Agile as a silver bullet (or so they hoped)

Agile as a silver bullet (or so they hoped)

Agile becomes the go-to solution for everything, like duct tape in a toolbox. But without the right conditions, it just doesn’t stick.

One of the most common traps I’ve seen? IT departments embracing Agile to fix delivery speed or quality, but keeping the business at arm’s length. The teams sprint, groom, stand-up and retro, but still operate in silos
Cross-functional collaboration, which should be the engine of Agile, becomes an afterthought.
And since everyone's “doing Agile,” blurred reporting and vague progress updates somehow become acceptable. After all, it's iterative, right?

As one of the result, IT teams often scale up. More people are added, chaos grows, and delivery doesn't improve. Worse, very little is released to users, and feedback, which should be a key driver of improvement, is minimal or absent.
Here’s a simple reality check:
If nothing’s getting into the hands of users, and no feedback is coming back incrementaly, you’re not doing Agile. You’re merely occupying your resources with little value being generated.

And let’s not forget: “users” doesn’t always mean paying customers. They can also be internal teams, front-line staff, or anyone who interacts with the solution you're building.

When it works: the Enel case

One case I like to bring up with my students is Enel S.p.A.
Founded in 1962, Enel brought together 1270 different companies, and with them, 1270 ways of working.
Different cultures, systems, layers of management, conflicting processes. A perfect storm for paralysis.
And yet, Enel launched a large-scale transformation.

Their drivers were clear and ambitious:
Make renewable energy profitable
Regulate energy flow more efficiently
Reduce debt
Regain control over key operations
Simplify the corporate structure by cutting cross-holdings and redundant layers

This wasn't just a digital refresh. It was a complete rethink of operations, people, data, support functions, and even external innovation, via dedicated units inside each business line.
To support this, they also launched an ambitious ICT and platform strategy: reducing 35% of applications and 75% of systems.
In other words, real simplification, not just rebranding.

Given the scope and level of uncertainty, Agile was the obvious delivery approach.
But what really made the difference had nothing to do with Scrum boards or daily stand-ups.
It came from the top and the ability to engage the whole company.
This transformation was driven by clear business ownership, not delegated to IT.

Leadership set the direction, made bold decisions, and ensured alignment around user needs, not just internal problems.
They saw agility as a way to achieve outcomes, not as a delivery gimmick.

The Bottom Line

Agile, when it works, is not a process fix. It's a mindset shift. It requires business leadership to take the driver’s seat and use agility to explore, learn, and adjust.
It’s not about speed for the sake of speed. It’s about moving in the right direction, even when the road ahead is still being paved.
Agility brings value when it connects strategy with execution, not when it hides complexity behind ceremonies.
And above all, it works best when everyone, business, tech, operations, moves as one team toward a shared goal.