Technology is evolving at a breakneck speed today, especially with the advent of AI. Organizations need to stay on their toes to remain viable and relevant. Digitization has been around for some time, and now the imperative is to choose the right digitization technique to transform organizational processes. This is where one of the most sought-after, successful approaches to digitization comes up—the agile model.

What is agile? 

The waterfall model of software development became saturated a long time back. Rigid, inflexible, and protracted, it only resulted in frustration and inefficiency for stakeholders. As an alternative, the agile model arose. This model was born with the launch of the Agile Manifesto in 2001. Agile software development challenged the status quo.

Agile refers to a set of tenets that insist on an iterative, stakeholder-feedback-driven, flexible, cohesive, cross-functional-team-based approach to software development and project management. 

Frequent evaluation of plans, outputs, and results to improve them continuously after each iteration is another core tenet of the agile model. Agile practices aim to completely overhaul the way an organization functions. 

What is digital transformation? 

The advent of the internet and associated technologies initiated a shift from paperwork to digitized, automated, computer-driven business processes.

Digital transformation is the use of technology to implement a cultural shift from analog to digital, accelerate business process execution, and overhaul business processes from the ground up. 

Digital transformation fundamentally reinvents the way stakeholders approach business process execution.

What is agile digital transformation? 

Agile transformation is the use of agile principles to implement digital transformation in an organization. The tenets of the agile model serve to supercharge the processes in an organization. Focusing on continuous, feedback-driven improvement, agile software development and agile project management overhaul the way you carry out processes from the ground up.

Why do we need agile digital transformation?

Conventional approaches to digital transformation have long been outmoded. As mentioned earlier, the waterfall model, among other models, is inefficient when it comes to iterative development and incorporating stakeholder feedback. This makes it an economically nonviable endeavor. Using the agile model in digital transformation weeds out these inefficiencies and guarantees a high speed of execution with high-quality outputs in an affordable way.  

Reasons why we need agile digital transformation 

The agile model guarantees speedy delivery and outputs with high quality. This model delivers the optimal results in a short span of time compared to the protracted time frames of the waterfall model.

What does agile digital transformation emphasize? 

Agile digital transformation emphasizes the following principles:

• Continuous improvement

• Customer focus

• Flexibility

• Speed

Agile methods make you rethink the way your organization functions. Software development teams using agile practices, adhering to the Agile Manifesto, always challenge the status quo. Agile development turbocharges the software development life cycle. Agile teams are far more efficient than conventional teams when it comes to software development, project management, and digital transformation.

Types of agile digital transformation  

Agile digital transformation can be classified into four major types:

1. Process-oriented

2. Technology-oriented

3. Customer-focused

4. Business-model-oriented

Type 1: Process-oriented agile digital transformation 

Getting the most out of an organization's processes results in enhanced productivity, efficiency, and throughput. In process-oriented agile digital transformation, agile principles are harnessed to reengineer processes from the ground up. Making processes more pliable and adaptable to change is what you have to do here. Business needs are constantly changing and evolving, and you need to adapt to this constant change.

How can businesses adapt to constant change? 

1.  Automate workflows 

What was done manually before should now be done automatically. Workflows—sets of actions executed in particular instances, conditions, and time frames—are engineered and automated using agile methodologies so that once the necessary inputs are provided, the workflows will provide the desired outputs in a fraction of the time compared to manual execution.

A sample use case for workflow automation 

For example, say that an organization processes orders manually. This leads to extended delivery time frames and customer dissatisfaction due to increased wait times. This is because of the human element involved. How can this be tackled? By applying agile digital transformation approaches, the order processing can be done digitally through workflow automation. This reduces the human factor involved, leading to shorter delivery turnaround times and increased customer satisfaction.

2.  Adopt lean principles  

Lean principles focus on tangible benefits with an emphasis on waste reduction. These principles strive to holistically improve the quality of outputs while minimizing redundancies. Adopting lean principles will facilitate the economical realization of process-oriented agile transformation in your organization.

