Agile for Infrastructure Projects

When we think of Agile, many of us immediately associate this with software development projects. This often leaves infrastructure project managers wondering whether to adopt Agile for their projects or not. 

As an Agile practitioner, I believe many the answer to this question is – Yes, Agile absolutely can apply to Infrastructure projects! 

Infrastructure projects are both dynamic and complex. Staying competitive in today’s global economy demands we deliver the right infrastructure projects regardless of business dynamics or technical complexity. 

Traditional project delivery is task-driven and predictive. In other words, it assumes circumstances impacting an infrastructure project are predictable. In contrast, Agile allows for project adaptation to cater for changing aspirations, requirements and value propositions.

Embracing Agile models of structured project design, deployment and monitoring of teams and resources, requires us to:

  • Establish a project vision, incorporating – 
    • Defined scope of infrastructure services to be provided.
    • Established roles and responsibilities and ways of working across infrastructure, application development and Operations teams
    • Clarity of automation and cloud strategy.
    • Identify objectives and metrics for performance and value creation.
  • Identify opportunities through analysis of past consumption patterns and projected future needs by dividing work between teams based on scope and capability.
  • Align teams with Agile methods – e.g. teams working on infrastructure automation are typically smaller and use Scrum, whereas teams working on support and operations might use Kanban or Scrumban.
  • Follow structured processes when assembling Agile infrastructure teams.e.g. training team members, developing a strong team charter, aligning key stakeholders to project needs, building backlogs etc.
  • Ensure sustainable Agile transformation by empowering teams to govern their work, oversee changes in priorities, ensure progress toward goals and maintain Agile practices.

Principles of Agile Transformation

  • Teams comprise mixture of technical and collaborative skills.
  • Infrastructure is automated such that developers can configure infrastructure using self-service tools.
  • Repetitive work is automated, processes are cyclical and flexible.
  • Application development and operations roles are integrated.

Limitations of Agile infrastructure

  • Infrastructure encompasses hardware, software, and networks change is highly governed, restricting change agility.
  • First-release minimum viable product requires a significant setup overhead, resulting in a longer release cycles and disrupted development cadence.
  • While software-only projects are generally quite flexible, course correcting Infrastructure projects involves complexity. 
  • Where Agile leverages cross-functional teams who collaborate and multitask, traditional infrastructure projects comprise teams with members possessing specialised skills, not utilised for periods within a single Agile project or deployed across multiple projects simultaneously, creating project bottlenecks. 
  • Whilst short iterations and quick release cycles apply well in software development, these are potentially less applicable to hardware releases. 
  • Agile infrastructure projects may have long-term management overheads that differ from traditional approaches to managing Infrastructure projects – consider the pros and cons of Agile before moving ahead.

Traditional IT processes often follow a linear and sequential path which is inconsistent with the pace of change in organisations through digitalisation of our ways of working and business processes. The move towards Agile infrastructure is driven by the need for flexibility, adaptation and increased delivery velocity of IT services

Whilst successful Agile adoption can lead to a more resilient and responsive organisation, it’s important to note that the transition to Agile is an ongoing process that requires continuous evaluation, refinement and iteration of practices to stay aligned with business objectives and market dynamics.

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