Anyone can use Agile, because it is simply a set of principles and ideas about how to work together.
Agile encompasses both a mindset (philosophy) and processes or practices. The latter are less important; all processes must be tailored to unique situations, and practices adjusted to suit the needs of the moment. The agile mindset, on the other hand, is practically immutable, although practically impossible to embody perfectly - it’s like the Ten Commandments, something to strive for. That we fail sometimes simply means we are human. 😛
When I worked at the Department of Homeland Security I designed advanced program management courses and managed a large curriculum using techniques borrowed from the principles behind agile software development. We were building courseware, not software, and there was no one to tell me I was doing it wrong, so I simply borrowed ideas that worked well and applied them. (You can read details about our approach in this paper.)
In 2017 I decided to switch over to the software realm, to learn more about how agile works in its native habitat. What surprised me the most was how frequently people rejected the concept that agile worked super well outside of the tech space, and how often people said I was not doing real agile before, or was doing it wrong. 😱
“Hold on,” I thought. “I created a successful advanced course in six months which would have normally taken 18 months, and curated a large curriculum with these concepts and approaches - what’s wrong about that?”
I began to realize that when you apply agile outside of tech, the adaptations you must make cause the approach to appear foreign to people in tech, so they reject it and label it unagile. But agile is simply a set of ideas, which is a bedrock concept in the book I co-authored, Agile 2. The paradox is that when you venture outside of tech with agile ideas, people in those other fields reject them because they think they “only apply to software development.” It’s a Catch 22!
This debate is actually immaterial because Agile concepts are powerful and can be used anywhere, no matter what anyone says. For example, my friend Ondřej Dvořák runs a company that helps law firms agilize, and another friend, Megan Torrance, runs her instructional design operation using agile and even wrote a book about it. The Business Agility Institute has innumerable examples of agile applications well beyond software - in HR (aka people operations), sales, marketing, finance, etc.
Don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself - Agile is everywhere!
Be careful though. As Lisa says, "Agile concepts are powerful and can be used anywhere, no matter what anyone says"
But industry is littered with companies that try to use Agile approaches and either failed or had very poor results. The reason is that Agile is painted by the Agile community as something simple - almost toy-like - but in reality, true agility is about having the right kinds of leadership. And that is not a simple matter.
That is why Agile 2's primary focus is on leadership styles, along with many other approaches. As Lisa will tell you, there is more to agility than having sticky notes. Agility arises from behavioral norms, which are strongly influenced by culture. Beware…