The Use of Technological Bricks in Agile: Conclusions Based on Analysis of the Literature and on Empirical Research

Objective: The main objective of the study was to assess the level of Agile implementation in organisations in Poland and to determine the most commonly used Agile methods. The intention of this paper is to present the results of empirical research on technological tools supporting agile organisations in Poland and consider which digital competencies may favour their use. Research Design & Methods: This paper presents a review of the literature and the results of empirical research on the use of information technology in enterprises which follow Agile practices and approaches. Empirical research is based on an interview questionnaire, which contained questions about the level of Agile implementation in the organisation, Agile implementation and support areas, support factors, barriers to implementation, and implementation results. Findings: The paper presents the main IT tools used in agile enterprises and the results of research conducted in this field. The study shows that in 2019 companies mainly used the Agile approach for the creation of innovative services and (or) products. Research also indicates that, when it comes to Agile Good Practices, respondents most often use Scrum and Kanban. Practices such as DevOps, TDD, or SAFe were much less frequently used by the companies surveyed. Implications / Recommendations: The results of the research provide valuable information on three issues: implementation of the Agile approach in Polish enterprises, assessment of the use of technological bricks in Polish enterprises, and an analysis of good practices in Polish enterprises. The research also indicates directions for further research. Among others, it is recommended to repeat the research on the level of agility of the organisation in Poland, primarily to check whether the level of implementation has changed and whether the implementation has taken place in other key areas of the company. Contribution: Literature review and economic practice indicate that there is increasing popularity of the use of information technologies, not only in agile organisations but in general, requiring employees and managers to improve their digital competencies. This paper addresses the need to evaluate the current state of Agile implementation in the organisation and examines the use of technological bricks in Agile in both theoretical and empirical ways.