Responding to your customers’ needs and market shifts helps you innovate and stay competitive.

3. Frequent delivery

Regularly improve your products or services to increase quality, reduce risk, gather feedback early, and stay competitive.

4. Close collaboration

Collaborate across your business by connecting regularly, for example, with daily standup meetings. This encourages transparency, helps your team make decisions, and keeps everyone focused on your project goals.

5. Motivated team members

Motivated teams find creative solutions and produce higher-quality work. You can motivate your team by creating a supportive environment and using tools to assess and improve your workplace.

6. Face-to-face communication

Direct communication unifies a team and helps to minimize misunderstandings. Cross-functional teams that regularly connect in person can find solutions and share expertise quickly.

7. Working product is the primary measure of progress

Focus on delivering tangible results. Regularly review your products or services to make sure they meet your customers’ needs and your business goals. This helps you build trust and stay competitive.

8. Sustainable development

Use agile frameworks to support ongoing improvement. Build a workflow that lets your team work at a steady pace, supporting a healthy work-life balance and reducing the risk of burnout.

9. Technical excellence and good design

Strive for technical excellence and good design so your team can adapt quickly, create scalable solutions, and focus on your customers.

10. Embracing simplicity

Keep things simple and eliminate unnecessary work. This helps you focus on the tasks that add real value for your customers and your business.

11. Self-organizing teams

Empower your teams to make decisions, innovate, and take ownership of their work. Encourage self-organizing teams to help your projects succeed and use your resources effectively.

12. Regular reflection and improvement

One of the main benefits of agile working is continuous improvement. Set aside time to reflect on your successes and find ways to work more efficiently.

Different types of agile frameworks

You can use different agile frameworks to plan, manage, and deliver your projects.

Scrum

Use Scrum to tackle complex problems and manage different tasks in your business.

Scrum organises work into short cycles with specific deadlines, called "sprints," that usually last two to four weeks.

The framework assigns clear roles – such as the product owner, scrum master, and development team – and encourages collaboration.

You can deliver results and adjust priorities quickly in a structured yet flexible environment. Review your work after each sprint to respond to changes in the market or your customers’ needs.

Regular collaboration takes time and commitment from your whole team. Keep your long-term objectives in sight, as sprints can sometimes encourage a focus on short-term goals.

Kanban

The Japanese word "kanban" means "signboard" or "visual card." Kanban organises tasks into visual cues on a physical or digital board, showing when tasks are started, underway, or complete.

A kanban board gives you a clear overview of work underway to achieve your business goals. It helps your team visualize workflow, track progress, identify bottlenecks, and centralize information on work deliverables. By showing work in progress, your team is encouraged to complete tasks before starting new ones.

Kanban depends on your team being organized in their time management. Otherwise, your team could struggle with task overload and the minimalist kanban structure.

Extreme programming (XP)

Extreme Programming (XP) is a less-regimented agile framework that emphasizes regular releases of work in short sprints.

Extreme Programming (XP) helps you deliver results and make changes quickly. Work in short bursts to produce quality output, meet your customers’ needs, and keep your product backlog low. Rapid change can also reduce costs by avoiding major updates, which helps you manage risks like cybercrime.

While XP enables continuous improvement and fast project development, XP can:

• Be resource intensive
• Take lots of effort, collaboration and creativity, and rapid feedback from the customer to be successful

Benefits of using agile techniques in business

Agile methodologies deliver measurable benefits that improve both team performance and business outcomes:

• Faster adaptation: Teams respond quickly to market changes and customer feedback
• Quicker value delivery: Regular releases mean customers see results sooner, boosting satisfaction
• Higher quality outputs: Iterative testing and refinement catch issues early
• Better team communication: Daily collaboration improves relationships with stakeholders
• Reduced project risk: Short sprints identify problems before they become costly

Traditional vs agile project management methodologies

Traditional project management follows a linear, step-by-step approach called the "waterfall method." Work flows in one direction through fixed phases: research, planning, design, development, then launch.

Agile project management uses a cyclical approach with repeated short cycles called "sprints." Teams continuously plan, build, test, and review throughout the project.

Key differences:

• Plan in detail upfront with traditional methods; adapt plans as you go with agile
• Deliver everything at the end with traditional methods; deliver working pieces regularly with agile
• Resist changes once started with traditional methods; embrace changes based on feedback with agile
• Work to fixed deadlines with traditional methods; use flexible timelines and regular milestones with agile

How to implement agile methodologies in your business

Implementing agile methodologies transforms how your business manages projects and delivers value to customers. Success requires structured training, cross-functional teams, defined roles, and iterative work processes that create faster, more responsive operations.

