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18th State of Agile Report

State of Agile Trends
Trends for the past 18 years of the State of Agile Report from Digital.ai

I am a big fan of the annual State of Agile report from Digital.ai. Each year, the report looks at things like:


  • Why organizations adopt Agile

  • What frameworks they use

  • What challenges they’re facing


But this year was different.


For the first time in its 18-year history, Digital.ai didn’t ask about frameworks. They didn’t ask why teams choose Agile. They didn’t even discuss (much) about scaling approaches.


Instead, the entire report turned its spotlight on something else entirely: AI, of course.


It’s such a dramatic shift that I honestly wondered whether they should’ve renamed it: “The State of AI” instead.


Here are the key insights from this year's report. Or you can download your own copy at www.stateofagile.com.


1. AI Jumps From Assistant to Autonomy

This year's report refers to the current state of AI as the Fourth Wave of software development: Agentic AI.


We’re not just talking about tools that generate test cases or summarize tickets. We’re talking about AI systems that:

  • Act

  • Decide

  • Optimize


And sometimes outperform humans on routine decisions


No, we're not talking about the Terminator's Cyberdyne Systems - not yet, anyway - but organizations are diving in to using AI in new ways:

  • 84% are using or planning to use AI in the development lifecycle

  • 1 in 4 already have agentic AI pilots doing actual decision-making

  • Teams are beginning to treat AI as a collaborator, with Retrospectives, governance, and feedback loops that include AI-generated work


It sounds like organizations are starting to operationalize AI.


2. The Visibility Paradox: More Light, Worse Outcomes

Here's something that both surprised and didn't surprise me: organizations claim they have more visibility than ever.

  • 55% say they have end-to-end SDLC visibility

  • 65% say their toolchain is well aligned


But at the same time:

  • 63% report declining software quality

  • Teams say they’re delivering slower, even with better reporting


This paradox—more visibility, worse results—is coming from a misuse of metrics from leadership.

  • Only 15% of business leaders participate meaningfully in Agile practices

  • Leadership alignment is now one of the top blockers to success


To address this, I strongly recommend that leaders take the Professional Agile Leadership course which includes everything from the leader's role in Agile to using the right metrics to drive alignment. It seems to me that it is tailor-made to address this industry-wide issue.


3. The Rise of Hybrid Everything

SAFe usage has continued to decline - and in my opinion that's not a bad thing at all.

  • SAFe usage has dropped to 44% (down from 53% at its peak)

  • But Adoption of Scrum@Scale, LeSS, and Nexus also declined

  • Meanwhile, 74% of organizations now say they use hybrid or homegrown models


The industry is quietly leaving behind rigid playbooks and moving toward flexible, context-driven operating models. Teams are mixing Agile, DevOps, Product Ops, and even ITSM—whatever helps them deliver value.


This shift confirms something many practitioners have felt for years: the framework is less important than how you apply the framework. I am very excited - personally - about the rise of the product model as a way to gain alignment but I feel that Nexus is a valuable opportunity which has been missed, since it combines a simpler framework with a focus on the product model.


4. The New Bottleneck: Data Trust Is Falling Apart

If AI is going to make decisions, the data feeding it better be trustworthy. And according to the report… it’s not.


Organizations admit:

  • 53% struggle to prioritize work because their insights are unreliable

  • 52% can’t measure business outcomes effectively

  • Nearly half still rely on spreadsheets

  • Only 6% use AI-driven analytics at scale


The result?


Teams are moving faster, but not necessarily smarter.


Digital.ai sums it up perfectly: “AI without strong data governance creates acceleration without alignment.”


This may be one of the most important warnings in the entire report. The upshot: Context is important. We may need Context Owners in addition to Product Owners in the future. (Contact Rebel Scrum to learn more about our Foundational AI training options which includes workshops around creating a roadmap for AI and building a focus on context for your AI)


5. Agile Returns to Its Roots: Outcomes Over Outputs

The most refreshing trend this year is a return to Agile’s original purpose: delivering value.


Previous reports obsessed over time-to-market, delivery speed, and automation.

This year? The top cultural focus is:

  • Outcome-driven alignment

  • Adaptability across business & technology

  • Continuous measurement of value


Only 13% say Agile is fully embedded across their business—but nearly 29% say the next big leap is a culture centered on outcomes.


It seems to me like Agile is growing up, because it's less about using Agile for the sake of using Agile and more about focusing on business outcomes. We are moving beyond story points and sprint charts into something bigger: a value-driven operating model for the AI age.


Conclusion

I expect that we can continue to see the following trends this year:


  • AI acceleration

  • A focus on leadership alignment

  • Building context in our data

  • The Product Model (or aligning teams around Products)

  • Increased focus on business outcomes


The next era of Agile won’t be defined by frameworks—it will be defined by alignment, data, and intelligent systems.

Scrum isn’t going away. Agile isn’t fading. They’re evolving into something more powerful: a system for navigating a world where AI is not just a tool but a teammate on an Agile team.


 
 
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