Agile Rant
I am using agile approaches to develop digital products for 25 years. I truly enjoy the agile principles and values. The created digital products were quite successful on the market. Some of them are still in use. I regularly have to smile when I use an elevator in a hotel and know that some of the software we developed is used to move it.
Honestly, I do not care if you prefer Scrum, Kanban, eXtreme Programming, or your own agile approach. I am not a fan of SAFe. If you are more successful with SAFe, I am happy for you. Please feel free to use it.
I am an engineer and an entrepreneur. A method is a tool for me. The approach is good if your digital product is more successful on the market.
And I really hate the agile methodology zealots and the agile ignorants. I provide below some examples I still regularly encounter with new customers.
Thinking Agile is a Project Method
Too many people think agile is a project management method. It is absolutely not.
Agile approaches are a set of principles and values to develop digital products.
|
Customers do not buy projects. Customers buy products. If the outcome of your project is not a product, you are doing something wrong. |
The word project is mentioned only once in the Scrum. It states that a Sprint is somewhat of a small project.
The {ref-agilemanifesto} never use the word project.
Psycho Scrum Masters
Psycho Scrum masters are probably the worst agile zealots. Their mantra is It is always a people problem. Coach them to work as a team and all problems will be solved.
I heartily agree that a team that works well together is more productive. But you have to be reasonable. I will never let a person without deep health care skills work as a doctor and perform surgery on me.
In other words, it is not always a people problem. It can be a technical capability difficulty. To acquire technical skills, you need formal education and years of experience.__ A few team building exercises cannot solve such knowledge and capabilities troubles.
The Agile movement’s emphasis on soft skills—prioritizing people over technical and operational expertise—has left teams ill-equipped to deliver value despite feeling good about themselves.
Many coaches lack deep backgrounds, leading to fluff-focused coaching and failed transformations. Organizations abandoned Agile when they saw their investments did not yield tangible results.
Technical depth, operational expertise, and deep learning still matter.
— Jurgen Appelo
2024
2024
You need technical training and skills for technical jobs [1]. You need Scrum Masters with technical skills to coach software development teams. How can you help a team improve their digital product development processes and techniques if you have no clue about software development?
|
Smaller companies cannot afford an agile coach and an additional technical coach. Beware that in Europe small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the economy. In such cases, the Scrum Master must have a technical background to coach the team effectively. |
Pretending to Apply DevOps
Proud teams regularly and proudly explain to me they are applying DevOps and release their software every two weeks. This is not DevOps. This is a lie.
Backlog as Requirements Document
The product backlog is not a requirements document. It is a list of activities to improve the digital product and move it forward.
The size of the product backlog should cover activities for the two next sprints. A product backlog with 100 items is a sign of a dysfunctional product owner. It is not a wish list. It describes what we should do in the next weeks.
To be clear. A product backlog item can be the current version of a requirement or a user story. You use a specification-by-example approach [7]. Each story has acceptance criteria. Each acceptance criteria is implemented by one or more automated acceptance tests.
These acceptance tests are the requirements formulated as specification by example. You can add some annotations to the tests to generate legible documentation.
Agile is not a Silver Bullet
Agile approaches are perfect tools to detect early problems and visualize them. You are still responsible for solving them.
I will again emphasize the obvious. You need technical skills and formal technical education to solve technical problems.
Thoughts on Agile
I am applying for twenty-five years. The sound principles and values are still valid. They help me to identify issues and solve them before they become costly problems.
If you find a better approach, I am happy for you. Use it and create the next Unicorn company.
References
[1] F. Heath, Professional Scrum Master Guide. Packt Publishing, Limited, 2021 [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1800205562
[2] S. Wolpers, Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide. Pearson Education, Limited, 2024 [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0137977964
[3] S. Wolpers, How to Get Hired as a Scrum Master : From Job Ads to Your Trial Day — Learn How to Pick the Right Employer or Client. Berlin Product People Gmbh [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/3946243045
[4] G. Verheyen, Scrum - A Pocket Guide, Third. Van Haren Publishing, 2021 [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B0DFHNW45Q
[5] G. Kim and N. Forsgren, DevOps Handbook, Second. IT Revolution Press, 2021 [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B09G2GS39R
[6] G. Kim, The Phoenix Project a novel about IT, DevOps, and helping your business win. IT Revolution Press [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988262592
[7] G. Adzic, Bridging the Communication Gap. Neuri Limited, 2009 [Online]. Available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YZ993W/
1. I studied for four and a half years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne EPFL to get my master degree in Computer Science. I cannot reach the level of such a formal training by attending a few days of conference or bootcamp sessions.