1. Educate and train your team

Team education builds the foundation for successful agile adoption. Start with comprehensive training that covers:

• Agile fundamentals: Core principles and how they differ from traditional methods
• Role definitions: What each team member's responsibilities will be
• Process overview: How sprints, reviews, and iterations work in practice
• Tool training: Software and systems your team will use daily

Run an introductory workshop using real examples from your industry. Follow up with hands-on training sessions where your team practises agile techniques on small projects.

2. Choose an agile framework

Find an agile framework that best suits your business needs by assessing the strengths of each framework against your business goals and team capabilities.

Keep in mind the resource requirements for these frameworks. For example, Extreme Programming (XP) requires a robust team and regular collaboration.

3. Form cross-functional teams

Cross-functional teams help you optimize collaboration, creativity and problem-solving in your projects.

Create small teams with a mix of skills and expertise. This helps your agile teams manage different parts of a project independently and access expertise quickly.

To help these teams succeed, support and foster a work culture that encourages collaboration, learning, and self-management.

4. Define roles and responsibilities

Clearly define roles within your agile teams. Typical roles in Scrum include the product owner, scrum master, and development team.

Make sure everyone knows their responsibilities and how they will contribute to your team’s success.

5. Plan work in iterations

Divide your project into chunks and plan the work in sprints or iterations using your chosen framework. Use tools like a digital kanban board to help your team work in an agile way.

Review your work regularly to share progress, gather feedback, and make changes. Use these reviews to find ways to improve.

Measure your success with agile KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) help you track your team’s progress and the effectiveness of agile techniques.

Agile KPIs help you track team performance and project success. Key metrics include:

• Sprint burndown: Visual chart showing work completed versus time remaining in each sprint
• Sprint velocity: Average amount of work completed per sprint, indicating team productivity
• Team satisfaction: Regular surveys measuring team morale and process effectiveness
• Quality metrics: Customer feedback scores and defect rates in delivered work
• Cycle time: How long it takes to complete individual tasks from start to finish

Track these metrics using project management software that creates automatic reports and dashboards for you.

Can software help manage agile teams?

Software gives agile teams plenty of support by using advancements in digital infrastructure like 5G, which is projected to enable US$12.3T of global economic output by 2035. The right digital tools can:

• Enable teams to develop and evolve agile practices
• Reduce administrative burdens
• Create opportunities for communication
• Store project and sprint information centrally
• Track your progress with visual support, such as a project dashboard or kanban

Some project management tools you can use for agile working are Jira, Trello, Asana, and Monday. Choose software that suits your team’s and business’s needs.

FAQs on agile methodology

Find answers to common questions about using agile methodology in your business.

Is agile suitable for non-IT projects?

While agile workflows are commonly used for IT projects, they're also useful in other industries where teams need to manage and execute complex projects. These include:

• Marketing and advertising
• Manufacturing
• Engineering and construction
• Finance and banking
• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals

Agile methodologies can be used for projects that require planning, design, testing and release over a product or service lifecycle.

How can you manage agile teams remotely?

Although agile working favours face-to-face connection and collaboration, some best practices for managing remote teams using agile methodologies are to:

• Hold regular, open communication over video, phone and messaging to foster collaboration
• Use digital collaboration tools like Zoom, Asana, and Google Meets
• Ensure each team member understands the goals and outcomes of each sprint
• Set clear expectations for each team and team member
• Acknowledge achievements and completion of tasks and goals
• Encourage autonomy and flexibility in your team to achieve the tasks and outcomes of each sprint

Can sole traders use agile methodologies?

While agile typically applies to teams and larger projects, you can still work with an agile mindset and approach as a sole trader.

• Choose the agile methodology that best suits your business,
• Organize your tasks into sprints or iterations
• Focus on continuous improvement and adaptation

You could use a digital tool that guides your agile working and provides visual support, such as a kanban board.

What are the main principles of agile methodology?

The agile methodology is guided by four core values: valuing individuals and interactions over processes and tools, focusing on working products over comprehensive documentation, prioritizing customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a rigid plan.

What's the difference between agile and traditional project management?

The main difference is flexibility. Traditional project management follows a strict, linear path from start to finish. Agile is cyclical and iterative, so you can adapt to changes and feedback throughout your project, often leading to a better final product.