Type 2:  Technology-oriented agile digital transformation 

Harnessing cutting-edge technologies to implement agile digital transformation is one of the most recent approaches. There are a multitude of technologies prevalent today that can assist in the technology-oriented overhauling of organizational practices.

Technologies for implementing agile digital transformation 

Cloud computing 

Cloud computing is a technology that provides access to computing resources, such as databases, storage devices, web servers, servers, analytics solutions, networks, business intelligence solutions, and software over the internet (this is referred to as the cloud). Cloud computing opens up a myriad of possibilities for those seeking an economical way to implement digital transformation in their organizations. It is a pay-as-you-go model, allowing you to pay only for the resources you utilize.

Advantages you gain by using cloud computing for  your organization's digital transformation

1. A vast array of computing resources

These are only gated behind a fee.

2. Universal access

You gain access to computing resources from anywhere in the world, provided you have an internet connection and a valid subscription.

3. Cost efficiency

You only use the resources you actually need, and you need only pay for the resources you actually use.

4. Automatic scalability

Most cloud computing providers provide you with the option of automatic scalability, meaning upscaling or downscaling the resources you need based upon your requirements. The only caveat is the subscription cost (calculated based upon your usage) that you pay to the cloud computing provider.

5. Improved collaboration

Cloud computing allows your teams to collaborate with each other easily as they are all connected by unified platforms connected through the internet (or even internal networks).

AI 

AI-powered programs can now create images, generate text, and solve problems by themselves. AI-powered tech can be leveraged for agile digital transformation. AI can easily address the rapid pace of change in the contemporary business environment.

Advantages you gain by leveraging AI for  your organization's digital transformation

1.  Fast decision-making 

Sifting through vast troves of data and applying data science techniques to generate insightful reports requires the dedicated effort of data scientists, and this takes a long time and costs a lot. Yes, gaining insights from data is a fruitful endeavor, but it is time-consuming when done manually. AI can assist in rapid decision-making by doing all the heavy lifting by itself. Contemporary data analytics can be rapidly applied to enormous datasets for quick interpretation by AI. AI easily, quickly, and automatically infers patterns, insights, and statistics from data, saving time and money.

2.  Improved stakeholder interactions 

Artificial assistants like chatbots can play the role of real human support agents. Chatbots provide automatic solutions and save the organization from expending humanpower on support. They also provide resolutions quickly, improving the quality of the interactions that stakeholders have with the organization.

3.  Process automation 

AI can rapidly automate mundane, repetitive processes in an organization. This frees up employees and allows them to concentrate on more important, creative tasks.

4. Product innovation 

Insights generated from raw data by AI can be used as stimuli for fostering product innovation. AI suggests new features that can improve efficiency, and innovating in this regard ensures that the product always stays relevant, even in the face of stiff competition.

5. AI-driven software engineering 

True to the principles of agile digital transformation, AI-driven software engineering can ship high-quality code based upon requirements in a fraction of the time it takes a traditional developer to code. The software engineering process is hastened, and the quality of the code is assured with AI leading the way.  

6.  Preemptive risk management 

AI-driven analytics predicts potential vulnerabilities and risks before they even materialize. When an organization is transforming digitally, this is of great assistance in ensuring that processes function without interruption.

Machine learning 

Automaton-driven learning—machine learning (ML)—is all the rage today. Instead of providing instructions at each stage of a process, we allow the machines to do the learning all by themselves. This can be either human-involved supervised learning or unsupervised learning. In both cases, it is a win-win situation as machines—computing systems—learn all by themselves through ML techniques. Like AI, ML ensures speed, quality, efficiency, increased throughput, and data insights. ML is a powerful tool in the arsenal of an organization undergoing agile digital transformation.

Low-code  platforms

As an agile, rapid application development methodology, low-code development means the usage of minimal coding to develop applications. Low-code platforms offer a drag-and-drop interface to build applications. If you need to implement complicated custom logic, then you can do it by using the easy-to-learn scripting languages offered by the low-code platform.  

Leveraging contemporary technologies forms the crux of overhauling an enterprise and fully digitizing it to effectuate agile digital transformation. An agile method like low-code development is an apt choice for empowering team members during the digital transformation of an organization. Agile methods are far more efficient than traditional project management frameworks.

