After years of soul-searching, experimentation, and dipping our toes in the water, we here at Forty have finally committed to fully adopting the Agile methodology across the board.
This is a pretty radical change for a marketing agency. The Agile methodology was developed in the software industry, and for the most part, it’s stayed there (albeit with great success). Most marketing professionals don’t even know the methodology exists, let alone have implemented it.
We’re probably not the first agency to adopt this methodology (there must be some out there), but it’s still uncharted territory. While there’s much we can learn from others, we’re also going to have to figure out a lot on our own.
Err…What the heck is “Agile”?
If you’re used to the word “methodology” meaning “tons of paperwork and annoying procedures,” Agile may come as a pleasant surprise.
According to the Agile Manifesto, this methodology values…
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
Over the years, a variety of elaborations and refinements of those basic principles have become prominent, but those are the key tenets of the Agile approach.
Agile is NOT what you’re used to.
Most people (especially those hiring a traditional design/marketing agency) are accustomed to a “waterfall” process, in which the whole project is planned out beforehand with detailed scope and budget guidelines. Then, it’s broken into discrete stages requiring deliverables, reviews, sign-offs, etc.
We’ve used that method for years, and it sucks. The only reason for all those scope documents are so the agency and client can argue with each other later about who did something wrong when the problem could’ve been solved early on by simply talking instead of worrying about a comprehensive paper trail.
Why would we stick with a methodology based on the antiquated notion that we can accurately predict and plan for the future? That may have worked 20-30 years ago, but the industry simply moves far too fast for that to be effective now.
Design/marketing projects evolve too quickly (based on competition, new technologies, changing trends, etc.) to accurately plan it all out in the beginning. We need a methodology that is nimble, flexible, and able to respond quickly. In a word: Agile.
What the Agile methodology means to Forty
We’re still sorting out the specifics of our day-to-day routine, but these are the principles behind our own implementation of the Agile methodology:
- We believe in a single project team, comprising members of both our and our client’s organizations. There is no “Us and Them,” just a single team working together.
- We believe project team members should interact freely without a project manager getting in the way.
- We believe the project team should have frequent (even daily) conversations.
- We believe real communication happens face to face or over the phone. E-mail should be a last resort.
- We believe in showing and discussing rough work (sketches, partial designs, etc.), instead of trying to perfect them before showing the client.
- We believe in delivering business value as early and as frequently as possible.
- We believe the project team should measure all work performed against identified business goals.
- We believe projects do and should evolve; we welcome course corrections.
- We believe in sustainable work habits. Weekends and evenings give everyone time to think, rest, and recharge.
- We believe project team members share accountability for results and performance. (Finger pointing is counterproductive.)
- We believe each project is unique, and requires flexibility regarding strategies, processes, and practices.
- We believe in learning, having fun, and doing great work.
We’ve been headed this direction anyway, but officially adopting Agile gives us a much-needed kick in the pants to formalizing our processes and workflow around these concepts.
We’re In Good Company
We’re novices when it comes to Agile, and I’m sure we’re going to run into many obstacles over the next several months or years as we find out what works best for Forty.
In the meantime, though, we have some great sources of guidance and advice. We’ve shared office space at Gangplank with Integrum, a well-known Ruby on Rails software development firm that’s up to their eyeballs in Agile all the time. Plus, we were lucky enough to have as a client Michele Sliger , an expert in helping companies adopt and implement the Agile methodology.
More Resources on Agile in Design/Marketing
- Getting Real About Agile Design
- How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Embrace Collaboration
- Applying Agile Principles to Communication Design
- The Agile Web Design Manifesto
- Agile Marketing
- Agile Marketing
- Agile Design
Stay tuned for Agile updates.
We’ll be posting more about our adventures (and misadventures) with the Agile methodology on this blog, so be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed if you’re interested in following along.
Questions for you!
- Are we wrong about this?
- Does a marketing agency have any business mucking around with what is traditionally a software development methodology?
- Clients love the waterfall methodology because it feels so predictable. Can we convince our clients to adopt Agile, even if it means more up-front uncertainty?
- If you have experience with Agile, what would you recommend to an agency like Forty trying to adopt it for the first time?
Very cool post! I think it’s smart for a marketing company or individual marketer to use Agile concepts–even if they aren’t adopting it in full force like a true development team would. (Daily scrums, anyone?) In terms of convincing clients to use it, when budgets are shrinking, small, or simply planned to increase in the future (as is the case with most of my microbusiness and small business clients), focusing on the incremental delivery associated with Agile is useful. In a nutshell, they get smaller doses of marketing awesomeness with the required “functionality” and faster turnaround. I’m sure that’s what Forty is doing successfully too, just on a larger scale!
Heckuva good job. I sure apprcetiae it.
Sure… Join the hype! You would be just like the CIO in this funny video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvks70PD0Rs
John
I’m curious about hearing more about this particular statement: “simply talking instead of worrying about a comprehensive paper trail.” We’ve found that clients (and even our team members) have a tendency to forget decisions (and why they were made) without some kind of documentation to reference. How has this paper-trail-free approached worked for you guys in this regard?
Tricia, that’s a great question! We’ve found that if a client has forgotten why we did something, having a piece of paper from six months ago isn’t really going to help them much.
It’s tempting to have something you can pull out to say “See? Six months ago you said X!” but it’s ultimately best just to have the conversation and remind them.
In addition, it’s really easy to get bogged down in the idea that all decisions made are correct and shouldn’t be revisited. In reality, you can gain a lot of perspective and a lot can change in six months, so it’s worth remaining flexible. Maybe what the client is requesting actually makes sense, even if it’s different from what they said six months ago.
Implementing agile into a digital agency Is tricky – it sounds so good in theory!! We have been implementing it at deepend for the last couple of years and are working through the nuances. We’ve actually started a LinkedIn group to discuss the ins and outs – ill pop you an invite. :)
@Candice (or @James Archer if he got the invite): could you send me the invite as well (twitter is @andrewhartman). We use the traditional model (to great success even in 2012!) but are constantly seeing value in Agile. Would love to see how you all are using it.
@candice – me too! twitter is @dvc
I’d love to get the LinkedIn invite as well (Twitter is @vready). Thanks!
Hello! I’m considering moving to an agile process and stumbled across your blog. How’s it going? Any updates?
It’s good to see that more Agencies are open to the Agile methodology. I’d like to stay engaged with the LinkedIn Group as well. I have my hand in to “encourage” multiple agencies to do the same.
Great post! I’d love to get an invite to the LinkedIn group referenced above, if possible…
I’ve just written a book called ‘Agile for Agencies’, and it’s available now as a free download. Check it out, and I’d love to know what you think.
http://unbouncepages.com/agile-for-agencies/
My thesis is simple: Agile is meant to be agile. That is, I think it’s a bit of a red herring when people try to consider Agile processes as a zero sum proposition. There are some universally applicable, proven, and easy-to-implement aspects of Agile processes that are absolutely harmless to try, and in my experience, never perfect until they’re practiced.
Such ideas include a daily standup, estimating your work, and deliberately working on the process as a team. These ideas aren’t exclusive to any methodology, of course. But many under-informed marketing agency leaders tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater when considering process methodologies as a whole, and miss out on the benefits of simple, practical solutions.
Any and all feedback enormously appreciated.
James, I can’t agree more with your article and the efficiency brought by the agile methodology inside a marketing agency. Our company has recently adopted Agile within the office but as well together with our clients.
Some comments here were made about paper trail. May I recommend Trello as a great project management tool for agile. We use it together with our clients in perfect transparency.
You can easily set up a project backlog and work in sprints with tasks divided amongst the team (including the customer).