Agile. Agility. What really is agile? What are the values, philosophy, mindset or agile way of thinking? What agile methods, tools and techniques are available? What are the common agile roles? These are some of the topics we will explore in a series of articles looking at demystifying agile.
Here we look at the Agile philosophy and the twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto.
The word ‘philosophy’ can be simply defined as a way of thinking about the world, the universe and society. In effect, to ‘be agile’ involves adopting a new way of thinking or mindset that is based on agile values and principles.
This philosophy or mindset then guides your holistic approach to agile. The agile mindset needs to be internalised (e.g. welcoming change, delivering frequently) and it should steer the selection and implementation of agile practices. Being agile isn’t about simply applying tools and techniques or following a methodology. Applying agile philosophy and principles to how you use agile methods changes not only the approach, but also the overall effectiveness (and success) of the practices.
Hint: It is all about the customer and delivering value early.
Hint: Embrace change. Be flexible, continuously update and prioritise changes into the backlog of work.
Hint: Deliver frequently. Early feedback is invaluable and delivering within a short timeframe keeps the customer engaged.
Hint: Work with the business – it’s not us versus them. It is about working collaboratively.
Hint: Motivate and empower people. Give people the autonomy to organise and plan their work. It is not about micromanagement.
Hint: Face-to-face communications where possible. Successful communication is not all about emailing!
Hint: What gets measured gets done. Measure working solutions and results.
Hint: Maintain a sustainable pace, otherwise people get ‘burnt out’. Work-life balance is important.
Hint: Keep the design clean, efficient and open to changes.
Hint: Keep it simple. Seek the simplest thing that could possibly work.
Hint: To get the best from people, allow them to self-organise. It should be all about the team.
Hint: Reflect and adjust regularly. It’s about continuous (and applied) learning.
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* Principles behind the Agile Manifesto. Accessed via http://agilemanifesto.org/ on 14/12/2018.
About The Author
Tracey Copland, Head of Best Practice at PM-Partners group
Tracey has been involved in management, finance and business consulting including Portfolio, Programme & Project management for 20+ years. Together with her skills and experience, Tracey is a flexible professional seeking to achieve a high work standard, focussing on value-add.
Having been with PM-Partners group for 15 years, Tracey has held roles including Consultant/Trainer, Head of Training and currently, Head of Development. Tracey has provided training and consultation services to clients in both the public and private sectors, across various disciplines and at all levels including Project, Programme, Portfolio and Change Management, and Agile practices.