How to apply Agile in teams in a realistic and sustainable way?

How useful is Agile in today’s work teams? And when we talk about Agile, what are we really talking about?

In this article, I invite you to go through a practical guide to implement Agile methodology in work teams. I will do it from my experience as a Teamlead and currently as an Agile Consultant. With many years (more than 10) accompanying organizations, leaders and teams to transform their way of working and evolve towards more humane, sustainable and effective ways of doing things.

Agility has been with us for more than 20 years. To speak of it as a “trend” is an understatement. However, to speak of a new Agility – a practical Agility, connected to the context and focused on results rather than processes – does respond to a current need.

While it is true that the Agility of 20 years ago is transmuting, new trends are emerging, focusing more on results and actions than on standards and processes (does “People over Process” sound familiar to anyone?) What used to be pure framework and framework, today is transforming into a way of working with focus, adaptability and shared purpose.

Why apply Agile in work teams?

Didn’t we say Agile was dead?

The first question I asked myself when writing this article was: “why keep talking about Agile in 2025 if we have already killed it several times?”
And the answer is simple: when we talk about Agile as adaptability, value delivery, real collaboration, it is more alive than ever.

I am talking about Agile as a tool for adapting to complex environments, such as the ones we are already living in:

• AI disruption
• Geopolitical changes impacting the business
• Contexts with high uncertainty and competition

In these environments, the new Agile is not about following a plan. It’s about having a clear horizon in the short, medium and long term. It’s about responding to change with organizational intelligence.

In our Agile consulting, we see that applying Agile in teams remains key to navigating complexity without losing focus or humanity.

Real benefits of applying Agile in teams

When implemented well, Agile brings value to teams:

• Rapid adaptation to new business priorities
• Continuous delivery of value validated with users
• Smooth collaboration with stakeholders
• Learning and incremental improvement as part of everyday life
• Autonomy to make decisions aligned with the strategy

Agile gives teams (and the business) the power to make decisions with greater autonomy, speed and flexibility. These actions, obviously, framed within a business sense and strategy. . And, for organizations, this translates into improved results, as well as more motivated teams, greater commitment and improved quality.

How to apply Agile in teams: key steps

Define a shared purpose

A simple and useful definition of a team is: a group of people with a shared purpose. It is not unique, but it is a very good starting point.

How do we work with it?

• Transparency: share mission, vision, strategy and objectives of the organization.
• Key questions to work on purpose:
  • What problem do we want to solve?
  • For whom do we exist?
  • What value do we want to deliver?
  • How does Agile help us achieve this?

When the purpose is clear and shared, decisions make sense and the team has a compass.

2. Choose Agile practices that make sense

Useful (but not sacred) frameworks

Once you have the purpose, you can choose the framework that fits best:

• Scrum: ideal if you need frequent iterative deliveries
• Kanban: useful if you need to visualize flow and manage priorities
• Scrumban, LeSS or SAFe: if you are working with several teams or need to scale up

And here comes the important part: frameworks are not Agile. They are tools to bring about change, not the goal itself.

At SmartWay Agile Consulting, we make it clear: we don’t work with recipes. We work with real people, purposes and contexts.

3. Encourages cross-functional and self-managed teams.

All on the same team – does that make sense?

Yes, it makes perfect sense if you want to minimize dependencies and maximize value delivery.

• A cross-functional team has all the competencies needed to deliver value from start to finish
• It avoids the “I already did it” or the “that’s not my part”.
• Joint delivery is prioritized over individual tasks

How do we achieve this?

• Know your team. Use a competency matrix or similar to know what each person brings to the table and where they can grow.
• Encourages collaboration between different profiles (developers, designers, testers, analysts, recruiters, administrators, etc.).
• Encourage cross-learning between roles to avoid bottlenecks. Remember the Lottery Formula: How many people in my team would have to win the lottery for us to stop working and delivering? If it is equal to or more than 1 you already have a point to work with.

