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Agile Manifesto Needs Overhaul

7 points by movari 7y ago

Now with Covid-19 causing widespread teleworking, control freak type companies are grappling with trusting their employees. The Agile Manifesto is almost 20 years old and with its principle of face/face communication, collocation has become a euphemism for command and control which is not agile. These huge impressive campus facilities that cause horrendous commutes except for the executives who live nearby are not agile. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tj_YWykvs9TImjPkM1tJxZDuCkruhsdGgSSoTCg7q2A/edit

codingdave 7y ago
The Manifesto itself is fine, and says nothing about "face to face" communication. It says to value interactions. The principles that support the manifesto do talk about face-to-face, but those are supplementary to the manifesto itself, and as you said, are 20 years old. Those principles may need modernization, but that does not invalidate the short and simple 4 points of the manifesto. People have twisted it into "Agile", with formal processes, certifications, and practices, and the results of all that is not fine. Many of the good agile practitioners will tell you so right off the bat... and then distill the processes down to their core to help you get back on track.
- movari 7y ago
  Not one of the 4 values but it is is the 6th of the 12 Agile Principles
matt_s 7y ago
Control freak companies that don't trust their employees to work remotely or don't have any empathy for employees during this pandemic aren't going to change their ways if someone alters a word or two in a document. Face-to-face communication is possible using many different services these days. You could even do those planning exercises remotely, post-its on a white board with a webcam if your company doesn't have a system/service they are using to track and plan work.
- movari 7y ago
  Agreed. There is so much creativity going on with figuring out ways to do those collaboration activities that are hybrid low tech/hi tech solutions as you pointed out. The control freak companies is well entrenched in our industrial culture with a catalyst being the face/face and daily scrum. Changing culture is hard and slow, but this pandemic can be the start of a culture shift if we collectively figure out ways to push it and demand it.
mrfusion 7y ago
I feel like we lost a lot of autonomy and respect when we submitted to daily stand ups. Experienced engineers have to justify what they’re working on every day. What?
- movari 7y ago
  Exactly, and not to mention the countless hours sitting in gridlocked traffic for your two minutes in the standup.
- codingdave 7y ago
  "Walk the Board" - experienced teams should not be reporting on personal status, they should be walking the board to collectively see where help is needed to keep the work moving. I've seen huge improvements in morale and satisfaction on teams just by switching to a walk-the-board style of standup meeting.
danbolt 7y ago
To everyone, it's worth remembering that the Agile Manifesto was some dudes in a room with a whiteboard, and doesn't have to be taken as word on high.
movari 7y ago
I am a firm believer of the 4 values of the manifesto. It is the 6th principle stating face to face communication.

7 points by movari 7y ago

codingdave 7y ago

The Manifesto itself is fine, and says nothing about "face to face" communication. It says to value interactions. The principles that support the manifesto do talk about face-to-face, but those are supplementary to the manifesto itself, and as you said, are 20 years old. Those principles may need modernization, but that does not invalidate the short and simple 4 points of the manifesto. People have twisted it into "Agile", with formal processes, certifications, and practices, and the results of all that is not fine. Many of the good agile practitioners will tell you so right off the bat... and then distill the processes down to their core to help you get back on track.

movari 7y ago
Not one of the 4 values but it is is the 6th of the 12 Agile Principles

matt_s 7y ago

Control freak companies that don't trust their employees to work remotely or don't have any empathy for employees during this pandemic aren't going to change their ways if someone alters a word or two in a document. Face-to-face communication is possible using many different services these days. You could even do those planning exercises remotely, post-its on a white board with a webcam if your company doesn't have a system/service they are using to track and plan work.

movari 7y ago
Agreed. There is so much creativity going on with figuring out ways to do those collaboration activities that are hybrid low tech/hi tech solutions as you pointed out. The control freak companies is well entrenched in our industrial culture with a catalyst being the face/face and daily scrum. Changing culture is hard and slow, but this pandemic can be the start of a culture shift if we collectively figure out ways to push it and demand it.

mrfusion 7y ago

I feel like we lost a lot of autonomy and respect when we submitted to daily stand ups. Experienced engineers have to justify what they’re working on every day. What?

movari 7y ago
Exactly, and not to mention the countless hours sitting in gridlocked traffic for your two minutes in the standup.
codingdave 7y ago
"Walk the Board" - experienced teams should not be reporting on personal status, they should be walking the board to collectively see where help is needed to keep the work moving. I've seen huge improvements in morale and satisfaction on teams just by switching to a walk-the-board style of standup meeting.

danbolt 7y ago

To everyone, it's worth remembering that the Agile Manifesto was some dudes in a room with a whiteboard, and doesn't have to be taken as word on high.

movari 7y ago

I am a firm believer of the 4 values of the manifesto. It is the 6th principle stating face to face communication.