{"id":19357,"date":"2022-05-26T09:48:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T08:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/?p=19357"},"modified":"2025-06-02T09:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:41:21","slug":"what-is-agile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-agile\/","title":{"rendered":"What is agile? Agile FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Agile is a well-known buzzword. But what does agile working entail exactly? How does it relate to service management<\/a>? And what about its relationship with ITIL? <\/strong><\/p>\n

In this FAQ, we answer four of the most frequently asked questions about agile working, including what is agile, and what are the benefits of agile working.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. What is agile?<\/h2>\n

Simply put,\u00a0agile is an approach to software development<\/a>\u00a0that helps teams be more flexible and deliver customer value faster. But most importantly, agile is a mindset.<\/p>\n

The agile mindset is similar to that of a jaguar: its instinct is to survive. And to survive, a jaguar needs to be agile enough to react quickly to the movements of its prey.<\/p>\n

For organizations, it\u2019s just as important to be agile \u2013 especially now, in the age of digital transformation. Organizations need to be flexible enough to quickly respond to modern technologies and the ever-changing demands of the customer. While agile working originated in software development, its mindset is applicable to all fields.<\/p>\n

2. What are the benefits of agile working?<\/h2>\n

The main reason that agile was introduced into software development was to make large organizations more flexible.<\/p>\n

For smaller organizations, responding quickly and meeting their customers\u2019 needs is fairly easy. But large companies are typically a lot less flexible. They often use a waterfall approach for projects: a plan or design needs to go through different departments and management layers before it can be executed. The result? An unwieldy organization that\u2019s slowed down by complicated processes and lacks innovation.<\/p>\n

Agile working, on the other hand, strives for the least amount of bureaucracy possible. It makes organizations flexible, reduces response times and focuses on customer value rather than on hierarchy.<\/p>\n

In addition, agile working empowers employees: the power to take initiative isn\u2019t with the manager, but with the experts. In an agile working environment, you want employees to share knowledge<\/a>, act on creative ideas, and come up with solutions \u2013 not just follow orders.<\/p>\n

Agile service management means applying the agile mindset to IT service management. Nothing more, nothing less.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. What is agile service management?<\/h2>\n

Agile service management means applying the agile mindset to IT service management. Nothing more, nothing less. To make this work, the original four agile values simply need one adjustment. With agile service management, instead of focusing on software, you focus on services:<\/p>\n