Historically in the software business, organizations have used traditional software development processes and methods that are inherently inflexible and introduce risk since the stakeholders are not as involved in the development of the solution; and between the initial concepts and actual delivery of the product, the priorities and requirements of the customer can change. This has led to epic failures in software development projects in the past such as the FBI's Virtual Case File system and the Healthcare.gov website because of budget overruns and non-functional software.
To combat these types of failures, organizations have adopted more agile methods that support continuous delivery of software or other products in a lightweight and flexible manner. Agile transformation is the process of refactoring companies to achieve this agility in their organizations by adapting to change and applying radical shifts in attitudes, values, and ways of thinking to deliver software products and achieve positive business goals. In effect, this is a change in the organizational culture and crosses all levels of the management hierarchy.
By transforming and adapting to agile methods, software development projects can be a collaborative process with stakeholders to develop iteratively, release frequently, focus on the customer, and collaborate through a cross-functional team applying each iteration into workable software product over comprehensive documentation and detailed planning.