5. Adopt intelligent automation. Agile approaches to delivering new services won’t work without embracing the automation of IT systems. This means adopting a machine-first delivery model, with DevOps automating the work of engineering and operations for software building, testing, and product introductions. Retailers also must invest in building capabilities for AI- driven automation of engineering processes to enable fast and frequent delivery of customer products and services, while reducing development overhead. One of the most interesting areas of AI is seeing how the technology can be used to improve estimates. AI is well placed to provide agile teams guidance on decisions in which there is a complex interplay between different variables and a lot of data available from previous projects. Waterfall 6. Manage organizational change. Project managers and application developers accustomed to the waterfall method are used to having months to plan, and a year to build a new product, while their bosses call the shots on features and scope. The agile approach flips that, with the team making those decisions and working on short projects in iterative bursts. This can Agile be disconcerting. Every team member should understand the organization’s current state of operations (as well as its competitive position), why the change is necessary, how it will happen, and what it will take to make it successful. This strategy helps ameliorate the all-too-human fear of change while addressing future uncertainties.