Embracing the Agile Approach: Real-World Examples from IT, HR, and Marketing

Agile vs. Traditional Project Management

At its core, agility is the ability to respond to change quickly and effectively. In nature, it’s the trait that helps animals adapt under pressure. In business, it’s a strategic approach that favors flexibility and responsiveness, especially in project and product development.

Traditional project management—often referred to as the waterfall model—follows a top-down structure with a clearly defined hierarchy. It focuses on extensive upfront planning and delivering a finished product at the end of a long cycle. Agile, on the other hand, takes a more collaborative and iterative approach:

• Teams are empowered to make decisions.
• Customers are involved throughout the development process.
• Value is delivered early and continuously via functional increments.

WATERFALL APPROACH versus AGILE APPROACH

While agile has clear advantages, it’s not without challenges. It often lacks thorough documentation due to the fast pace, and places high demands on teams to adapt quickly and communicate effectively. Success also hinges on strong client engagement—clients must be willing to test frequently, provide feedback, and collaborate closely throughout the process.

Not Everyone Embraces Agility

Agile transitions can face internal resistance. Leadership coach Marcus Blankenship identifies three types of employees who may struggle with the shift:

• Cowboys & Mavericks – Prefer working independently and dislike frequent check-ins or reporting.
• Heroes & Crisis Managers – Thrive in last-minute firefighting but struggle with proactive problem-solving, which agile relies on.
• Brilliant Hermits – Team members who lack social skills and have no desire to improve them.

Identifying and preparing these individuals early on can significantly reduce resistance and ease the transition.

How Agility Works in Practice

1. Agile software development in IT

The IT sector is where agile thrives. Agile software development emphasizes iteration, frequent testing, and close collaboration with stakeholders.

At TULIP, we use a hybrid approach to development. For instance, when building Heron, our new attendance platform, we couldn’t apply full agility from the outset due to technical dependencies.

“Although we’re strong supporters of agile, some parts of Heron couldn’t be tested incrementally at the start. We didn’t have full module integration, like with workflow, so we had to begin with more traditional steps. Agile development kicked in during later phases, once the foundation was stable,” explains Dušan Rehák, TULIP’s Product Owner.

Dušan highlights three key benefits of agile development comparing them to waterfall method:

• Requirements evolve.
  “Complex features are never fully defined at the beginning. Even experienced analysts overlook usage scenarios that only become apparent during testing. Prototypes help, but they can’t anticipate every real-world use case.”
• Change is inevitable.
  “For projects that last several months, clients often revise their processes or priorities midway. What’s documented at the start may become irrelevant.”
• Clients avoid surprises.
  “Clients are involved from the start, helping shape the product and ensuring it meets their needs.”

However, he also warns of too much flexibility with agile:

“Once clients see how quickly changes can be made, they may continuously push for tweaks or delay launches to perfect every detail. That’s when you need to strike a balance between being flexible and meeting deadlines.”

2. Agile Mindset in HR and Company Culture

Agility isn’t just for IT and product teams—it’s increasingly being applied to organizational management and HR.

At TULIP, we approach career development, job roles, and team assignments with agility. We don’t follow rigid hierarchies or predefined timelines for promotions. Instead, we evaluate and adapt based on individual growth and interest.

“We run regular performance reviews, but we don’t box people into fixed job descriptions. Roles evolve. I encourage colleagues to move toward what excites them. If a developer wants to be a project manager and it makes sense, we support that. We’ve had employees switch teams to work on different modules,” says Viktor Mečiar, TULIP Managing director.

This kind of flexibility boosts engagement and retention. In fact, 52% of millennials say opportunities for growth are the top reason they stay with a company.*

Agile HR treats the employee as a customer, aiming to deliver the best possible experience. At TULIP, we regularly test our internal culture using the Sociorating methodology. Results from our latest survey earned us an A+ certificate, and we plan to share future outcomes publicly as well.

3. Agile Marketing in a Fast-Paced Environment

Marketing is, by nature, agile. It requires rapid responses to change—both internal and external. That’s especially true in IT companies or agile-driven organizations.

“In TULIP, marketers must be truly agile. Our product modules evolve quickly based on client needs, so the marketing strategy we set today might change completely by next week—along with the product itself,” explains Soňa Výhonská, TULIP’s Marketing Manager.

Marketing agility goes far beyond social media reactions. Yes, being able to respond in real time is great—but that’s just one piece of a larger puzzle.

At TULIP, agility shows up in:

• Sprints for performance marketing (PPC) and event campaigns (like webinars),
• Regular client feedback loops that inform new messaging,
• Continuous updates of product content and PR materials,
• Ongoing A/B testing and quick iterations on the website,
• Weekly marketing meetings to align quickly and approve changes.

Most of the examples above illustrate the practical impact of agile or hybrid approaches. We didn’t aim to define every agile method — there are plenty of resources online for that. Instead, we’ve shown how stepping away from rigid waterfall processes can improve teamwork, flexibility, and employee satisfaction.

That said, not every company is suited for agile. Smaller organizations often have a better shot at making it work.

Final thoughts from the author:

“Perfectionism kills business. It held me back for years. I used to obsess over delivering perfect work, but perfection doesn’t exist. Even this article wasn’t published the way I first imagined it. But I’d rather share it now—and improve it later—than waste time chasing an unattainable ideal. What matters most is responding to what your audience or client really needs, not your original vision.”

Sources:

*https://medium.com/@BobtheBA/how-to-introduce-agile-project-management-to-your-employees-6c6158293190

https://rebel.blog.pravda.sk/2019/08/05/co-znamena-agilny-a-co-je-to-scrum/?print