Type 3:  Customer-focused agile digital transformation 

Customers are the lifeblood of any organization. Revolving around the customers' interactions with the product, organizations should prioritize empathizing with and listening to their customers. With each iteration, agile practices seek to incorporate customer feedback, resulting in a transformation that is beneficial in the long run.   

Type 4:  Business-model-oriented agile digital transformation 

The first step here is to encapsulate the organization's essential requirements from a business standpoint. Then, the agile practices are designed in such a way as to address the organization's business requirements and processes from the bottom up. Market dynamics are constantly evolving, and it is imperative that businesses adapt to these shifting dynamics.   

How to implement agile digital transformation

Here are some pointers to consider before implementing agile digital transformation in your organization. 

1. Establish well-defined objectives and an implementation strategy 

Establish a clear goal and clearly define the outcomes. Define the entire scope of what you've set out to build. Consult the stakeholders to know their expectations of the deliverables.

2. Evangelize an agile culture organization-wide 

In order for agile digital transformation to be successful, everyone in the organization must be aware of it to eliminate silos. Agile transformation emphasizes cross-functional team collaboration, and an agile effort can only sustain itself if all the teams are on the same page.

3.  Finalize metrics 

These metrics will determine what your end goals are and how they can be quantitatively achieved.

4.  Implement in increments with constant customer collaboration 

Each prototype must build upon its predecessor, with feedback from the customers solicited for every deployment. Use a minimum viable product to ensure that the right product is built the right way.

5.  Choose the right agile digital transformation technologies 

There are a lot of agile digital transformation technologies available today. To get the optimal results, the right technology needs to be leveraged. This is done after a thorough evaluation of the objectives to ensure that the pertinent technology is harnessed in the right domain.

6.  Gather insights from operational data 

Insights from data will let you become aware of potential bottlenecks that might throttle your organizational processes. Using these insights generated from operational data, you can identify inefficiencies and implement remedial measures to tackle challenges effectively.

7.  Experiment, learn, and optimize continuously 

Experimenting is the key to innovating. Deploy new techniques and experiments to understand what works and what doesn't. Based upon the results, optimize your prototypes so that they are built in the right way.

8.  Manage changes and evangelize adoption 

Teams should be open to accepting the fact that changes in execution can be introduced at any stage of the prototype's evolution. The attitude of teams must be to welcome change, not resist it.

9.  Evaluate, assess, and iterate 

Each deliverable must be thoroughly evaluated to gauge its efficacy. If changes need to be made, then they must be done and validated by all the pertinent stakeholders. Iterations should improve upon each other, and showstopping defects must be immediately resolved before the prototype is validated as good to go. The intent is to incrementally improve the deliverables and validate them for each iteration.

The benefits of agile digital transformation 

1. A faster time to market 

What took ages to accomplish with previous approaches only takes a fraction of the time with agile digital transformation. Deliverables can be shipped much faster, resulting in reduced turnaround times and a faster time to market.

2. Increased flexibility and adaptability 

Conventional approaches like the waterfall model are rigid because when you need to make changes, you have to return to the drawing board and redesign the entire process from the ground up. The agile model, on the other hand, offers increased flexibility and adaptability because changes can be implemented in the deliverables at any stage. The iterative nature of the agile process means that incorporating changes is a hassle-free endeavor.

3.  Increased throughput 

Focusing on rapid delivery, the agile model ensures that you ship products much faster than in other approaches. The productivity of your teams increases multifold.  

4.  A higher ROI 

Digital transformation done the agile way delivers a higher ROI. Feature-driven development that is not bogged down by processes ensures that the delivered software is bloat-free and full of utility for the end users. The agile model sets up all stakeholders, from users to IT teams, for success.

5.  Improved risk mitigation 

Incident management is a whole endeavor unto itself in traditional transformation approaches, requiring dedicated teams to look into production issues and resolve them with the utmost haste. The agile approach, on the other hand, facilitates quick fixes of critical issues as teams can quickly iterate upon the evolving deliverables.

