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Agile methodology has changed the game in project management and software development. It's all about adaptability, working closely with customers, and quickly getting functional software out there. But what about identity and access management (IAM) projects, which are essential for securing our digital world? In this post, we're diving into how we can apply agile practices to IAM projects and why having the right tools to speed things up is crucial.

The Agile Methodology: Principles and Practices

Agile methodology is founded on four key values:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

4. Responding to change over following a plan

These values are about keeping customers happy by delivering stuff early and often, rolling with the punches when requirements change, and keeping a steady work pace. Agile is big on looping through tasks and iterating, which helps manage the twisty-turny needs of IAM projects.

Applying Agile to IAM Projects

Identity and access management systems are super important for keeping things secure in an organization. They make sure the right people can get to what they need when they need it. Setting these up means working with many different folks and getting your head around some pretty complex tech and rules. So, going with Agile seems like the smart move.

Flexibility in Fast-Changing Environments

IAM projects require constant adaptation to shifts in technology, compliance regulations, and threat landscapes. The agility to respond to these changes is built into the iterative processes of Agile—where feedback loops and regular iterations allow teams to pivot and adapt to new requirements rapidly.

Customer Collaboration and Feedback

Agile's emphasis on customer collaboration ensures that IAM solutions are not developed in a vacuum. Regular interactions with stakeholders ensure that IAM systems are user-centric, taking into account the different needs of various user groups within an organization.

Early and Incremental Value Delivery

Rather than a monolithic approach to IAM implementation, Agile provides the structure to develop and release features incrementally. This ensures that value is delivered continuously and that priorities can be adjusted based on what brings the most immediate benefits to the organization.

So, it sounds like Agile is the perfect fit for identity projects. It begs the question, why don't we use it more? Why aren't we screaming from the digital rooftops that this is the way to implement identity projects and hear success story after success story? Instead, we still hear the same thing about Identity projects: They are slow and take massive amounts of effort to get a return on investment.

But why?

Accelerating Time to Value with Agile Tools

An agile approach to IAM implementation mandates tools that are flexible and conducive to rapid development and iteration. Tools that support an Agile workflow for IAM can:

• Automate repetitious tasks to free up teams to focus on the more complex aspects of IAM.

• Facilitate collaboration between developers, security teams, and stakeholders to maintain a shared understanding of the project goals and progress.

• Enable continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), allowing for seamless and automated updates and changes to the IAM infrastructure.

• Provide real-time monitoring and analytics, ensuring any issues can be identified and addressed promptly in line with Agile's emphasis on quick feedback and resolution.

Think about the identity tools that are out there today. Does this description match?

Not really.

That's why I like what the team at Readibots is doing. They are building a platform that empowers organizations to attack identity in an agile manner. You can break down identity processes and automate them as you go, enabling users to move fast and solve problems now.

We've long said in identity that we must focus on time to value and help organizations achieve quick wins. Yet the tools we build still require months of work before we can show any real value. It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, no?

Agile methodology has revolutionized project management and software development. But it's time for the identity community to embrace its principles and practices in our IAM projects fully. What Zapier and Make have done for business applications, I believe Readibots will do for identity.

No more 9 month implementation cycles, you build, you test, you push, you build again. Hold on to your seats friends, Identity is about to get fun again.

You can check out what Readibots is up to here: www.readibots.com.