How Relevant is Agile Culture in Government Institutions?
Is an Agile culture really that important? Can existing organizational culture accept the changes that come with Agile? Every organization member realizes that organizational culture is a huge barrier that will be difficult to penetrate. Not only against the implementation of Agile, organizational culture can also be a barrier to various initiatives, especially initiatives that demand major transformation. Organizational culture can be likened to antibodies that filter various new (foreign) things that will enter the body [1]. The antibodies should have a positive impact because they succeed in preventing the entry of negative things. However, sometimes the antibodies do the opposite and make the organization remain “sick” because they reject the entry of positive things into the organization.
In organizations with strict hierarchies such as government agencies, resistance to change is so strong that it becomes increasingly difficult to implement transformation. Fear and skepticism towards new methods of working, which are seen as disruptive and likely to cause new problems, are examples of “antibodies” preventing Agile practices from taking hold in the organization. The more rigid the hierarchy or culture within an organization, the harder it becomes to embrace Agile values and ways of work.
There are several examples of work culture contradictions between Agile and government agencies. Agile encourages self-organization and autonomy, while government agencies use a command-and-control leadership model. Agile builds cross-functional teams, while government agencies, due to the rigid separation of functions and responsibilities, foster an attitude of apathy towards the functions and responsibilities of other work units. Agile encourages collaboration, while the culture in government agencies states that working together is simple: You do it by handing over what you are doing to the next employee in line [2].
Agile regulations play a significant role in forming a work culture that is in line with the Agile way of working. PER-09/PJ/2017 and SE-13/PJ/2017 made by the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) can be used as examples because these two regulations are the foundation for the implementation of Agile in the DGT, which includes the workflow, output, and roles needed in the implementation of Agile. Although the practical goal is to pass audits, they are still used as a reference in daily work.
Moreover, PermenpanRB 7/2022 [3] has been in effect, so both regulations mentioned before should be in line. In PermenpanRB 7/2022, things such as squads and tasks of employees at each level are regulated and have been made simpler. In fact, for the sake of optimal collaboration, a mechanism for assigning employees across agencies, namely between ministries, is also regulated. Essentially, the regulation underlines the work system that encourages agility in government agencies. Every Agile regulation that is made can refer to the regulation.
Unfortunately, if we compare PermenpanRB 7/2022 to the Agile Manifesto, including the principles behind it, there may be differences in the approach used. There are likely aspects in the Agile Manifesto that are not adopted in PermenpanRB 7/2022. Even so, the regulation is expected to remain in line with fundamental concepts in Agile such as adaptability, flexibility, and collaboration. The differences between PermenpanRB 7/2022 and the Agile Manifesto can be aligned outside the regulation, namely directly in the practice of its implementation [4].
It is certain that the top-down approach cannot be ignored. The approach should begin with leadership so that management understands the importance of focusing on user satisfaction and starts implementing Agile to deliver the necessary values to users. Use this approach as a catalyst to overcome the organizational culture that may sometimes clash with Agile. It is important to continuously communicate this throughout the organization so that every member understands the importance of implementing Agile.
The effort to break through is certainly difficult, so it likely needs a significant amount of time. One important thing to note in this case is that, if Agile is not used to shift the orientation to user satisfaction or the implementation of Agile is forced to adapt so that it does not collide at all with the organizational culture, there is a good chance that we are doing it wrong. If that happens, it is time to change the technique or strategy for a better implementation of Agile.
The Irrelevance of Agile Culture
Now, it might be beneficial for us to realize that behind the common belief that Agile culture is important, the risk of it being irrelevant still exists, especially for the government. Fransisca et al. [5] conducted a study on success factors for Agile adoption in one of the ministries in Indonesia. The results, in addition to successfully finding 10 critical success factors for Agile adoption in government, also showed the fact that Agile culture is not more important than bureaucracy.
Initially, their study determined 36 success factors, including “Agile culture instead of bureaucracy”. The statement that was investigated for that success factor is:
Agile organizational culture plays a more key role than hierarchical organizational culture in implementing agile-based projects.
The statement was investigated through a survey conducted on a group of echelons in the central IT unit in one of the ministries in Indonesia. The survey showed that respondents did not agree with the statement. A deeper analysis conducted through interviews suggests that “Agile culture instead of bureaucracy” became irrelevant because superiors or leaders often intervened in ongoing projects. Respondents agreed that this factor could not be used as one of the success factors for Agile adoption in their agencies.
The research conducted by Fransisca et al. [5] was indeed limited because it was only carried out in 1 central IT unit in 1 ministry in Indonesia. The responses they gathered were also limited as they were obtained from a limited number of respondents, specifically echelon officials in the related units. Thus, the conclusion might not be applicable in general. However, it should be an important consideration when adopting Agile in government agencies. There is still a possibility that Agile culture holds a less significant position and lower priority. In such a scenario, any efforts to adopt Agile should be directed towards more important factors.
REFERENCES
- C. Chestnut, “Agile Vs. the Corporate Immune System,” Business 2 Community. Accessed: Apr. 30, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.business2community.com/marketing/agile-vs-the-corporate-immune-system-02050038
- A. Syafrudin, “Membentuk Budaya Pemerintah Agile,” Pemerintah Tangkas. Accessed: Dec. 01, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/pemerintah-tangkas/membentuk-budaya-pemerintah-agile-5012b7401b39
- Kementerian Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara dan Reformasi Birokrasi, “Peraturan Menteri Pendayaagunaan Aparatur Negara dan Reformasi Birokrasi Nomor 7 Tahun 2022 tentang Sistem Kerja pada Instansi Pemerintah untuk Penyederhanaan Birokrasi.” 2022.
- A. Syafrudin, “Agility Di Balik PermenpanRB 7/2022,” Pemerintah Tangkas. Accessed: Dec. 06, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/pemerintah-tangkas/agility-di-balik-permenpanrb-7-2022-f3d032d5ce86
- D. Fransisca, T. Raharjo, B. Hardian, and A. Suhanto, “Success Factors for Agile Adoption in One of the Ministries in Indonesia,” presented at the International Conference on Information Technology and Digital Applications 2021 (ICITDA 2021), Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2021.
NOTES
Translated from “Budaya Organisasi?” of the book ASN Agile.
