Hidden facilitators of agile transition: Agile coaches and agile champions

Abstract

Prevalence of Agile methods in software companies is increasing. Software companies need to employ these methods to overcome the inherent challenges of traditional methods. However, transitioning to Agile approach is a topic of debate and needs to be supported by appropriate facilitators. Conducting a large-scale research study, revealed the most important Agile transition facilitators. This paper solely presents two hidden facilitators of Agile transition, Agile coaches and Agile champions, which rarely have been taken into consideration. Both of these facilitators directly impress the people involved in the transition. People-intensive nature of Agile methods and critical role of the people in the transition process reflect the importance of these facilitators when a software company is in the transition process. This study showed that considering these facilitators when can highly impress the success of the transition and revealed the real responsibilities of Agile coaches and Agile champions when transitioning to Agile.