The Agile Manifesto can create challenges when it comes to agile transformations, particularly in the early stages. This isn’t a fault with the Agile Manifesto; I regard it as a brilliant piece of work. The issue begins when teams or organizations limit their attention to agile practices, using appealing logic such as, “At this point in time, we’re establishing a baseline.”
This point of view can be inadvertently supported by the Agile Manifesto itself. What happens when those who are new to agile read the Agile Manifesto? Without additional information and guidance, they can come away feeling that the values and principles are nebulous or too theoretical. This can lead them back to that, “We’re just trying to get the basics down” line of thinking.
On the face of it, this feels like a perfectly reasonable approach. Focus on agile practices and framework(s) – which are more concrete because they tell you what you need to do – and you’ll be agile, right?
Caution! The Agile Manifesto is an articulation of what was found to be common among the various approaches to software development championed by the crafters of the manifesto. Don’t get me wrong, I fully support the concept of understanding the difference between doing agile (the practices) and being agile (the values and principles) as being both insightful and useful. It helps categorize aspects of agility, enabling you analyze where you are strong and where you need improvement.
However, if you aren’t embracing and incorporating the underlying values and principles into your day-to-day work, then you have distanced yourself from the very things that distinguish agility from other approaches. Never view any agile framework or practices and the Agile Manifesto in isolation. They are intrinsically linked.
Can you have a peanut butter cup without the peanut butter? No. Practicing “agile” in a way that is removed from the values and principles is nothing more than an application of new vocabulary to existing ways of working, an implementation of cargo cult practices that aren’t actually achieving the desired results. Simply stated, don’t leave out what is truly valuable with respect to transforming to agile in the first place!
And just for fun, here’s this guidance expressed in a user story format:
As an agile practitioner, I need to apply agile values and principles to any agile practice I perform, so that I – and my team and organization – can experientially learn and realize the benefits of being truly agile.
