Australian firms urged to adopt Agile for better efficiency

Australian businesses are facing significant communication challenges leading to inefficiencies, according to new research by Lucid Software.

The Sydney-based company released a survey titled 'The Agile Advantage: Transforming Collaboration for Modern Teams' highlighting obstacles and opportunities regarding agile work practices in Australia.

The research indicates that 54% of Australian businesses have not yet embraced Agile work practices, resulting in substantial inefficiencies and communication issues. Over a fifth of the survey's respondents identified unclear project requirements or scope changes (23%) and miscommunication with colleagues (22%) as the primary reasons for having to redo work. Additionally, 33% noted that the impact of miscommunication on completing tasks occurred weekly.

The survey also revealed that 43% of Australian businesses spend up to three hours reaching team consensus on the tasks needed to advance business objectives. This suggests that while discussions take place, they are not resulting in effective decision-making or clear action plans. Furthermore, 46% of respondents agreed that improved communication and collaboration tools could streamline the process of forming consensus within teams.

"Agile work practices, when properly implemented, can greatly enhance efficiency, communication, and collaboration," said Bryan Stallings, Chief Evangelist at Lucid Software. "In our survey, 24% of Australian knowledge workers pointed to a lack of training and understanding as the biggest barrier to embracing Agile within teams. To truly unlock the potential of Agile, businesses must invest in education and development at all levels. Through professional growth initiatives that emphasise people skills like collaboration and effective communication, teams can increase their agility, leading to greater efficiency and stronger alignment with overall business goals."

Benefits of Agile work practices were noted among those who have implemented them, with 67% of respondents reporting an improvement in team efficiency. Participants also identified 'Offering clear guidance and expectations,' 'Addressing workload distribution and capacity issues,' and 'Encouraging open communication and feedback loops' as the top three ways businesses can better support teams to improve efficiency.

For Australian businesses, the findings underscore the importance of adopting Agile practices and focusing on strategies that enhance collaboration and efficiency in various work environments. Lucid Software's research sheds light on the need for better communication tools and training in Agile methodologies to improve overall business productivity.

The results in this report are from an online survey of 2,190 knowledge workers that was fielded from September 18 to 24, 2024. Additionally a filter was applied to the report and 280 responses from Australia are included. Respondents have been screened from a population of full-time staff, 25- to 64-years old, in firms with at least 10 employees.