After over 12 years of main Forrester’s analysis on agile and, from 2011, publishing a biennial Forrester report on the worldwide state of agile adoption, we’ve got simply printed The State Of Agile Improvement, 2025: It’s Nonetheless Related, With Advantages And Challenges. On this weblog, I’m simply rapidly highlighting a number of the key takeaways to hopefully inspire you to go and browse the complete report in case you are a Forrester shopper. So let’s go …
Agile — The Disputed Champion Of Fashionable Enterprise, Nonetheless Going Robust
In occasions when all the pieces modifications so rapidly and synthetic intelligence, particularly generative AI (genAI), captures the creativeness of tech fanatics and professionals alike, one know-how that is still a foundational pillar of the tech business is agile. Think about the narrative of a tech startup navigating the tumultuous waters of market calls for and fast innovation. At their core, agile methodologies allow this group to stay adaptable, collaborative, and environment friendly. Drop that group in an enterprise and multiply the group by 10, and what occurs? Can these 10 groups nonetheless try collectively in the identical approach because the tech startup group? Nicely, sure and no.
However the brand new report reveals a hanging perception: Regardless of the excitement round agile’s supposed decline, a commanding 95% of execs affirm its crucial relevance to their operations. This statistic, coupled with the 58% of enterprise and know-how professionals prioritizing agile adoption, paints a transparent image: Agile isn’t just surviving; it’s nonetheless thriving and never going away, but it does want enchancment.
Agile’s Journey And Collaboration Is A Testomony To Resilience
Agile’s resilience is underscored by its widespread and enduring adoption throughout many organizations. The truth is, a big majority, 61%, report deploying agile practices for over 5 years, demonstrating a powerful enduring dedication to its rules over older methodologies equivalent to waterfall, which continues to see a decline. This dedication to agile displays a broader business pattern towards valuing collaboration and adaptability over inflexible hierarchies and siloed organizations. Agile groups, characterised by various roles together with builders, testers, and scrum masters, embody this shift towards a extra inclusive and dynamic method to product growth. Our survey information additionally proves that organizations may obtain even larger success by totally embracing agile’s collaborative ethos, values, and rules and investing within the management essential to information this cultural shift. Leaders need to do extra than simply decide to agile; they need to lead the change!
Agile Management Requires Foresight And Rising Tech Adoption
Regardless of agile’s confirmed advantages, the information exhibits that organizations face challenges in scaling agile practices and fostering a tradition conducive to its adoption. Proficiency ranges amongst groups fluctuate, with solely 7% attaining full proficiency for excellent agile practices however fairly a better quantity simply being common or good, indicating room for extra enchancment. Overcoming these hurdles requires a strategic mix of agile frameworks tailor-made to every group’s distinctive wants, coupled additionally with a dedication to modernizing all angles of the group with steady studying and adaptation. Companies aren’t proof against that change, and there may be fairly extra to do there.
Furthermore, the mixing of agile with rising applied sciences like generative AI and TuringBots gives a promising avenue for enhancing agile’s impression even additional. TuringBots, AI, and genAI-infused instruments not solely streamline routine duties but in addition present useful insights that may refine dash planning and challenge prioritization. With almost half of the respondents already leveraging genAI of their agile practices, the way forward for agile appears destined to be intertwined with technological developments, driving innovation and effectivity in software program growth.
Agile Stays An Unshakable Basis
Because the tech world continues to evolve at a breakneck tempo, agile values, rules, and practices stand as testomony to the enduring want for adaptability, collaboration, transparency, and pace. Agile’s widespread adoption and the challenges it faces replicate an method that isn’t static however dynamic, one which shoppers have to repeatedly evolve and adapt to fulfill the calls for of an ever-changing business panorama. Will the mixing of agile and AI applied sciences herald a brand new period of software program growth, one the place effectivity, innovation, and high quality are paramount? I hope it should.
As organizations navigate the complexities of digital transformation, agile stays an unshakable basis, guiding groups towards success within the age of AI and past. Through the years, our analysis has additionally proven that shopper organizations can’t make this transition alone — you want useful companions to work with you. That is why I see the sturdy connection of this analysis with my just lately printed Forrester Wave™ analysis of recent utility growth providers, of which agile providers are necessary desk stakes.
Learn the complete report back to entry extra information and perceive our considering behind it. Additionally, attain out to me (dlogiudice@forrester.com) or schedule an inquiry or a steering session to get assist — I’m right here to help you. I additionally need to thank my nice senior analysis affiliate, Merve Kandemir, for her dedication to this analysis and superb work to get it printed.
