Agile Values and Practices
A Short List
Any CEO working to understand and incorporate Agile into their agendas will quickly find the following two pieces of advice:
Agile is not right for every part of the organization – focus it where you need innovation and face a VUCA (Volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment.
But make sure the entire organization (agile or more traditional) understands and embraces agile values and practices - even if not formally operating in a formal agile mode.
Here’s a quick primer on values and practices.
1. Values. You will see the versions of the below four principles in any discussion of agile. The source is the “Agile Manifesto,” published almost 20 years ago after a group of software developers met at the Lodge at Snowbird in 2001.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
Working software over comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
Responding to change over following a plan
The values are well documented and don’t need further elaboration here. All you need to do is think explicitly how to apply outside a pure software development environment. And not get caught in the “either-or” trap: The word “over” is key – signaling a shift in emphasis.
2. Practices. The supporting practices to enact Agile are much more varied. And can be incorporated to various degrees of formality. Here’s a short and selective list that can easily be adopted into any team-based effort.
Team structure and roles. Agile calls for a flat, empowered team structure. Whatever terminology you use, you will need a team lead (aka “scrum master” – whose goal is to make the team successful) and a business sponsor (aka “product owner” - a business lead who “reviews and accepts” the output of the team).
Product backlog. This is a list of deliverable and outputs for the team. Ideally prioritized by value/impact and learning. In many cases, the backlog will be articulated in a series of user stories.
User stories. A simple way for the business/customer to articulate their requirements. Example: “As a web customer, I would like a fast way to create an account. Conditions of success: no more than 5 fields; auto fill of data; etc. “ Or, an example from non software, COVID-world: “As a mask buying citizen, I would like assurances that my purchase meets minimum FDA quality metrics. Conditions of success: Rigorous/independent testing regimen; published results; trusted seal of approval; etc.”
Sprints and rapid delivery. Agile encourages teams to work in short cycles (1 to 3 weeks) and deliver some output for customer review and feedback at the end of each cycle. By this “continuous release” philosophy project stay on track and close to the customer.
Daily stand-ups meetings. To deliver every 1 to 3 weeks, team need tight coordination and alignment, and can’t let issues go unresolved. A daily meeting (under 30 minutes) supports this. In agile, the classic format addresses three questions: What did you do yesterday, what are you doing today, and what will you do tomorrow. “Where do I need help?” is also worth adding.
Retrospectives. Learning and adjustment are key to innovation. At the conclusion of each sprint, a formal debrief session should be held to determine how to improve the team’s process and prioritize work for the next sprint based on what has been learned and customer feedback.
Not every organization or initiative needs to “full and formal” agile. Giving attention to these values and practices will go a long way towards improving team performance.