It is difficult to balance the IT strategy with the timelines within Agile. It is like sailing a boat where the water is rough. While moving faster is important, the course is of more importance. Emphasis on priorities helps one stay focused, an emphasis on flexibility makes one adaptive, and timely evaluations avoid the derailment of creativity. Coupling these functionalities IT groups can be both nimble and tactically deep. Are we innovating and staying agile at the same time?

Funding is critical here as well. In many organizations, IT budgets are still established annually and managed as part of the typical enterprise financial processes. Maintaining the pace of innovation also requires that experiments and projects be funded differently and that business cases focus on proving critical hypotheses versus driving towards long-term cost or revenue implications. Balancing the long-term goals of an IT strategy with agility requires that organizations rethink how they fund projects (that contribute to the achievement of long-term IT goals) and break the mold of typical project funding requirements.

Balancing long-term IT strategy with agile timelines is a challenge, but innovation doesn’t have to lose out to speed. 🔹 Set clear priorities: Identify what needs immediate action and what can evolve over time. 🔹 Foster flexibility: Empower teams to adapt while staying aligned with strategic goals. 🔹 Review often: Regular check-ins help maintain the balance between delivering fast and fostering innovation. By staying agile yet strategic, we can drive impactful results.

Agile timelines, Innovation and Speed do not need to be in competition. Done correctly this can all together fly. Most challenging to my experience are conservative IT budgeting rules (and schedules), dinasaur C-level management sticking with old school mindset and protecting 'favorized' vendors to partner with. Prioritizing innovation and speed requires to allow also to stop doing projects that turn out to not deliver value and to accept that sprints do not deliver finished products but incrimental new useable features. Speed and innovation are often 'killed' by outdated and fearful management esp. on business side. If minds are open for change, trust and collaboration - the natural outcome will be: Innovation and Speed.

Balancing innovation with speed in IT projects requires a focus on clarity, adaptability, and alignment. Setting clear priorities ensures that high-impact, innovative initiatives are given the time they need, while less critical tasks align with rapid delivery goals. Encouraging a culture of flexibility allows teams to embrace change and integrate new ideas without disrupting project timelines. Regular progress reviews help maintain this balance by identifying when to accelerate or pause for deeper innovation, ensuring both strategic objectives and agile demands are met effectively.

The real question is how business strategy aligns with project initiatives and other IT workloads (internal project, operational change, unplanned work). Fundamentally, prioritization decisions are investment decisions. First, all business and IT demand for IT capacity is inventoried. Next value and effort for each is estimated. Now, the portfolio can be prioritized for discussion with business leadership. If demand exceeds capacity and activities cannot be sequenced accordingly, additional investment will be required. Each effort has an opportunity cost and a value objective. Business commitment to both in terms of resourcing and investment is pivotal. In the end, innovation or speed comes down to what creates more real business value.

Automation can speed up delivery, enabling us to release resources for innovation. Innovation isn't always required to be disruptive. Minor, gradual adjustments can accumulate while keeping the project's momentum.

Balancing IT strategy goals with agile project timelines is a tough dance—speed keeps projects moving, but true innovation often needs room to breathe. Agile thrives on delivering quick wins, but without anchoring efforts to strategic goals, you risk speeding toward the wrong destination. The key is aligning innovation with agility. Break big ideas into smaller, testable pieces that fit into agile sprints. This way, you’re innovating incrementally while staying flexible enough to adapt to what works—and what doesn’t. It’s not about choosing speed or innovation; it’s about finding the sweet spot where they complement each other. Think of it as running a marathon in sprints: pace matters, but so does direction.

Prioritizing innovation or even project delivery should be done in line with benefit expectations of your stakeholders. - Organize a robust governance framework to ensure alignment. - Perform stakeholder management proactively to understand priorities. - Perform Risk management at higher frequency to realize positive risks. - Regularly update project / program architecture to optimize delivery.

While speed is crucial for meeting deadlines, innovation should drive long-term value. Focus on incremental progress, integrate feedback, and adapt to changing needs. Align project goals with strategic objectives, ensuring a balance between agility and innovation.