Agile fundamentals for teams

To end this course, we wanted to summarise a few key messages.

Agile isn’t about tools, specific meetings, or frameworks. It’s a mindset. It’s about working in small steps, learning as you go, and focusing on what matters. This is what helps you deliver value to users.

It starts with a clear vision. That's what gives the team direction. It enables a shared understanding of where you’re heading and why it matters. A roadmap then turns that vision into something practical. It sets out the main outcomes and priorities over time. The backlog is where the real delivery work begins. When there is alignment, the whole team can focus on delivering the right things.

A good product backlog is DEEP. That means:

• Detailed appropriately - items near the top are well understood; those lower down are still taking shape.
• Estimated – so the team can make informed decisions about what to take on next.
• Emergent – it evolves as you learn more from users and delivery.
• Prioritised – so you’re always working on what matters most.

There’s no “right” way to do Agile. Teams can use frameworks like Scrum or Kanban, or a mix of both. What’s important is that you choose an approach that works for your team and your context. Remember, a framework isn't what makes you Agile. It’s following the principles. Things like collaborating, embracing change, delivering value early and reflecting . That’s what makes the difference.

Agile events are what keep everything connected. Planning sessions help you agree what’s next. Daily stand-ups help everyone stay aligned. Reviews give a chance to show progress and get feedback. Retrospectives are opportunities to reflect, learn, and improve. Together, these events help teams stay focused, transparent and continuously improving.

Delivery works best when people with different skills work together towards a goal. That’s what we mean by a cross-functional team. It enables faster decision making. It removes the need for handovers. It means everyone shares responsibility for delivering value to users.

But, none of this works without the right culture. Teams need to feel safe to:

ask questions

• raise issues
• take risks
• learn from mistakes

They need space to speak up and to be listened to. They need trust, from each other and from leadership, to experiment and improve.

So think about what small steps you can take to apply what you’ve learned. Agile isn’t about being perfect. It’s about improving how you work, together, to deliver better public services.