Agile for Innovation

What is Agility?

Business agility is a state of being – a mindset built on the desire to harness change for our competitive advantage.

Economic and cultural events over the last several decades have demonstrated again and again the futility of "following a plan" in the face of continuous and overwhelming change. Agile methodologies and frameworks provide the structure necessary to balance business value delivery needs with empowered teams to accelerate product delivery, increase project visibility, align business and IT strategies, and improve organizational culture.

Research from McKinsey & Company (2020) shows that a successful, holistic Agile transformation at an enterprise-level produces significant gains in several organizational outcomes:

Up to 30% increase in customer satisfaction

Up to 30% increase in Employee Engagement

30%-50% improvement in Operational Performance

20%-30% increase in Financial Performance

So how do we start?

Improving organizational agility takes time and commitment from all levels. Additionally, changing long-held beliefs about how products and teams should be managed requires courage to challenge our own ideologies and reflect on incremental steps towards improvement. It's hard...but the sustainability of our products and businesses depends on it!

Popular Agile frameworks for change include:

Scrum
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Kanban

Combining Agile frameworks with other innovation strategies like Design Thinking provides additional opportunities for organizations to improve their state of agility.

I came to the conclusion long ago that limits to innovation have less to do with technology or creativity than organizational agility. Inspired individuals can only do so much.

Ray Stata, Entrepreneur, Engineer, and Investor
Co-Author of "Global Stakes" and "The Innovators"

College of Innovation & Design Courses on Agile

Course Name	Term	Credit Hours	Learn More
ID 511 - Agile Product Management	Full Semester	3	View Syllabus
ID 705D - Agile Software Development	Full Semester	2	View Syllabus

View other interdisciplinary course offerings by the College of Innovation & Design

Agile at Wichita State

Team Learning

Agile courses and workshops focus heavily on team-based learning and collaboration. Self-managing, cross-functional teams are the backbone for innovative organizations succeeding in today's global economy. Students have opportunities to apply their Agile knowledge in industry-based innovation challenges, hack-a-thons, and co-facilitating community engagement exercises.

Professional Development

Agile courses through the College of Innovation & Design offer students additional opportunities for professional development. In addition to earning degree credits, students will have the option to pursue Scrum certifications through globally-recognized accrediting bodies.

Custom Workshops

Want to improve your business agility? We host hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that combine the power of Design Thinking and Agile methodologies for greater organizational success. Workshops and training courses are tailored to align teams around a shared vision, generate process improvements, and create roadmaps for success.