How to create an agile workflow

When the Agile Manifesto was published in 2001, it addressed the limitations of traditional manufacturing and workflow philosophies, quickly making it one of the most popular approaches to software development.

Even as the agile framework changed software development, its methodologies began influencing the core principles of project management, regardless of industry applications.

The framework’s popularity lies in its transparency and flexibility, as well as its focus on continuous improvement. Project managers frequently recognize that agile’s processes facilitate higher-quality products, better customer satisfaction, improved workflow predictability, and better team morale.

As work becomes increasingly complex and focused on knowledge — both how organizations use it and how people gain more of it — agile helps teams overcome the challenges of today’s marketplace more efficiently and with less stress.

In this post, we’ll explore exactly what an agile workflow is so you can build your own.

What is an agile workflow?

Agile is an iterative workflow that approaches projects in a series of cycles called “sprints,” which are made up of different stages. Each stage serves a specific purpose and repeats in the same order each cycle.

How is an agile workflow different from a traditional workflow?

Although both traditional and agile workflows have similar goals, there are a few key differences between these two approaches:

What are the steps in an agile workflow life cycle?

Though a team’s goals vary from cycle to cycle based on what they need to accomplish or learn, the stages provide a framework for their progress. Teams stay aligned with an initial planning meeting, daily standup meetings during the work process, and a retrospective at the end of each cycle to review accomplishments as well as challenges and their potential solutions.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the agile workflow is how it organizes the chaotic nature of discovery and creativity that’s so important for software development and every kind of knowledge work.

The basic agile workflow cycle looks like this:

Conception

Project leaders envision the product or changes they want to make to a product. This stage can include intense research and information gathering from the marketplace or customers. This is also when managers plan the upcoming sprints.

Inception

Managers form each team and assign their respective goals and deliverables. They define and communicate project requirements, schedules, and other sprint elements.

Iteration 

Developers begin the sprint and tackle their workloads.

Release

At the end of the sprint, customers receive the new product or update and provide feedback. Teams analyze this feedback in the conception phase of the next cycle so managers can map what improvements are needed and where to focus the next sprint’s efforts.

What are the different types of agile workflows?

While there are a wide variety of agile workflow subtypes, you’ll likely use one of the more popular methodologies when implementing agile workflows in your business. Here are some of the most common agile workflow types to give you a starting point.

Scrum

Scrum is probably the most popular type of agile workflow. Designed for flexibility, scrum agile workflows rely on small teams that work collaboratively to learn from and improve upon workflow processes continuously. This iterative approach to agile workflows prioritizes daily check-ins to stay on track and find potential areas of improvement. Through these consistent stand-ups and the sprint style of work, managers can update workflows quickly and effectively to optimize performance.

Kanban

Kanban is an agile workflow centered on visualizing your process to accurately track its progress. This workflow type is non-restrictive in its implementation, which allows a team to opt for either an iterative or non-iterative approach. Using a kanban board, the team breaks down each phase of the workflow into clear, simple steps. This straightforward visualization can help the team identify potential bottlenecks, and it’s a good option for agile workflow beginners.

Extreme Programming (XP)

Success in an extreme programming (XP) workflow focuses on implementing customer feedback for continuous process improvement. Unlike other agile workflows that have a high number of phases, XP is designed to be slim — typically only featuring five phases: planning, designing, coding, testing, and listening. The primary goals for this agile methodology are speed, quality, and collaboration, which can be ideal for teams with tight budgets and deadlines.

How do you create an agile workflow?

If you want to tame your chaotic knowledge work environment to create a more consistent workflow, agile could be the perfect framework for your organization. To create an agile workflow of your own, follow this simple, four-step process.

Forming

Before you dive in, make sure you thoroughly understand the principles of agile. The framework’s intuitive nature makes it easy to implement as long as you understand its logic. Review the following with your team:

• The special roles each member will have
• The structure of sprints, including daily standups, planning, and retrospectives
• The basics of continuous improvement and how the cyclical, iterative nature of agile workflows help achieve this

Setting this groundwork will help with the next phase.

Storming

Review your backlog of work and the goals you need to achieve to move forward. Divide them into sprints, being mindful not to try to accomplish too much in too short a time frame. Communicate with your team during this process so you don’t bury them in more work than they can reasonably manage. This is also a great time to be mindful of team roles and what best suits each team member.

Norming

In this stage, assign team members their specific roles. These roles include product owner, product manager, individual workers, and stakeholders (usually outside of the actual team structure but who provide input necessary for completion).

Performing

Put your team to work completing the tasks of the sprint and holding daily standup meetings. Ensure team members meet the obligations of their roles. For example, the product owner should proactively review work and provide feedback according to the sprint requirements and parameters.

Once the team completes the sprint and customers receive deliverables, collect feedback to review with the team during the sprint retrospective. After this meeting, congratulate your team — you’ve completed your first sprint. 

Replicate this process again in the next cycle to get more comfortable with it — and repeat it. All you need to do to effectively implement an agile workflow is develop a structure and participate in it.

What are some agile workflow best practices?

Keeping your agile workflows running smoothly isn’t always easy. But by following a few key best practices, you can improve your odds of success and maintain efficiency in your agile workflow methodology:

• Prioritize check-ins. Consistent check-ins with your team help you identify issues, make quick decisions, and avoid confusion.
• Follow a framework. By choosing an agile approach, you can better manage your workflow by using a single, proven methodology your whole team can understand.
• Keep it simple. Don’t make your workflow too complicated. Although agile workflows offer more flexibility, too much complexity can be counterproductive.
• Break down tasks. Synthesizing work into short phases and cycles can help you monitor, track, and simplify the process.
• Stay flexible. If your agile workflow isn’t working, don’t be afraid to adjust it. Making updates quickly and effectively can boost your overall success.

Another best practice is to choose a workflow solution that simplifies your agile workflow process. Programs like Jotform offer your team the tools they need to easily elevate and execute your agile workflows without the complexity of other solutions.

How can Jotform help you create an agile workflow?

Implementing a workflow is easier when you’re using the right tools. Jotform is a productivity enhancement platform that helps users incorporate forms into robust workflows.

Jotform offers more than 10,000 customizable form templates that help with everything from collecting customer feedback to reporting software bugs. Jotform Tables, a database-spreadsheet tool, allows you to visually manage team workflows using table templates, a kanban view, and other features.

To take total control of your agile workflow with Jotform, you can use Jotform Workflows. This no-code, user-friendly workflow software allows your team to quickly and easily build workflows with an intuitive drag-and-drop builder.

Jotform Workflows also offers a variety of advanced features that assist in optimizing your agile workflows:

• Templates
• Automation
• Third-party integrations
• Conditional logic
• Parallel processing
• Approvals
• White labeling
• Real-time tracking

Using these solutions, you can quickly create, monitor, and adjust your custom agile workflow to ensure your projects are operating at maximum efficiency.

Now that you understand the ins and outs of creating agile workflows and the ways a powerful solution like Jotform Workflows can help, it’s time to get started. Choose a workflow style, build your agile workflow, and discover the benefits of this modern methodology for yourself.

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