Agile method: what are we really talking about?
The scientific company of work, popularized by Frederick Taylor and Henri Ford.
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Updated November 2026. This was first published on 11 February 2022. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- The scientific company of work, popularized by Frederick Taylor and Henri Ford, assumes that the collective effectiveness of an company depends on the modeling and the systematic planning of activities.
- The role of line management is then mainly to ensure that activities are carried out following the established plan.
- Traditional project management approaches, also called predictive approaches, have followed this approach.
The scientific company of work, popularized by Frederick Taylor and Henri Ford, assumes that the collective effectiveness of an company depends on the modeling and the systematic planning of activities. The role of line management is then mainly to ensure that activities are carried out following the established plan.
Traditional project management approaches, also called predictive approaches, have followed this approach. According to this idea, all the activities of a project can be defined and planned, and one only needs to follow the plan to complete one’s project successfully.
Without calling this approach into question, it quickly became apparent, from the end of the 20th century, that it was ill-suited to the development of computer applications.
Indeed, the traditional approach to the project considers that the need of the clients of the project can be precisely defined from the beginning and does not evolve. As a result, what is valid for the construction of a bridge turns out to be false in the case of an IT-dominated project. In most cases, the client is multiple, does not know what he wants, or does not know how to express it. He can also change his mind during the project, depending on the evolution of his environment and his awareness of his actual needs. This has led to numerous failures, sometimes very high profile, of significant IT projects unable to meet their cost, quality, or deadline targets.
The rapid development of the digital era has finally convinced decision-makers that the traditional project management approach was not suitable.
The agile approach responds to the need to master one’s projects in a changing and uncertain environment.
Definition of the agile method St’phane Pailler, an expert in agile transition and trainer at Cegos, admits that it is not easy to give a precise definition of agility in business. “The first thing to understand is that agility is not a method,” he says.
If it were, it would be made up of precise rules to be applied as they are.
1st principle of the agile approach: Focus on value creation “Agility is a way of thinking. A way of approaching the problems of its company from another angle, that of value, summarizes St’phane Pailler. This means working by constantly asking the question, “what am I going to build that will bring value to my company, to the business, to my customers, to users, etc.?”.
“For example, in the context of an agile project, we will allow ourselves not to develop everything that the client might expect, but only what brings the most value,” adds Emmanuel Chenevier, Offer and Expertise Project Management manager.
Making an agile transition in your company requires setting up a unique work environment, perfectly adapted to the specificities and needs of your company. Make it easier for everyone to be aligned and involved in value creation.
The concern at the heart of agile approaches: to produce a tailor-made product that optimizes the value delivered for its sponsor.
2nd principle of the agile approach: Constantly seek to improve what we do Improving working, relations with customers, tools, exchanges between departments, everyone’s knowledge… In short, an agile company is not satisfied with what roughly works but constantly seeks to move towards the best. An approach that applies to each level of the company.
3rd principle of the agile approach: Putting people at the heart of the process According to St’phane Pailler, this third point is even the breeding ground for agility.
Taylorism has been rightly criticized for dehumanizing work. Agility puts the human at the heart of the approach so that everyone finds the meaning of the work done and the pleasure of working as a team.
In an agile work environment, each team member has a fundamental role, and all production actors feel responsible and invested in creating a product that brings value.
This requires excellent communication to federate, allowing everyone to understand if their work is aligned with the agile cell (the team in charge of the product) and, So, act accordingly. “We give direction to the team, without requiring the means and conditions to achieve it,” continues St’phane Pailler.
“This empowerment of everyone is the principle of agility that requires the greatest effort,” says Emmanuel Chenevier because it is a question of completely getting rid of certain habits that are deeply rooted in us when we have evolved for a long time in more traditional companies. “It’s about no longer being in command and control. The manager must learn to let go because he no longer controls the work done but must ensure that the team has the means to carry out its mission. There are no longer indicators for measuring individual production efficiency but real assistance in setting up agility for the team. It becomes a support to be more agile”, develops St’phane Pailler.
If the reflection on the agile approach was initially carried out by and for IT developments, it is well transposable to all professional sectors and all types of company. Indeed, agility addresses issues through 3 universal principles, so it knows no limits. We could even follow the principles outside the professional field to address personal problems!
Even if making an agile transition requires getting rid of certain habits, there is no question of throwing away all the tools and recommendations resulting from traditional organizational methods.
On the contrary, we can draw from both approaches. This will allow us to be in continuous improvement. Because the tools are only customizations, they do not profoundly change working.
“When you work with a classic method, you establish a plan in advance. With agility, we are in an empirical method. But, this does not prevent using tools from other methods if they work and do not hinder agility”, specifies St’phane Pailler.
