agille – Insperitas https://insperitas.com Inspiring Cloud Initiatives Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:30:46 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4 https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/insperitasmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/29153007/cropped-insperitas52-32x32.png agille – Insperitas https://insperitas.com 32 32 agile and Agile https://insperitas.com/agile-and-agile/ Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:46:23 +0000 http://54.146.5.240/?p=354 Continue reading "agile and Agile"

]]> I am not a software developer but I do have project management experience. One of the problems for project managers is that developers want to work with Agile whilst customers often want a waterfall style report. This problem for me is fundamental. It’s the realization that there is a difference between Agile (a software development as a methodology,  on which I am not an expert) and agile (small a) as a principle of a successful modern business.  Coming back to the Manifesto of Agile helps us out here. These are simply good general principles. Even in their wording they recognize that asserting one way to be right and another to be wrong belongs to an older era where slow paced change was acceptable. In other words let’s be agile about Agile and not set in concrete.

These good principles need to start from the top. “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools” embodies the root of the question. Bosses should hire people they trust…and then trust them. This doesn’t just apply to developers. Once managers get this principle, Agile development follows smoothly.  Until managers get it, we will face this continual, painful, seismic fault, with occasional earthquakes and aftershocks felt on both sides of the divide. (With PMs invariably caught in the middle!)

Bosses should hire people they trust…and then trust them

This reaches back to the recruitment processes which are not designed to select the right people but focus on certificates. It reaches even further back into the education system that directs children toward certificate attainment. (Excellent TED talks on this https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud and http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity) We should, of course, 1st teach children to care for other people and to respect them, and then teach them how to learn. Employees also need to do their part, being willing to be flexible with their role depending on what is needed at the time instead of sticking rigidly to an old job description.

So whilst I don’t disagree with teaching Agile (or Scrum, or any other agile development process) to development teams, I really believe that we need to start with teaching the philosophy and principles behind the Agile Manifesto.

 

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