Agile work – sounds great!

What agile working means.
How not to do it.

Agile work – sounds great! However, to know precisely what is meant, a term definition is required in advance. In the industrial sector, “agile working” means strategically and consistently implemented lean management that aims to make production processes fluid and efficient. Agencies speak of “agile work” when you want to be particularly flexible, creative, and out of the box thinking – which is unfortunately often the opposite of consistently implemented management.

So there won’t be any misunderstandings: Agility and flexibility are great – but at DeSight Studio we can only speak for ourselves and our highly personal interpretation of agility. We want to make this clear to you in the following so that you know right from the start what you can expect from the cooperation.

The first step is the fact that DeSight Studio is an owner-managed agency. Dominik and Carolina Waitzer are in charge of each project and make decisions quickly, directly and with full responsibility – without losing sight of deadlines, team compositions, and estimated workforce. Coordination takes place directly between you as the client and us as the implementer – without any further detours top down or bottom up by profiling addicts in different hierarchical levels, who absolutely must give the course of the project their spin.

“If that scales, let’s commit and keep Kevin in the loop” – that’s how many conversations in digital agencies are going on – DeSight Studio is more characterized by values like trust and experience.

For us, project management means: “As little as possible, as much as necessary.” In other words, when we have hundreds of meetings to prove to each other how busy we all are on the project and then work through opaque tasks after 360-degree feedback. How much more pleasant is it to be able to take decisions easily by phone or WhatsApp when needed – because everyone involved knows that they can rely on each other. (even unconventional decision paths are comprehensibly documented at DeSight Studio!)

Structured work and agility do not have to be contradictory. Projects are divided into sections, and milestones are defined. But even on the occasion of such consultations, no unnecessary effort needs to be made to devour working hours that would be better invested elsewhere. Agile work means for us that due to the ongoing coordination at the end of a project section, no surprises arise anymore. Easy as that!

Agility and flexibility are inseparably linked as long as the flexible implementations are within the defined project framework. Especially when implementing IT-projects, it is common that new specifications and additional features have to be deployed at short notice. Then it is necessary to redefine the scope, adjust deadlines if essential, and review the timetable. We are, therefore talking about the fact that both sides – client and implementing agency – agree that agile action also means adapting the framework conditions. It is often of no help to anyone at the end of the day if only one-sided quick wins are achieved, while elsewhere the critical path is already left.

Many agencies promise more than they can keep and try to conceal the lack of communication at eye level by unnecessary hassle, meetings, and administrative effort. Do the reality check yourself and watch how agencies talk about “agile working.”

DeSight Studio GmbH | Wolfgang Zdimal

Journalist and professional copywriter Wolfgang Zdimal wrote this article on behalf of DeSight Studio GmbH and published by DeSight Studio GmbH. Wolfgang Zdimal, who manages his business from Vienna, Austria, has more than 20 years of professional experience and writes for the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, BAWAG P.S.K. Bank or just for DeSight Studio GmbH.