“In any project, there are activities that can and must be planned. For example, ordering materials with long lead times building infrastructure. In this case, traditional planning and monitoring costs apply, recognizing Emmanuel Chenevier. Conversely, some activities cover needs that are difficult to define and change. In this case, an agile approach can be used. More and more talk of hybrid approaches that combine traditional and elegant techniques and tools within the same project.
An example to understand the difference between agile and traditional project management St’phane Pailler offers us a theoretical example of the differences between a project managed with a traditional approach and in agile mode.
“You are in charge of developing a new amusement park. You define the attractions, safety rules, queue management, cost, and resources needed in this case.
You will explore the minor details to plan your amusement park properly. Still, this plan is based on assumptions: attendance at the various attractions, the dangerousness of the interests, construction cost, time, etc…
Once you have studied everything, you will launch the construction, and at the end of the development. can be very long, the park is entirely finalized. The budget was consumed, finally being open to the public.
It is a model of development based on planning which seems logically reassuring. This gives the illusion of mastering the unknown parts: will the theme always be in fashion? Will the flagship and innovative attractions meet their audience? Are the additional services sufficient, and do they meet the expectations of visitors?…
When we work in a tailor-made, empirical approach, that is to say, and we have another reflection in agile.
We define together the vision of the product (the park), the theme, and the star attraction. Then, we discuss the most critical points with the client, and we immediately start building a small part of the park.
The objective is to quickly open the park to a test public, for example, to realize as soon as possible if more people are needed to manage the attraction, more advertising to attract people, more decorations to immerse yourself in the theme, see a queuing effect, add additional services.
“The project team must ask itself questions related to the use made of it by users and those who commissioned the project to improve what they have just achieved,” explains Emmanuel Chenevier. Tailor-made means constantly asking yourself, “what will bring value to my client?”. It is also a question involving it to build an improved version of the existing one.
Should I create a new attraction or improve what has just been done? Do I need to change my way of building to be more efficient? How can I help the people who operate the attractions better manage the park? Do I have a good perception of the user experience?
Benefits of Agile Project Management 1st advantage: Offer a product more quickly We can offer a product much faster since we can afford to start with a preview without the product being finished. What matters is to learn if we are creating the right thing and producing the expected value.
An agile company is an company where we do not wait to have reached perfection to start bringing the product to life, whether it is a material or immaterial product.
2nd advantage: Continue to improve the product We can continue to improve the product and the way of working continuously.
Changes can be made gradually. Nothing is fixed.
3rd advantage: Bespoke We offer a tailor-made product or service. It corresponds precisely to the customer’s expectations and may ultimately be far from the initially imagined product.
Read also: Project management: the vocabulary and definitions you need to know.
Disadvantages of the agile approach in project management “Many companies believe they are agile by applying agile methods and tools such as daily meetings, sprints, etc., observes Emmanuel Chenevier. This represents a certain risk because agility is an approach, a state of mind, more than a methodology and a set of tools. Agility presupposes real team autonomy and a model of leadership based on trust. Wanting the efficiency of agility with a command and control management style will generate a very high level of stress in the teams.
Agility, if well implemented, generates a high level of team performance. The team and the company are constantly looking for ways to improve productivity. This continuous improvement and the short periodic rhythm of agile sprints, on the order of a month, can lead to team fatigue. So, it is imperative to integrate into the life of the team moments of breathing to give the team time to live under the pain of exhaustion.
Finally, it is futile to apply agility to all projects. Some projects require planning that leaves little room for flexibility due to the resources involved.
How do you choose between the predictive method and the agile method? Agility is opposed in its philosophy to the predictive method, a classic method of company in which we work on a plan. The two are not, But, comparable in their use.
Agility allows excellent flexibility and responds perfectly through its empirical approach to issues with many shadows, technical or functional unknowns. But, it requires exceptional involvement from the client (sponsors, users, etc.) to position themselves permanently on the value produced.
Classical methods (predictive, cascading, etc.) provide perfect visibility and control of the project when a few unknowns, technical locks, or assumptions are made on the initial plan.
So, it is no good and bad, but rather two different approaches to addressing distinct issues, each with an appropriate state of mind.
It is recognized that agility is particularly effective when the need is poorly defined, and the means to be implemented to meet these needs are little known. Conversely, the predictive approach is appropriate when the condition is well known and the standards to be implemented well mastered. Between the two, the project manager will choose the proper technique or a mix of methods (hybrid methods) depending on his project’s phases, lots, and activities.
Questions and answers #
What is the main point? #
The scientific company of work, popularized by Frederick Taylor and Henri Ford, assumes that the collective effectiveness of an company depends on the modeling and the systematic planning of activities.
What else did the original piece say? #
The role of line management is then mainly to ensure that activities are carried out following the established plan.