Agile Insights – Some purists may believe in the traditional concept of business, where it was good enough to develop a product that is useful, of good quality, and priced decently to market itself. However, such concepts alone cannot help in scaling growth in a world where consumer preferences are changing fast. Continuous exposure to social media influencers creates artificial pressure on consumers to buy a product for its trending features. Catching up and staying relevant is a tough task going ahead without the help of agile insights.

A Paradigm Shift In Market Research

The market research industry has traversed the journey from simple data collection to high-end predictive business intelligence tools that are acting as both the growth drivers and the game-changers. In some cases, it is believed that companies are even leading consumer preferences by playing in a subtle tone with their psyche and behavioral patterns guided by heuristics and biases.

The entire life-cycle of research including planning, data source identification, collection, prediction, and analysis is time taking, and the market research industry is constantly trying to concentrate the efforts without cutting corners in terms of quality. This is exactly the area where agile insights have paved their way as the new-age mantra in business intelligence. Agile research includes small-scale research that is now figured in every type of research be it consumer, market, or product-driven.

What Are Agile Insights Or Agile Research?

Agile includes but is not limited to small, quick, or inexpensive research methods. Agile just like the literal word derives its name from the digital platform which focuses on the initial approach rather than a finished one. Here products are built incrementally from the start. Agile research follows a bottom-up approach as opposed to a top-down approach. It is not stage-specific and is used on an end-to-end basis through the stages of product conceptualization, design approval, and development.

Difference Between Agile And Traditional Research

Most if not all agile research is open-ended and resources from public domains. However, the main difference between agile and traditional research is that unlike the former it is not linear in approach. Agile research can even act as sum-of-parts research and needs to fit in the linear model, even though it can be determined in silos.

Agile research focuses on consumer feedback, learning from mistakes, flexibility, and collaboration between teams.

Research teams need to use an agile approach as complementary to the traditional methods. It can be one but not the only research procedure for maximum impact, specifically in product development and management teams that are always quenching for more data.

Fundamentals of agile insights

Agile as such does not come with a set of standard operating procedures. However, there are a few fundamentals that form the core of this approach. They are

  • Periodical booster programs that can fit in a quick and small process to determine the insights
  • Treating agile research as a nutrient-rich capsule than a comprehensive meal
  • Real-time response to changes in operations, technology, marketing, or finance
  • Accessible active users to act as responders at anytime

The agile method is a focused process where teams train and guide change management with discipline. It is iterated that the agile method does not follow any SOPs. Yet it is a dynamic method that can be customized to suit any organization’s teams.

Advantages Of Agile Research

Always following comprehensive research is both a time-consuming and expensive affair. In contrast, agile methods change their course as per the requirement and can handle any change in circumstances to determine the dynamic forefront.

Comprehensive traditional methods should not be done away with in long-term projects, but an agile approach has to be adopted whenever it is possible. In this manner, hybrid research will help the organization achieve a holistic approach to its business intelligence requirements.

By using both methods, an organization can use the agile approach whenever there is a need for bite-size information that can help as quick yet reliable solutions. It may not offer a longer process under its canopy, but agile insights can bring a change in the process dynamically. This simple act helps the brand stay relevant.

Benefits of the agile insights method

All types of research carry some advantages and limitations. An organization’s success depends on the ability to determine when and where a method is applied. Here are a few benefits of agile insights that need to be considered when determining the method to be used:

1. Dynamic and responsive

Agile methods are not determined by a set process, are vigorously progressive, and are responsive to change. They are not comprehensive, yet they are disciplined routes with focused solutions. As there is no comprehensive method to be followed and the procedure is usually targeted, there is a better chance of a successful process.

2. Higher satisfaction

As agile methods are used in an ad-hoc manner to address a specific issue, it sets a high priority to determine end-user satisfaction. The consumer can benefit from consistent deliverables that address their requirements.

3. Visible progress

Agile insights offer visible progress that can be calibrated and seen by all the stakeholders, from product development to consumers who appear in the end-to-end lifecycle of a product.

4. Increased productivity

When the issues are checked, and anomalies removed in an active and progressive method, there will not be many gaps in the lifecycle of product development, sales and distribution, and end-user consumption. This results in an increase in productivity and a reduction in lag time.

Summing-up:

Business intelligence tools have been used way before computers, or the internet was even a thing. But with the availability of AI-powered tools, insights communities, and agile platforms, businesses can aim to excel and beat their records.

Without the help of agile insights, achieving the right mix of data-driven analytics that help in removing the clogs regularly and systematically can be a difficult proposition to meet for brands. Product development that follows along the lines of consumer and product intelligence metrics should have robust agile insights systems in place for seamless workflow management.