What You Will Never Get From Agile Frameworks

I still remember when I first realised how different real-life implementation of an agile framework is, compared to how it was described in the textbook. My journey with agile began with the Scrum framework. I was part of a product team working on a financial system when we decided to adopt Scrum.

Being one of the first Scrum Masters in my company, I had to learn everything about agile and Scrum by actually doing it. At the same time, I read every piece of learning material I could find to understand more about agile and Scrum. That's when I saw how things in the real world don't always match what the textbooks say.

This realisation came to me again with other frameworks I learned about other frameworks such as Kanban, Lean, and SAFe.

What Agile Framework Textbooks Give You

For the record, I do believe agile frameworks are valuable. They give you a set of standards to aim for. Every framework I've looked into clearly explains its purpose, goals, and provides detailed instructions on how to implement it.

Most importantly, agile framework textbooks inspire you about what's possible, and guide you on how to achieve it.

What Agile Framework Textbooks Cannot Give You

As helpful as textbooks can be, they can only provide you theoretical knowledge, and cannot anticipate every real-world scenario. Agile framework textbooks do a good job of explaining the general idea of implementation. But, straight out of the box they expect certain conditions to exist, such as having certain roles, processes, or even certain traits in people.

Unfortunately, in the real world you often have minimal control over your conditions and have to work with what you have, which is rarely what the your agile textbooks wanted. There’s complex bureaucracy, language barriers, timezone differences, personal conflicts, cultural differences, local government regulations, and more.

Overcoming those challenges require much more than just textbook knowledge.

A Framework is a Tool, Not a Destination

When you consider to implement an agile framework, it's important to recognise the value and limitations of the frameworks. Here’s what I mean.

Many leaders obsessively push to implement certain agile frameworks to the point that all they care about is putting certain processes in place, instead of achieving a business or customer outcome.

Fundamentally agile is just a tool. And the goal of implementing an agile framework is to improve the way your business works, not to simply put a new process in place. Remember that no agile framework will magically solve all your problems. Like any kind of organisational changes, finding success with an agile framework takes continuous effort and learning from experience to find what really works.

In order for an agile framework to be effective, you need to build it on top of strong leadership, a clear vision, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Without these things, your implementation of agile framework is likely to result in frustration and disappointment.

Don’t Aim To Be Agile, Aim To Be Better

Your bosses, peers, and customers don’t care about agile frameworks. In reality, what really matters to them are great product experiences, better product value, or more enjoyable workplaces.

Additionally, the idea of a company "fully adopting" a framework is pretty rare, especially in large companies. My experience with big companies has shown me that they prefer workflows that best suit their business and customer’s needs, rather than strictly following any single framework.

Agile is all about adapting to real-life conditions. You can't expect to immediately change everything to match the textbook. Instead, focus on defining clear goals and you can aim for with your teams, and use your goal as a true measure of success. Start with small changes and focus on the intended outcomes, regularly reviewing your approach and adjust as needed.

This approach prepares you to proactively find relevant ways to achieve your goals, regardless of which agile framework you decide to use.

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