Agile methodologies continue to shape how teams operate and evolve within organizations to meet new challenges and opportunities. As businesses adapt to the fast-paced digital world, Agile remains a key player, but how is it changing? The annual State of Agile reports offer a pulse on these developments. In this blog, I will explore the key trends and shifts revealed in the 2022 and 2023 reports, and what they mean for Agile teams going forward.
Agile’s Expanding Footprint: Growth or Correction?
In 2022, Agile showed significant growth, expanding its influence beyond IT teams into functions like marketing, HR, and R&D. Nearly 80% of organizations were using Agile methodologies, with half applying them across the entire application lifecycle. This expansion highlights Agile’s growing importance in broader digital transformation efforts.
By 2023, although Agile adoption remained strong, particularly in IT and engineering, the satisfaction levels dipped slightly. Satisfaction dropped from 72% in 2022 to 59% in 2023, especially in larger enterprises. While smaller organizations remained happier with Agile’s impact, larger companies faced challenges scaling Agile across business units.
Source: “17th state of Agile report”, digital.ai
From Speed to Value: Agile’s Shift in Priorities
In 2022, accelerating time to market was the primary driver for Agile adoption, with 52% of respondents citing it as their focus. Delivery predictability (44%) and lowering risk (31%) were also key factors behind Agile’s continued expansion.
By 2023, the conversation had shifted slightly. While speed and time to market remained important, there was a greater focus on business value. A notable 41% of respondents prioritized measuring and delivering incremental business value, alongside time-to-market acceleration. This reflects a broader trend of aligning Agile practices with business goals to demonstrate tangible outcomes.
Resistance to change and leadership involvement
The 2022 report revealed leadership participation as one of the top challenges for Agile adoption. Forty-two percent of respondents cited insufficient management involvement, and cultural resistance was also a significant barrier (40%). As Agile practices began spreading across organizations, the business side often struggled to fully grasp Agile’s principles, leading to friction.
In 2023, resistance to Agile from the business side became even more pronounced. Nearly half (47%) of respondents pointed to organizational resistance to change, up seven points from 2022. Leadership participation remained a problem, with 41% citing it as a major issue. This persistent gap in understanding between Agile practitioners and business leaders highlights the need for stronger communication and education around Agile’s benefits.
Source: “17th state of Agile report”, digital.ai
Jira Dominates, but AI Enters the toolbox
Atlassian’s Jira remained the top tool in 2022, with 66% of respondents using it for Agile project management. New tools like Miro and Mural, which facilitate collaboration for distributed teams, also gained popularity, reflecting the rise of remote and hybrid work environments.
While Jira continued to dominate in 2023, with 62% of respondents using it, the introduction of AI tools like large language models (LLMs) and code assistants marked a new frontier. Thirty percent of respondents were actively exploring AI’s potential for transforming Agile processes. AI’s ability to automate certain workflows, enhance decision-making, and optimize software delivery cycles signals a new wave of innovation in Agile.
Frameworks: The Rise of Custom Solutions
Scrum continued to be the dominant Agile framework in 2022, with nearly 90% of respondents leveraging it at the team level. At the enterprise level, the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) was the most popular, with 53% of respondents reporting its use.
In 2023, the use of SAFe dropped significantly, with only 26% of respondents using it, reflecting a shift toward more flexible, custom-built frameworks. More organizations reported creating their own Agile frameworks to better meet their unique needs, a clear indication that one-size-fits-all approaches are giving way to tailored solutions.
Distributed Teams: Hybrid Work is Here to Stay
2022 saw Agile teams fully embrace hybrid work environments. While most teams worked remotely, 56% of respondents said they preferred a hybrid approach, blending remote and in-office collaboration. This shift towards hybrid work brought its own challenges but also increased flexibility and collaboration.
In 2023, a record-breaking 91% of respondents reported working in fully distributed teams, the highest figure in the 17-year history of the State of Agile reports. Training and ongoing coaching were vital for keeping these teams aligned, with 81% of respondents emphasizing the importance of continuous learning for distributed teams.
What’s Next for Agile?
The key takeaway from both the 2022 and 2023 reports is that Agile continues to evolve, but its success depends heavily on adapting to new business challenges. From AI integration to managing distributed teams and fostering better collaboration between Agile practitioners and business leaders, Agile must constantly reinvent itself to stay relevant. While smaller organizations are finding success with Agile, larger enterprises must navigate leadership buy-in, legacy systems, and cultural change to unlock Agile’s full potential.
Agile’s future lies in greater flexibility, stronger ties to business value, and the integration of new technologies like AI to drive continuous improvement. As we move forward, we expect to see more organizations embracing custom frameworks and hybrid approaches to meet the complex demands of modern software development.
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