Companies are not yet using the full potential of agile methods

Agile working practices are already widespread in companies in German-speaking countries. But there is still a lot of catching up to do in many areas. This is shown in a recent study by the management and technology consultancy BearingPoint. Companies in Austria and Germany were surveyed for this.

More than 90% stated that they use agile methods, primarily in the IT area (87%) and at team level (95%). A cross-team deployment (58%) and deployment at the strategic level (40%) followed at a greater distance.

The companies surveyed cited increased flexibility (82%) and speed (68%) as drivers of agile transformation.

The greatest potential for the increased use of agile methods is seen in the areas of production & logistics (55%), purchasing (52%) and legal (33%). This valuation was carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises (up to 250 employees) and larger companies (250 employees or more) without any significant differences.

Corporate culture is the biggest hurdle to transformation (69%). The interaction between agile and traditional projects (55%) and cross-departmental cooperation (52%) were cited as further challenges.

The establishment of an agile culture (57%), the use of agile coaches (49%) and the strengthening of self-responsibility (46%) are named as the three most important actions for increasing the success of agile transformations.

The study also showed that more agile forms of organization lead to more innovative strength.

Here you can read the BearingPoint press release in German.