6. An enhanced customer experience 

Quick turnaround times ensure that the customers are satisfied with the results they see. If they have any concerns, you can alleviate these by immediately implementing changes in the next iteration of the deliverable. This translates to an enhanced customer experience.

7. Enhanced product quality 

Continuous improvement means that the deliverables are enhanced regularly. This leads to high-quality outputs, and the transformation of processes results in workflows of exceptional quality.

8.  Supercharged organizational teams 

The agile model maximizes the cross-functional collaboration capabilities of teams, with no more silos. This method disrupts the conventional ways of working so much that teams get supercharged and collaborate extensively to effect organization-wide digital transformation.

9.   Business agility

In agile approaches, an enterprise is always receptive to the changing needs of the dynamic economic and industrial markets. Enterprises can quickly adapt to rapid change and ensure their survivability by leveraging agile technologies.

10.  Continuous learning 

With the agile model, all the stakeholders are involved with all the digital transformation processes at any given stage, opening a huge window of opportunity for them to learn from their experiences during the transformation. Compare this with other methods where once a sign-off occurs, the stakeholder is never allowed to revisit that stage of the transformation.

Using low-code platforms for agile digital transformation 

Earlier in this blog, we saw multiple different technologies that can effect digital transformation in an enterprise. Of special note among these are low-code platforms. Low-code platforms empower anybody with any level of programming expertise to effectuate digital transformation in an enterprise. You can be an expert programmer or a novice line-of-business user; low-code platforms empower you regardless of your competency level.

What are the advantages of using low-code platforms for agile digital transformation?  

The universal appeal of low-code platforms and their utility in agile approaches make them a viable choice for agile digital transformation.

1.  Agility and flexibility 

Low-code platforms are agile and flexible. Their methodologies and development approaches naturally synergize with the core tenets of the agile model. For example, if you need to make a change midway through the development cycle, you can easily implement it in the next iteration. User feedback can also be easily and readily incorporated into the deliverables as and when it arises. Low-code platforms make change management (plus the entire development approach) agile and flexible.

2.  Data digitization

Most low-code platforms offer ways to digitize data. Compare this to manual data management; you gain a lot of time and save costs by using the data assimilation technologies provided by low-code platforms. For example, to collect information from stakeholders, you can create forms in low-code platforms by dragging and dropping the desired form elements, like the name, contact number, and email. With manual effort or traditional development approaches, this task of collecting information is laborious because creating forms becomes a separate endeavor in its own regard.

3. Cost efficiency 

Creating functional software once took scores of developers but can now be accomplished by a single individual armed with a low-code platform. Also, citizen developers can digitally transform organizational processes by using the user-friendly, drag-and-drop solution construction methodologies made available by low-code platforms.

The dependency of line-of-business users on the already overworked IT teams is reduced with low-code platforms, enabling the IT teams to concentrate on more pressing and challenging tasks instead of being bogged down with mundane ones. By freeing up IT teams and empowering business users, these platforms save your employees a lot of time, translating to lower costs.

4. The ability to integrate with legacy systems 

Other digital transformation approaches are rigid when it comes to interfacing with legacy architecture. With many enterprises relying on legacy systems before transitioning to today's digitized mechanisms, it becomes imperative that their digital transformation solution is capable of integrating with legacy systems easily. Low-code platforms, due to their modular nature, can be integrated with a vast repertoire of legacy systems—a testament to their versatile capabilities.

5. Automatic scalability 

Organizations change in size all the time. Some might grow, and some might endure fluctuations in their user base. Conventional digital transformation technologies need to be reengineered every time there's a change in the user base. With low-code platforms, the scenario is completely different. Low-code platforms scale automatically with a changing user base, making them a reliable way to achieve digital transformation in your organization.

These advantages make low-code platforms suitable to be harnessed for the digital transformation of contemporary organizations. With low-code platforms, you get to save time and money and empower all of your business stakeholders to take part in digital transformation.  

If you're looking for a low-code platform that can redefine the way you implement digital transformation in your organization, consider evaluating the ManageEngine AppCreator platform.