Agile's impact on public organisations' way of working

Ann Fugl-Meyer’s chapter examines how agile methodologies influence organisational transformation in the public sector, focusing on the Danish Tax Administration’s large-scale adoption of the scaled agile framework. She positions agile not as a technical tool but as a mindset that challenges bureaucratic traditions, promoting collaboration, responsiveness, and continuous learning. Using translation theory , Fugl-Meyer interprets organisational change as a process of adaptation and sensemaking, where actors – “translators” – reinterpret management ideas to fit their institutional contexts. Her ethnographic study captures the early stages of “The Agile Transformation”, showing how cross-functional Scrum teams, new roles, and iterative communication reshaped structures and relationships across hierarchies. Four translation spaces – managerial, political, internal, and collaborative – illustrate how agile’s meaning evolves through negotiation and practice. These spaces demonstrate that transformation occurs simultaneously in ideas and organisations: agile adapts to the bureaucratic environment while altering it in return. The study reveals agile’s dual nature as both an enabler of digital transformation and a legitimising narrative for change. It elevates IT professionals, redistributes decision-making power, and embeds iterative learning into everyday work. Fugl-Meyer concludes that successful agile implementation requires empowering middle managers as translators, cultivating legitimacy, and pacing transformation to allow for reflection and adaptation. Agile, she argues, exemplifies the translation of management ideas into public sector practice – where its values of flexibility, collaboration, and responsiveness drive not only digitalisation but also a broader rethinking of organisational culture and governance.