Agile working is increasingly recognised by organisations as a competitive advantage, where a speedier but controlled response is needed to changing environmental conditions. How should organisations oversee the delivery of agile projects? This guide provides the answer.

Global brands such as Amazon and Apple have agility at the core of their business model. Transforming an entire organisation to be ‘agile’ may not always be either practical or sensible. However, delivering change projects by using agile approaches is likely to return significant value to the organisation.

There is a need for a different governance response to match agile approaches. Some proponents suggest that agile avoids the need for discipline, documentation and governance. This guide strongly suggests the opposite but that some adaptation to governance and focus on collaborative behaviours is necessary.

The guide is aimed at those involved in the governance of all change initiatives. Whether organised as projects, programmes or portfolios of change. It has an emphasis on those that sit at the apex of governance, i.e. board members, sponsors and external reviewers. It lists principles and check lists that directors and their equivalents should adopt and questions that you should ask. It will help improve your corporate performance, motivate staff, reduce shocks at boardroom level, safeguard your reputation and avoid hardship to stakeholders.

This guide explains how good governance of agile projects is enabled and primarily suggests an adapted mindset and collaborative behaviours that can be:

 - applied at any level of leadership in the organisation from the main board/chief executive level downwards;

 - combined with any of the popular agile methods;

 - shared throughout an organisation to encourage more successful strategic investments and further technical innovation.