Modern Agile Now What?

 Posted on 2023-07-21  |  2 minutes  |  238 words  |  Robert Melton

So what is the answer? What is the silver bullet to fix Agile? The truth is there is no one perfect solution. But we can make progress through a few core principles: Use something like a Kanban board to visually track work and impose work-in-progress limits. This creates focus and flow. Use WIP (Work In Progress) limitations to keep clear understanding of exactly what people are working on. Don’t default to daily standups. [Read More]
modern agile  agile practices  agile principles  kanban  work-in-progress limits  communication  team effectiveness  outcome-driven development  meetings  agile reinvention 

Modern Agile Lie #3: Responsive

 Posted on 2023-07-17  |  2 minutes  |  219 words  |  Robert Melton

The Agile Manifesto values “responding to change over following a plan.” But modern Agile practices like fixed-length sprints end up locking teams into mini-waterfalls, hurting responsiveness. Sprints were meant to create cadence and focus for teams. But over time they have morphed into rigid commitments that cannot be changed, even if circumstances or information changes. Teams stick to their sprint plan even when it no longer makes sense. This false consistency hurts responsiveness in several ways: [Read More]
modern agile  agile practices  agile manifesto  responsive development  sprint planning  team adaptability  value-driven development 

Modern Agile Lie #2: Tools

 Posted on 2023-07-16  |  2 minutes  |  252 words  |  Robert Melton

The Agile Manifesto clearly valued “individuals and interactions over processes and tools.” But modern Agile practice has completely inverted this value, becoming obsessed with tools like JIRA over actual human interactions and outcomes. Requirements are filed as tickets, productivity is measured in tickets closed, and worth as an employee is judged by your JIRA velocity. Instead of gauging real output and teamwork, managers simply look at metrics from tools. This tool obsession flies against the original spirit of Agile and harms organizations in multiple ways: [Read More]
modern agile  agile practices  agile manifesto  software development tools  jira  team collaboration  productivity metrics  human interactions 

Modern Agile Lie #1: Points

 Posted on 2023-07-15  |  2 minutes  |  273 words  |  Robert Melton

A core tenet of many modern Agile approaches is estimating work effort using story points or abstract units instead of time estimates. Proponents argue points are more accurate because they supposedly account for variability in developer productivity. But this concept is deeply flawed. Points are always eventually deconstructed into dates on a calendar for planning purposes. No business can operate solely in an abstract point system detached from real-world time constraints. [Read More]
modern agile  agile practices  story points  estimation techniques  software development methodologies  planning and scheduling  developer productivity  date-based planning 

The Parody of Modern Agile: Why Bad Ideas Persist

 Posted on 2023-07-13  |  2 minutes  |  280 words  |  Robert Melton

Agile software development burst onto the scene in 2001 as an antidote to heavily process-driven and documentation-heavy approaches like waterfall. Early Agile proponents promoted values like individuals over process, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan. 20 years later, Agile has become a parody of its original goals. Rigid frameworks like SAFe and dogmatic adherence to practices like daily standup meetings and sprint planning have replaced Agile’s initial flexibility and focus on individuals. [Read More]
agile software development  modern agile  software development methodologies  agile practices  agile myths  software productivity  agile industrial complex  software development evolution