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So basically the definition of agile is: "The perfect way to do project management" With this definition in place the future is solid, no criticism can bring

So basically the definition of agile is: "The perfect way to do project management" With this definition in place the future is solid, no criticism can bring agile down because agile can evolve into whatever you want it to be. Literally, what is the difference between "agile" and "whatever works"?

AnimalMuppet 7y ago
Agile is "adjust your process". Your process is one of the variables, not something handed down from on high. If you aren't adjusting your process, you aren't doing agile. Many places say "We will be agile according to this rigidly defined process". The contradiction is obvious.
- crimsonalucard 7y ago
  Whatever works man, whatever works.
  - Jtsummers 7y ago
    "Whatever works man, whatever works." lacks deliberateness, and that's one of the key differences between it and agile (little-a to keep separation from the Big-A Agile sold by consultants). Look at the difference between the principles of Theory of Constraints, and what most organizations do. Most organizations want to remove constraints, they know they're a problem (since, well, they're constraints). The difference between ToC and what most people do is that ToC emphasizes a deliberate focus on the singular constraint in the process. I've seen teams and offices optimize the hell out of areas that aren't the bottleneck. Meanwhile, they still spend 3 months at the end of their projects running their massive, manual test suite. Do the tests bring value? Yes, immense. Do they bring value at the right time? No, because they take 3 months to run so they're delayed until the end of the project, so the project schedule leaves 3-6 months of buffer after that testing to conduct rework. A deliberate focus, then, should be brought to the testing activities and identifying how they can be conducted more rapidly, ideally automatically, and feedback brought in at an earlier stage. Agile, as described in the manifesto, brings in a set of values that are intended to provide focus on what's important for both the team and the customer. To a large extent, it means "whatever works", but with focus on the values you share with your team and customers, and the tradeoffs that will be incurred based on the choices made.
    - crimsonalucard 7y ago
      If deliberateness works then it works man. Whatever works.

AnimalMuppet 7y ago

Agile is "adjust your process". Your process is one of the variables, not something handed down from on high. If you aren't adjusting your process, you aren't doing agile. Many places say "We will be agile according to this rigidly defined process". The contradiction is obvious.

crimsonalucard 7y ago
Whatever works man, whatever works.
- Jtsummers 7y ago
  "Whatever works man, whatever works." lacks deliberateness, and that's one of the key differences between it and agile (little-a to keep separation from the Big-A Agile sold by consultants). Look at the difference between the principles of Theory of Constraints, and what most organizations do. Most organizations want to remove constraints, they know they're a problem (since, well, they're constraints). The difference between ToC and what most people do is that ToC emphasizes a deliberate focus on the singular constraint in the process. I've seen teams and offices optimize the hell out of areas that aren't the bottleneck. Meanwhile, they still spend 3 months at the end of their projects running their massive, manual test suite. Do the tests bring value? Yes, immense. Do they bring value at the right time? No, because they take 3 months to run so they're delayed until the end of the project, so the project schedule leaves 3-6 months of buffer after that testing to conduct rework. A deliberate focus, then, should be brought to the testing activities and identifying how they can be conducted more rapidly, ideally automatically, and feedback brought in at an earlier stage. Agile, as described in the manifesto, brings in a set of values that are intended to provide focus on what's important for both the team and the customer. To a large extent, it means "whatever works", but with focus on the values you share with your team and customers, and the tradeoffs that will be incurred based on the choices made.
  - crimsonalucard 7y ago
    If deliberateness works then it works man. Whatever works.