More Agility in Innovation Needed

In the business world, agility is a highly valued skill. This appreciation requires little explanation: an organization with a highly dynamic operating model — one not constrained by rigid rules or bureaucratic barriers — is better equipped to respond to unexpected circumstances in its environment (economic crises, political upheavals, new market trends, shifts in consumer preferences, regulatory changes, among others.).

Paradoxically, when it comes to projects involving the implementation of technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or cloud solutions, companies do not seem as interested in the concept of agility.

In fact, in such initiatives, organizations tend to favor inflexible approaches. They implement rigid models with strict controls, well-defined roles, processes, and objectives.

However, projects that rely on excessively rigid management, which may appear more stable and less risky, do not necessarily guarantee the success of an innovation initiative.

According to an analysis, to mitigate the risks of inflexibility and drive the successful implementation of a project, such as an AI initiative, organizations should prioritize aspects such as creating implementation models that enhance cross-departmental communication; establishing rules and criteria that enable key resource sharing across the organization; ensuring that all applications and tools are accessible to all employees; and designing operational mechanisms and specialized application development processes that facilitate the creation of solutions tailored to specific markets and needs. In response to these recommendations, agility emerges as the ideal solution.

Fortunately, in the implementation of technological innovations, agility is an attribute that can be developed. Through various strategies, organizations can incorporate agility into their innovation projects. In this regard, Agile Methodology is one of the approaches companies should explore.

An Agile Approach to Innovation

Originating in software development, Agile is a concept and methodology designed to enhance adaptability and responsiveness within a project or organization. In a business context, Agile serves as a tool to rapidly launch innovative solutions into the market (based on the principle that "perfect is the enemy of immediate") and thus gain a competitive edge.

This approach helps overcome well-known pitfalls, such as products that never gained popularity because the company took too long perfecting them before launching.

When implementing technological innovations, Agile brings numerous benefits, but one stands out: it allows organizations to define initiatives that do not seek immediate, flawless, and definitive results but rather focus on incremental and pragmatic objectives that help adjust project goals to specific circumstances. This perspective is quite different from that of conventional AI projects, which often aim for rapid, absolute success but, due to their inability to adapt to changing conditions, may ultimately fail.

In a way, a traditional AI implementation tends to be rigid and monolithic (the project is untouchable, and its processes and objectives are unquestionable), whereas an Agile-oriented solution is open and flexible (the initiative aligns with its surrounding environment, and its processes and objectives are dynamic).

To embrace an Agile approach in the implementation of various technological projects, organizations can take several steps, extending beyond just project execution to include administrative processes and decision-making frameworks:

• Develop a vision of agility and rapid response: Foster the accelerated creation of highly specific solutions that do not need to be perfect but functional enough to be tested and evaluated. The goal is to quickly assess the feasibility and potential market impact of a product or service.

• Acknowledge and adapt to external chaos: Cultivate a corporate mindset where shifting external circumstances — political, economic, or social — are not viewed as problems but as opportunities to test the capabilities of products and services enabled by the organization's innovation platform.

• Create an environment free of operational and bureaucratic obstacles: To ensure agile responses to contingencies (economic events, consumer needs, market opportunities), adjustments to projects and solutions must not be hindered by excessive internal bureaucracy, such as an approval process involving countless executives and departments. The company's entire operational structure should facilitate quick adaptations and changes.

• Embrace business reinvention: Every agile response to the environment offers the company the chance to identify new opportunities or business models. This means that companies must be open to reinventing themselves. Failing to do so would mean missing out on valuable opportunities.

In today's business landscape, agility is an essential resource for any company. By applying agility principles to its market offerings, Minsait, for example, has achieved over 50% growth in AI use case development. By applying this mindset internally, the company has also realized a 10% efficiency improvement in its software development processes.

Agility is both a smart idea and a best practice. Applying it to the implementation of innovation projects, through Agile-aligned concepts, is an approach every company should consider.