Remember when Agile was the answer to everything? When we thought two-week sprints and daily standups would solve all our organisational innovation challenges? Well, I hate to break it to you, but that ship has sailed. As AI reshapes our business landscape, we need something more robust, more strategic, and frankly, more grown-up. Enter lifecycle governance.
Let's be honest: Agile was revolutionary. It broke us free from waterfall's rigid constraints and gave teams the flexibility to iterate and adapt. But here's the uncomfortable truth – Agile's tactical 'feature factory' focus is becoming its Achilles' heel in the AI era.
Think about it. When your business model can be disrupted overnight by an AI breakthrough, can you really afford to think in two-week tactical increments that are often not connected to strategy or commercial outcomes? When your competitors are leveraging machine learning to reimagine entire industries, are retrospectives and velocity charts enough to keep you competitive?
Here's what keeps executives up at night: the disconnect between their strategic vision and what's actually happening on the ground. They're watching AI transform their industries while their teams are still debating story points and sprint planning.
The problem isn't Agile itself – it's that Agile was designed for a different era. An era where change happened at a human pace, not at the speed of algorithms.
So what's the alternative? Lifecycle governance isn't just another methodology – it's a fundamental shift in how we think about business and technology delivery.
Instead of asking "What can we build in the next sprint?", lifecycle governance asks "How does this initiative create value throughout its entire existence?" It's about:
AI isn't just another technology – it's a force multiplier that demands a different approach. Traditional Agile struggles with AI projects because:
Lifecycle governance addresses these challenges by providing the strategic framework needed to manage business initiatives, innovation nd AI initiatives effectively.
Transitioning from Agile to lifecycle governance isn't about abandoning what works – it's about evolving. Here's how to start:
Get started and implement lifecycle management and governance in your business at your own pace with Skyjed's blueprint. In just 8-12 weeks, you'll have access to toolkits and best practice implementation experts. No matter what sector or company size – from product to communication collateral, processes, ESG, policy – so many areas can be implemented and collaboration facilitated across silos.
Agile got us here, but it won't get us where we need to go. As AI continues to reshape our business landscape, lifecycle governance provides the strategic framework needed to ensure technology investments deliver real business value.
The future belongs to CEOs who can balance agility with governance, innovation with accountability, and speed with strategy. It's time to level up and embrace lifecycle governance – because in the AI era, anything less is just playing catch-up.
What's your take? Are you seeing the limitations of traditional Agile in your organisation? How are you adapting to the AI revolution? Let's continue this conversation.
After 20 years leading innovation and commercial P&L, I've created Skyjed – an AI lifecycle management and governance platform with guardrails built in. Reach out for a free assessment of how you can embed it in your business in hours, not months, using our blueprint and team of advisors who have deep expertise in commercial management and lifecycle governance.
Cheers and until next edition
Leica
Contact Skyjed today for a personalised demonstration.
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Skyjed’s AI-powered end-to-end lifecycle and governance platform is mission control for lifecycle management and governance. Bringing together every data point across your portfolio and lifecycle into a single source of truth, it gives our clients a new perspective to make more strategic lifecycle decisions to launch, monitor, optimise, and win.
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