Continuous Improvement: How Agile Teams Keep Evolving

In Agile, one fundamental principle stands out: never settle for the current situation. Continuous improvement is a vital practice that allows teams to adapt, thrive, and stay at the forefront of their industries.

It is important to recognise that many aspects of our environment are constantly changing:

• Market needs evolve
• People within the organisation change
• Technologies advance
• Ways of working transform
• Clients’ expectations shift
• Conditions surrounding how we work develop

Given this reality, it becomes essential for Agile teams to embrace change, continually experiment, and seek better ways of working. Standing still is not an option; evolution is key to remaining competitive, efficient, and motivated. Teams that understand the importance of adapting to change are those that continue to grow and succeed over the long term.

The COMMpla Experience: Adapting with Agility

At COMMpla, we have embraced continuous improvement as a core part of our culture. Our teams have consistently sought new ways to optimise processes by self-organising and proposing changes that better fit their needs and the company’s objectives.

Initially, all our teams operated using Kanban. Over time, some teams transitioned to Scrum to better structure their planning and delivery cycles, introducing sprints, reviews, and retrospectives to ensure regular inspection and adaptation. More recently, one of our teams migrated back to Kanban, demonstrating that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each shift was motivated by the desire to tailor workflows to the team’s evolving composition and objectives, ensuring greater efficiency, flexibility, and satisfaction.

This flexibility and willingness to inspect and adapt is what keeps our teams dynamic and effective. It reflects a mindset where improvement is not a one-off event but a continuous journey. Change is embraced as an opportunity to learn, rather than feared as a disruption.

Our experience has shown that empowering teams to make these decisions leads to greater ownership of the work and stronger engagement. It also means that improvements are organic and directly aligned with the needs of those carrying out the work on a daily basis.

The Role of Tools: Evolving Use of Jira

Tools like Jira have been vital in helping us organise, visualise, and plan our work. However, even the way we use our tools has evolved over time. Initially, we used a single board for all tasks. As needs changed, we adapted to using project-specific boards, allowing for clearer visibility, more focused prioritisation, and greater autonomy at the team level.

Following the “inspect and adapt” philosophy, we continually trial new configurations, assess their effectiveness, and make informed decisions about what to retain or improve. We have experimented with different workflows, board layouts, and reporting mechanisms to better reflect the nature of the work and the needs of the teams.

For example, the move from a unified board to project-specific boards has helped improve clarity and reduced noise, enabling teams to focus on their goals without unnecessary distractions. Likewise, adapting sprint lengths, revisiting definition of done criteria, and integrating automation where appropriate are all part of our ongoing journey to refine how we work.

Continuous Improvement as a Cultural Mindset

At COMMpla, continuous improvement is a cultural mindset. We encourage open discussions about what is working and what is not, fostering an environment where feedback is valued and experimentation is welcomed. Teams are empowered to test new ideas, reflect on the outcomes, and iterate without fear of failure.

We understand that true improvement comes from small, incremental changes as much as from major transformations. By embedding this mindset into our daily work, we ensure that agility is not only about following a framework but about living the values that underpin it.

We believe that by keeping a strong focus on continuous improvement, we create resilient teams that are better equipped to face future challenges, adapt to new conditions, and seize emerging opportunities.

Conclusion

Continuous improvement is at the heart of Agile. It recognises that nothing stays static: markets, teams, technologies, clients, and ways of working all change. Agile teams must be ready to evolve with them, experimenting, adapting, and finding ever-better ways of working.

At COMMpla, our journey of evolution is a testament to this philosophy. Through self-organisation, process refinement, and tool adaptation, we strive to ensure that our teams remain resilient, motivated, and always ready to deliver exceptional value. Continuous improvement is not a destination but an ongoing journey—one that keeps us learning, growing, and leading in an ever-changing world.