Is Agile Dead?
When you’re starting out with agile, the first thing people would point you towards is the Agile Manifesto. And rightfully so.
The introduction of the Agile Manifesto was what started agile as a concept. The manifesto was created back in February 2001, when 17 software experts gathered in a ski lodge high up the mountains in the United States. Surrounded by the cold weather in high altitude, this group created the Agile Manifesto, which contains the values and principles of what agile is all about.
Now over 23 years later in 2024, is agile still relevant? Surely, lots of things have happened since the Agile Manifesto was first introduced.
Stay with me as I reflect on agile overall as a concept and share about what I see happening in the industry today.
What is Agile?
In short, agile is a methodology that was designed to help businesses thrive in highly uncertain markets. It favours small, iterative deliveries over big, lengthy product launches.
Smaller deliveries mean you can quickly build, deliver, and learn about what the market thinks of your product. and if you do it right, you can also expect to do this with much less time and money. Because, every small delivery brings you valuable customer insights, that enables you to learn and make your products better.
As I mentioned earlier, to understand agile, it’s worth looking at the starting point of the agile concept, which is the Agile Manifesto.
The Agile Manifesto
The Agile Manifesto outlines the values of agile software development to encourage better ways to build and deliver softwares. These values are:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
While there is value in the items on the right, agile values the items on the left more.
On top of the Agile Manifesto, the group also came up with the 12 Principles of Agile Software, which expands further on the values above.
Misconceptions About Agile
Since the introduction of Agile Manifesto, countless businesses around the world have implemented a form of agile one way or another. Although the Agile Manifesto was initially aimed for software development, the concept has been found to be applicable and useful for a wide range of industries, even outside of tech.
And because of the widespread adoption, there’s also common misconceptions about what agile software development really is. Here are the top 4 misconceptions:
1. Agile Will Blow Out Your Budget With Constant Changes
One common fear is that agile, with its flexibility and openness to change, will cause budgets to expand uncontrollably. The truth is, agile allows for early detection of issues and alignment with customer needs, which can actually save you money in the long run. By adapting quickly to changes, teams avoid spending on features or products that don't meet user expectations.
2. Agile Means No Planning
Another myth is that agile is against planning. In reality, agile involves continuous planning. The difference from traditional models is in its adaptability, where plans are revisited and adjusted regularly based on project progress and feedback. This dynamic planning process ensures that the project remains aligned with business goals and user needs.
3. Agile Guarantees Faster Work Delivery
In reality, no methodology can ever guarantee faster delivery time. The primary goal of agile is to enhance the value and quality of the product by being more adaptable and better at responding to market changes. Speed can be a benefit, but it's the result of a focus on prioritisation and efficiency, not a guarantee.
4. No Documentation Needed for Agile Software
The fourth misconception is that agile projects don't require documentation. Agile values working software over comprehensive documentation, but this doesn't mean documentation is unnecessary. Instead, agile focuses on creating useful and just-enough documentation that supports the team and the product effectively without bogging down the development process.
Agile Sentiment Today
Lately, I've observed growing number of people that are not as positive about agile as they used to be. More people are starting to doubt how well agile really works.
From having spent time with hundreds of leaders and their teams, I’ve narrowed down the top causes that contributes to people not believing agile.
1. Focusing on Agile Frameworks Instead of Goals
Many leaders obsessively push their agile transformation agenda to the point that all they care about is putting certain agile frameworks in place, instead of achieving business or customer goals.
When you link your success on implementing certain agile frameworks, this can greatly hold you and your team back from focusing towards what really matters, which is to achieve your goals.
Remember, agile is the means, not the destination.
2. Unrealistic Expectations
Many people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to implementing agile practices. The word “agile” inadvertently led companies to believe everything will happen blazingly fast.
To top it off, many execs and leaders expects the implementation of a particular agile framework will solve all their company’s problem.
This belief is often lead companies to abandon their efforts with agile the moment things don’t go their way. They get so discouraged or frustrated over a failure, that they don’t bother trying something else.
3. Agile as a Label
Many leaders decide to introduce new processes and structures and call them “agile”. When in fact, all they’re introducing is a new version of the complex processes and structures they’ve been doing for years.
This usually show a misuse of the term "agile" by leaders pushing for superficial changes. This practice is a sure way to leave a bad taste in people’s mouth when it comes to agile.
The Fate of Agile Tomorrow
So, will agile go on? It’s a bit hard to say. Agile’s implementation has evolved in the span of over 2 decades. Today, many companies, big and small, are still effectively applying agile practices within their businesses. While there are others who have decided agile was just a fad or gimmick that’s lost its airtime, and now it’s time to move on.
Personally, I don’t see the core values of agile going anywhere soon. Because, the fact remains that the market will only grow even more uncertain as new ideas and technologies emerge. So whether people still call it “agile” or something else, the more uncertain the situation, the more adaptable companies need to be to continually innovate by being better at learning and responding to market changes.
How You Can Still Benefit From Agile
If you want your business to be better at delivering successful products and services in this uncertain market, it’s worth looking into agile. After all, if you take the buzzwords away, agile pretty much means to continually make small improvements to produce better results. This is something I’m sure every business can benefit from.
When you’re implementing agile, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Don’t Aim To Be Agile, Aim To Be Better
The reality is, your customers don’t care about agile. What they care about are things like great product experiences or better value.
So, avoid focusing solely on implementing certain agile practices or frameworks, and start with a business or customer goals in mind. When you have your goals, you’ll be in a much better position to figure out which agile practices or frameworks can actually get you there.
2. Start Small
Remember that agile favours small, iterative efforts over big, expensive changes. Big changes generally cost more time and money to roll out, while small changes allow you to quickly plan, apply, and learn from your efforts.
Gradual changes also make your innovation more sustainable. It spreads the changes over time so you’d have more stable growth. By having more room to review your progress, you can adjust your efforts along the way as needed.
3. Learn As You Go
Let’s be honest, you’re not going to be good at something you just started. Basically, when you’re just starting you won’t know what works and what doesn’t. So the biggest value you can get from introducing any new practices or framework is to continually learn about the results.
Success comes from continually fine-tuning your efforts based on where your last shot landed.
4. Keep it Simple
When you’re introducing new agile practices or frameworks into your company, don’t just introduce it for the sake of jumping on the agile bandwagon.
So, the next time you’re about to create burndown charts, increase the team’s velocity, or roll out Lean Portfolio Management to a whole department, please take a pause. Use this time to think about what matters to your customers first, then figure out how to use agile practices to simplify your workflow and deliver what your customers want.
Bottomline
Agile’s implementation has evolved in the span of over 2 decades. Many businesses around the world have implemented a form of agile one way or another, and it doesn’t seem like agile is going anywhere soon.
Whether people still call it “agile” or something else, the more uncertain the market becomes, the more adaptable companies need to be to continually innovate by being better at learning and responding to market changes.
If you want your business to be better at delivering successful products and services in this uncertain market, it’s worth looking into agile. Remember that agile favours small, iterative efforts over big, expensive changes. This way, you can continue to bring relevant and sustainable changes into your businesses.
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Talk to us today to find out how we can provide the right approach for you.
Cover photo: unsplash/@fern_nano
