What does Systems Thinking have to do with Agile?

Sometimes our implementations of Agile get in the way as we adhere dogmatically to some published process or framework.

One of the original values from the Agile Manifesto is "Responding to change over following a plan."

Systems Thinking and Agile methodologies are both geared towards embracing complexity and fostering effective responses to change.

Systems Thinking helps us look at how different parts of our overall work interrelate and morph over time.
 It's a holistic perspective leading to more sustainable, high-quality solutions.

At it's core, Agile *is* systems thinking. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continual improvement, and it encourages flexible responses to change.

At Inclusive Agile we are framework agnostic and help teams adapt their chosen framework to best fit their unique SYSTEM of people and products.

Here’s how Systems Thinking aligns and reinforces Agile practices:

* Holistic Approach: Look at your projects as a whole rather than a collection of separate tasks,
* Adaptability: Understand the dynamics within a system and adapt.
* Feedback Loops: Both Systems Thinking and Agile rely heavily on feedback loops to learn and adjust actions accordingly. In Systems Thinking,
 these loops help us understand system behaviors, while in Agile, they're used to refine processes and deliverables.
* Continuous Improvement - Engage in perpetual refinement of both your product and your work processes through iterative inspection.