Self-management is not a utopia. It is a capacity that is cultivated with trust, transparency and appropriate tools, as well as a necessity to move forward and adapt.

This structure is key in the teams that we accompany from our Agile consulting.

4. Implement continuous improvement cycles

What does Agile say about improvement?

One of the principles of the Agile manifesto states:
“At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to be more effective and adjusts its behavior accordingly.”

How do you bring this down to earth?

• Generates regular inspection and adaptation spaces (retros, post-mortems)
• Celebrate what works and focus on what can be improved
• Gather constant feedback from all levels: customers, leaders, peers, etc.
• Use this feedback to think as a team, adjust course and evolve.

This continuous improvement cycle is at the heart of Agile thinking. In our Agile consulting, we see it at work even in non-development teams.

5. Improve, learn, adapt

One of the principles of the Agile Manifesto states:
“At regular intervals the team reflects on how to be more effective and adjusts its behavior accordingly.”

Stand up. Think about what you have done. How you did it. And adapt.

As a recipe for application:

1. Generate inspection spaces
   Reflect on what you have done, celebrate what went well, improve what can be changed.
   Ask yourself: is this improvement important? How will we be when it is integrated?
2. Constant (and honest) feedback
   Gather feedback from everyone: customers, managers, colleagues.
   Helps to adjust course, gain perspective and grow together.

In our Agile consulting, we call it training the improvement muscle: no reflection, no evolution.

6. Beyond the framework: back to the Agile Manifesto

When something gets complicated, or when someone launches a “Scrum says…” (you can change Scrum to any method), go back to the origin: the Manifesto.

Its 4 core values:

• People and interactions over processes and tools
• Software running over extensive documentation
• Collaboration with the customer over contract negotiation
• Response to change over following a plan

These principles are as relevant as ever. Applying them with common sense is what differentiates a team “with Agile” from a truly agile team.

Practical tips for implementing Agile in your team

Start small

Do a pilot. Apply Agile to a motivated team, with a concrete need. Evaluate, learn and then scale.

Train the whole team, not just the leader.

Implementation fails when only the Scrum Master or Agile Coach is trained. Train the team according to their reality, with accessible tools and language.

Leverages AI to reinforce learning

• Ask for dynamics for training or reflection
• Creates glossaries and explanatory materials
• Automates repetitive processes (alerts, reports, documentation…)

At SmartWay we accompany teams to integrate AI in a useful and real way, as part of learning, not as a patch. See how we do it

Accompany with coaching, not imposition.

Changing the culture is delicate. Forcing the process generates rejection. Accompany as a guide, not as a policeman. Create conversations, not procedures.

Measure what matters

Don’t measure tasks. Measure value.

• Actual delivery time
• Use of functionalities
• Customer NPS
• Internal satisfaction level

Don’t know what to measure? Explain your environment to the AI. Ask it. Be surprised.

Watch your pace. Agile is not about running.

Don’t confuse speed with agility. Being Agile is about delivering with meaning, not faster. Avoid overload and protect the well-being of the team.

Uses light and meaningful tools

You don’t need Jira to get started. Nor a paid suite.

• Start with a whiteboard, Miro, Trello, Notion…
• Automate repetitive tasks with AI
• Ask the AI what you can use according to your equipment type

The important thing is not the tool, but how it helps the team deliver better.

Final reflection

What can we do today to work in a more collaborative, adaptive and conscious way?

Get started now!

• Gather the team and define together a clear purpose.
• Start with a simple improvement, such as a 10-minute daily.
• Ask at the end of the week: What did we learn? What could we do differently?
• Celebrate small achievements and learn from every mistake.

Recommended resources

• Scrum: the art of doing twice the work in half the time, by Jeff Sutherland.
• Lean Startup, by Eric Ries.
• Reinventing Organizations, by Frederic Laloux.
• Agile Estimating and Planning, by Mike Cohn.
• The Agile Manifesto and its 12 principles: agilemanifesto.org

If you want to explore how to apply Agile in your team with expert support, we invite you to get to know our Agile consulting at SmartWay.