Agile is usually associated with with software delivery. However, the framework is relevant across multiple functions and business units in an organization. The objective of Agile at its fundamental core is continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction can be both internal and external, but the ultimate goal is to ensure a mechanism for feedback for allowing the product team to make rapid adjustments. The feedback loop is not only critical for continuous improvement, but it allows the customer to understand what is being delivered.
In Operations, the agile framework can be a set of processes standardized to identify where waste can be eliminated. It provides an opportunity for employee empowerment allowing individual contributors, responsible for delivering value to have a voice improving the process.
In Finance, it allows the budgeting to align with the work produced by the business and fund objectives based on need and customer experience.
Believe it or not, legal and research can benefit from an agile team as the framework allows for eliminating bureaucratic and increasing innovation. The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of legal agility, courthouses were required to change the operating models and allow remote hearings to reduce the backlog of cases as a result of a countrywide shutdown.
Agile is a framework that allows for collaboration, transparency and continuous improvement which should be leveraged across all business operations.