3 Tips on Designing an Agile System for Workplace Management

The Agile design framework is so well understood in technology that its now started to filter into the technology dominated world of busines...

The Agile design framework is so well understood in technology that its now started to filter into the technology dominated world of business. This is the view of the Harvard Business Review, who highlight the upscaling of Agile design principles to encompass corporate business of all sizes around the world. The ethos behind Agile will be absolutely crucial in the coming months as digital arms of businesses transition strongly away from the office based environment and into the unsure but promising waters of all-in remote working. Putting an Agile philosophy at the heart of this IT and organizational challenge will help to make the endeavor a success.

3 Tips on Designing an Agile System for Workplace Management

1. Workforce Management

Remote working offers surprising productivity improvements for managers, especially those who suspected the home office environment might encourage poor work ethic. An experiment reported by the BBC found that, on average, workforces will experience 13% improved productivity when they commit to remote working, reflecting the benefits of such a system. However, this also relies on the ability of an employer to put effective systems in place. Project management software gurus suggest that an integrated system where time, expenses and resources can be managed centrally is key. When a business first goes remote, it needs to have a centralized resource through which to manage its projects, and managed systems achieve this – however, as time goes on, a commitment must be made to continual improvement of these systems for the business to remain successful.

2. Implementing Agile

Agile design focuses on iterative changes, and this can be a huge bonus to business management systems. A good starting system will help to tide employees over as they settle into working, but with an engaged workforce, innovation is going to be inevitable. As they become comfortable with completing their roles from home and start to think of more ways in which to improve, managers and project leaders should seek out this feedback and return it in the next iteration of their own management systems. By constantly putting in new ideas to help streamline processes, work will be even easier and employees will feel engaged.

3. Thinking on Your Feet

A key aspect of Agile is its focus on simultaneous design stages; design, develop and test running parallel. This is key even in low-impact ideas. Empowering employees working from home to develop their own ideas and bring them to the party, and then having them run them on existing projects, will ensure that you keep your workforce fresh and that any great ideas rise to the top. These are likely to come thick and fast with productivity in the home environment on the up, and it’s the job of well engaged project managers to ensure that they take every idea seriously and contribute them to the tech and design environment in the workplace.

If implemented properly, that’s free productivity for the business. A move away from destructive, business-as-usual design habits and into more esoteric thinking will only be a good thing. Remote working especially is an opportunity – a blank canvas on which to really upscale design.