At the beginning of this course, we discussed what it means for an organization to be agile in a business or operational sense. As we explored agile project management in greater detail, we have also considered the forces which either foster or restrain the use of agile approaches. For this final individual written assignment, students are asked to consider what are the characteristics of organizations which are most likely to adopt and regularly use agile methods successfully. Can you define the ideal “agile organization”, which for this assignment is one which is suitably responsive to a turbulent environment but is also capable of using agile frameworks such as Scrum, XP or Kanban successfully for suitable projects? [Please note the particulars of this definition! It binds together the two dimensions of agility we have discussed in this course: 1) Organizational or business agility and 2) commitment to use agile project management approaches for initiatives involving great uncertainty and innovation. You will find the term “agile organization” used to mean different things in other sources. Take care if you try to use them for this assignment!]
In a three page paper (using the standard assignment template), you must describe:
1. The characteristics of an organization’s culture which would support the use of agile methods throughout the organization.
2. The management structure (if any).
3. Human capital management policies such as recruitment and compensation.
4. Common behavioral traits of managers, leaders and employees working on project teams.
Ideally, you would be able to find an example of an existing organization which exemplifies at least part of your vision of an agile organization. You may identify particular industries or types of organizations (government, non-profit, etc.) which you feel would be more conducive to the use of agile methods.
Clearly describe the characteristics of the ideal agile organization for each of the four dimensions listed above in the bullets.
Describe a type of organization or provide an example of an existing one which meets at least some of the characteristics you have described.
Examples taken from third party sources are cited, and a reference list is appended to the paper. If you decide to write about terms used in any of the course lessons, it is permissible to simply state that.
Provide a well-organized and well-written paper which aligns to the theme of the assignment. Students may, but do not have to, use section headings and bullets to organize their content.