Agile

18th State of Agile Report (2025): 10 Key Insights Shaping Modern Agile Organizations

Agile, Business Transformation, Leadership, Other
18th State of Agile Report 2025

I have just finished reading the 18th State of Agile Report (2025). This year’s edition feels different. For almost 20 years, Digital.ai has been collecting insights from Agile practitioners. The new report shows clear patterns and important signals that are hard to ignore. What stood out to me is how organisations are changing their approach […]

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Agile redevelopment of rhiCOMS – case study and transformation insights

Agile, Business Transformation, Case Study, Scrum
From Desktop to Cloud case study header showing the title of the rhiCOMS Agile redevelopment project on a digital technology background.

Modernising software that has been in use for many years is always more than a technical upgrade. It is usually an opportunity to reflect on how an organisation works, how decisions are made and how value is delivered to customers. Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to support rhi in the Agile

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How Delivery Managers plan in uncertainty: Five pieces of advice.

Agile, Business Transformation, Leadership, Other
Mind map illustration of five pieces of advice on planning for delivery managers in uncertainty, including incremental value delivery, flow optimization, and probabilistic forecasting, by Pawel Rola, pawelrola.com

Delivery managers face unprecedented complexity in today’s enterprise environment. C-suite executives demand predictable outcomes while navigating market disruption, technological acceleration, and shifting customer expectations. Traditional planning methods collapse under this pressure, leaving organisations and delivery managers vulnerable. For delivery managers, relying on traditional ‘predict-and-plan’ methods feels like building castles on sand. The answer isn’t more

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Work Item Types vs Classes of Service in Kanban: Definitions, Examples & Practical Tips

Agile, Kanban, Scrum
Visual comparison of Work Items, Work Item Types, and Classes of Service in Kanban using a coffee shop analogy. Shows different coffee orders as work items (e.g. espresso, cappuccino), service formats as work item types (to-go, to-stay), and prioritisation policies as classes of service (expedite, fixed date, standard). Includes concise definitions under each concept.

One of the most common challenges when designing Kanban is the confusion between work item types and classes of service. These core concepts directly influence delivery speed, team productivity, and customer satisfaction. One potential reason your Kanban system lacks clarity and consistent flow is confusion between work item types and classes of service. Exploring this

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Food for thought: How to use customer emotions and emotional AI to improve product and service delivery

Agile, Business Transformation, Kanban, Leadership, Scrum
Flowchart showing how customer emotions and non-emotional inputs influence Classes of Service assignment through emotional recognition and ongoing reassessment, supported by Emotional AI.

A dissatisfied customer will complain and, at most, won’t do business with a service or use the service again. When a customer is angry, they typically take other types of action: discourage others from using the product or service, or go to court against the company. Emotion has a significant impact on customer experience and

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Food for thought: Growth Mindset for Agile Leaders. How to drive organisational success

Agile, Business Transformation, Case Study, Leadership
Comparison chart showing the key traits of a growth mindset (e.g., embracing challenges, valuing effort) versus a fixed mindset (e.g., avoiding challenges, fearing failure)

What separates Fortune 500 CEOs who successfully navigate digital transformation from those who struggle? Neuroscience research reveals a critical difference in leadership that determines organisational success: the implementation of a growth mindset. This article invites you to explore the powerful possibilities that Agile Leaders can unlock through a Growth Mindset. If you’re ready to discover what

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Can You Move Cards Backwards on a Kanban Board? Insights from Toyota for Knowledge Work

Agile, Business Transformation, Kanban, Other, Scrum
Visual showing six benefits of not moving cards backwards in Kanban: promotes problem-solving, increases transparency, keeps WIP limits, reduces cognitive load, focuses on flow efficiency, and keeps graphs relevant.

Can you move cards backwards on a Kanban board? This is one of the most common questions and concerns of people learning about Kanban. In the following article, I share a few thoughts on this question. This article will be relevant if you are: In the following paragraphs, I will elucidate what moving cards backwards

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Upstream Kanban: 7 Essential Metrics for Product Backlog Management

Agile, Kanban, Scrum
Diagram showing 7 essential upstream Kanban metrics, including throughput, work in progress, discard rate, validation success and failure rates, work item age, and number of blockers.

Upstream Kanban is a Kanban system designed to uncover new knowledge and assess delivery options. The upstream process is a highly creative, collaborative, and unpredictable activity. Consequently, the Upstream Kanban requires a specific set of metrics that can help guide your decisions. This article explores seven essential Upstream Kanban metrics to support agile decision-making, portfolio

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