CAS Agile Organization: New Continuing Education for Digital Transformation
Agile working methods have been used successfully in software development for years. Increasingly, agile approaches are also becoming widespread outside of IT. This is why the new continuing education course at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW is aimed specifically at companies that want to plan and master the digital transformation.
In times of increasing globalization and digitization, it is more important than ever for organizations to be able to respond quickly to changing customer needs. Andreas Hink, Chief Digital Officer at Globus, is well aware of this: "Stability used to be the credo of IT," says the trained business economist, "but digitalization is making more flexible working methods necessary.
Agile organization
In the in-service training CAS Agile Organization, participants learn how their company can secure a lasting competitive advantage through agility. The course is run jointly by the FHNW and the ZHAW in cooperation with the agilist cooperative and the Swiss Agile Research Network. In terms of content, participants deal with the principle of agility as a personal working principle, in the team and in the company. The transformation from a traditional work process to an Agile way of thinking and proceeding will be addressed by proven experts. Selected case studies provide an exciting insight into various companies. In his e-commerce team at Globus, Andreas Hink began to gradually introduce agile work processes based on the "Scrum" model. Scrum is a framework for complex adaptive tasks to effectively and creatively deliver products with the highest possible value. In doing so, the product is developed iteratively and incrementally in short cycles.
Difficult cultural change
According to Prof. Martin Kropp, the cultural change in the organization is one of the greatest challenges when introducing agile working methods. Working according to agile values and principles is much more than a new process model. The professor of software development at the University of Applied Sciences FHNW is one of the authors of the Swiss Agile Study, which examines the use of agile methods in the Swiss IT industry every two years. In addition to the culture change, the changed role of management is another challenge. "Self-organized Agile teams are no longer led according to the control and command principle, but demand leadership according to the servant leadership principle," explains Martin Kropp, "the roles are redefined."
Measurable success
According to the latest Swiss Agile Study, 85 percent of IT companies now use agile process models - and are satisfied with them. "The speed of our processes has roughly doubled," Andreas Hink also reports, "delivery reliability can be met more frequently, and target achievement has risen from 30 to around 80 percent." This is confirmed by the findings of the Swiss Agile Study. "The fact that success is measured consistently at all is what I consider to be the most important result of Agile methods," says Hink. In addition to IT, the approach is also used at Globus in logistics and marketing. "Wherever projects are carried out, Agile methods can be applied," says Martin Kropp.
CAS Agile Organization - Information
Degree: CAS FHNW/ZHAW
ECTS points: 15
Next start: 14.09.2018
Duration: 28 course days
Class days: Friday / Saturday
Place: Windisch
Price: CHF 8'200
www.fhnw.ch/cas-agile-Organisation
