Continuing Your Agile Transformation Despite Cuts

If you’re an Agile organization that is currently struggling to figure out how to sustain your Agile transformation momentum amidst budget cuts, you’re not alone. Thousands of companies are trying to continue their Agile transformation despite cuts in a lean economy.

Like many Agile transformation catalysts, you likely started your Agile transformation with high hopes. You brought in Agile coaches, formed value streams, aligned leadership, trained your teams, set up your Sprint cadence and events, and began the process of shifting the corporate culture around things like individuals & interactions, frequent delivery of working software, continuous improvement, sustainable pace, and motivated individuals.

After beginning to gain momentum, your teams established their velocity or tracked cycle time — when suddenly, your budget and ACoE staff was cut. Now you’re left holding the roadmap, wondering how you’re going to support teams with few people left to guide them in their quest for Agile maturity.

You’re not alone. This story is playing out real-time regardless of your industry.

“We’re still committed to Agile… we just don’t have the funding for coaching right now.”
“We want to roll out training, but we don’t have time to create it.”
“We now have a very lean Agile CoE, but the transformation is still expected to move forward.”

No. This isn’t what we meant when we said “get lean.” But here’s the thing: reverting to traditional, 18-month project plans and rigid delivery models isn’t the answer.

What You’re Dealing With Right Now

If you’re in this spot, you’re likely facing a few of these challenges:

• Teams are still “doing Agile” but the foundational mindset, purpose, and energy are waning.
• Training is inconsistent—or non-existent.
• Leadership is expecting momentum, but no one’s sure how to sustain it.
• The few remaining Agile champions are overextended and under-supported.

You’re likely trying to piece together content, rework old decks, and find a way to make training engaging with a mishmash of materials and under-qualified facilitators to support it. Let’s face it—not only is it exhausting, it flies in the face of what Agile is actually about.

Your Agile transformation doesn’t need to end. It just needs a new way forward.

We coach organizations on the importance of things like motivated individuals, sustainable pace, and technical excellence—core principles meant to support teams and build healthy, resilient ways of working. When we overextend the few people left holding the Agile torch, we start contradicting the very values we’re trying to instill.

What You Don’t Need Right Now

If you’re in survival mode, trying to keep your transformation afloat with limited support, the last thing you need is more noise or complexity. This isn’t the time for bloated solutions or generic content that doesn’t speak to your teams.

• Another 150-slide PowerPoint deck with cartoon stick figures and text-heavy bullet points.
• A long-term contract with a pricey consulting firm.
• A one-size-fits-all Agile playbook that doesn’t reflect your team’s context.

What You Do Need, Right Now

You need practical, flexible, and credible training and coaching support that can keep your transformation afloat—without overloading your already thin team or draining the budget.

That’s why I created Agile LifeWorks.

Sustaining an Agile Tranformation Despite Cuts

Agile Training designed for lean times

In summer 2025, Agile LifeWorks will offer modular, ready-to-use training materials. These human-centered courses are designed to engage virtual learners. With facilitation guides and interactive workspace templates, your internal team will have the materials needed to train teams and leaders. Even if your Agile CoE has taken a hit.

Agile LifeWorks training courseware includes:

• Prebuilt courseware on Agile basics, Product roles, Scrum, and Agile Leadership.
• Facilitation guides, Miro/Mural templates, and survey questions that make delivery easy and consistent.
• Train-the-Trainer sessions to get your experienced Agilists up to speed—fast.
• Optional Supplemental CoP Launch Program to help your organization scale and sustain Agile from within, without relying solely on coaches.

This isn’t a “plug-and-play” solution for leadership to throw over the fence. It’s built for organizations that care about keeping their teams empowered, but need to approach it differently in a new reality.

You’re Not Starting Over—You’re Adapting

Losing your Agile coaches doesn’t mean you lose your Agile foundation. But it does mean it’s time to adapt how you support your teams. Whether you’re working with a skeleton crew or you’re the last coach standing, there’s still a way forward—and you don’t have to build it all alone. You simply need to adapt your approach—which is what agility is all about.

If you’re ready to keep your Agile transformation alive without burning out the people who still believe in it, check out Agile LifeWorks training model. Or better yet, let’s talk.