Agile organization glossary

Self-actualization is the idea that humans are motivated by a fundamental desire to realize their full potential.

Accountability is the ability to take responsibility for a specific task.

Agile started as a project-oriented software development methodology.

Antifragile is an organism, a person, an idea, or a system that gets better and better when perturbed.

The organic social approach focuses on an organization's impact and collective well-being.

The systemic approach to management sees the organization as the sum of its internal interactions.

Self-organization is the idea that systems can emerge and evolve without explicit external intervention.

An autopoietic system is created by itself: it is in perpetual renewal, and this regeneration is autonomous.

Beyond Budgeting postulates that forecasting is inherently flawed because every fixed projection system makes forecasts instantaneously obsolete.

Change management refers to everything that's put in place to help an organization make a big change.

The role of a Circle Lead is to enable its Circle to work towards its purpose.

The role of a Circle Rep is to carry the voice of its Circle into the parent Circle.

Choosing by consensus means that you can move forward when everyone supports the proposal.

Choosing by consent means that you can move forward when no one objects to the proposal.

Cybernetics is the study of interactions that take place within a system and the catalysts for those actions.

Design thinking is a creative strategy used to solve problems. The process begins with empathy of the end user followed by ideation, prototyping, and testing of the prototype.

Authority is distributed when more than one or just a few people can make decisions.

Employee engagement is a measure of how motivated employees are to help their team and organization be successful. Low employee engagement tends to result in poor performance.

Employee retention is the capacity for an organization to keep its talented employees working in, rather than seeing them churn.

When you empower someone, you give them the authority to make a decision and do something.

A facilitator is someone who ensures that meetings are inclusive and productive.

Feedback is an essential component of growth and development. It allows employees to improve their performance which in turn makes the individual and organization more successful.

A flat organization is an organization that has few or no levels of middle management.

Governance is the set of processes used by people in power to govern a group of people.

A meeting to discuss decisions that will impact the roles or policies of an organization.

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a productivity management system that aims to organize the chaos that surrounds us.

Holacracy is a collaborative governance model alternative to the traditional top-down pyramid.

A decision-making process where not everyone needs to agree but no one must have an objection.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are measurable values set to assess the success of a project or objective.

Kanban is a visual work organization method that divides the workflow into three main categories - to do, in progress, finished - to continuously improve processes.

LeSS is a project management framework for software development. It complements the Scrum methodology by facilitating the coordination of multiple Scrum teams working on a single product.

Lean Management is a methodology designed to optimize production by minimizing waste.

Lean Startup is a market research method based on tests, measurements and iterations based on feedback.

Management is about coordinating people, tasks and information to achieve specific objectives important to the organization.

Management 3.0 emphasizes collaboration between employees, managers and executives through dialogue and sharing.

A system is considered viable when it survives autonomously in a changing environment thanks to its ability to adapt.

The New Work redistributes people's time into three thirds: traditional work, intelligent or autarkic production, and personal fulfillment.

The OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) methodology aligns individual, team and organizational objectives.

Teal organizations are built on 3 pillars: trust others, be yourself fully, evolve.

An organization that fosters wholeness enables individuals to be fully themselves.

The Quaker method of governance is based on a common purpose, consensus and the absence of hierarchy.

A raison d'être is an inspiring motivation that explains why and how we act.

Resilient organizations are proactive in preventing risks arising from internal and external change.

A tactical meeting follows a specific structure to move operational projects forward.

SAFe is a project management methodology for software development that accelerates decision-making while reducing risk.

The Scrum method is an empirical, dynamic and participative approach to project management.

A scrum master helps a Scrum team apply the Scrum methodology and defined processes.

In a holacratic or sociocratic organization, each circle elects a secretary to take notes and publish minutes.

Self-organized teams get the job done without authoritarian supervision.

Sociocracy is an alternative collaborative governance model to the traditional hierarchy.

The dynamic spiral is a psychological model that explains individual behavior within organizations.

A psychologically safe environment allows people to be themselves without fear.

Taylorism methodically reorganizes work by breaking down and optimizing tasks.

Systems theory studies how each part of a system contributes to form a complex whole.

Transformation is the process of changing organizational culture to achieve a specific goal.

VUCA describes the uncertain and unpredictable business world in which companies operate today.

Successful companies practice five disciplines: personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning and systems thinking.