Understanding Agile for Strategic Communicators: Foundations, Implementations, and Implications

ABSTRACT

Disruptive change has become the new normal for business and society. In turn, Agile thinking, values, and principles are permeating a growing number of organizations as they try to navigate such changes. Unfortunately, many strategic communication professionals are unlikely to have received training in Agile. This article provides communicators with a foundational understanding of Agile through examining the history and development of Agile from the world of information technology (IT) to functions across the enterprise; reviews major Agile approaches, methods, and terminology; and examines implementation, including the nexus of Agile and strategic communication, and the gap between interest and implementation. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the rise of Agile for future scholarship, professional practice, and pedagogy.

KEYWORDS:

• Agile
• agile communication
• scrum
• lean
• change communication
• transformation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.