My first introduction to agile software development was very focussed on the mechanics of Scrum. I was sent to a 2-day Scrum Master Certification (CSM) course back in 2012, at the time I was a functional project manager with little knowledge of agile. The instructor spent maybe an hour or so explaining what agile is and went into a few slides about the 4 Agile Values and 12 Principles from the Agile Manifesto, briefly describing each. The remainder of the course was focussed on how to run stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, and simulating a real scrum project. It was very informative and transformational to my career, so much that I decided to switch careers into a full-time Scrum Master role later on. However, what I felt was that these 4 Agile Values were not focussed on enough so I would like to explain them in further detail to give you a better understanding and to also convey their importance.
What is Agile anyway?
Agile is a mindset established by 4 Values and grounded by 12 Principles from the Agile Manifesto. It’s a way to think about doing work. When we talk about agile from this sense, we aren’t talking about a specific framework like Scrum or XP – here, we are simply speaking about a frame of mind – no processes, no procedures. It is extremely critical as a leader working in an agile environment to embrace this mindset before diving deep into a specific framework because it all starts right here. The other concepts behind Scrum and XP trickle down from this mindset.
4 Agile Values
Value #1: Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools
This statement doesn’t mean there are no processes and tools in agile. What it says is we should focus the teams attention on individuals and interactions because projects are undertaken by people, problems are resolved by people and not by processes and tools. This doesn’t mean processes and tools are not necessary because they are useful and needed to assist with the operational side of running an agile project. The point is to have an awareness that individuals and interactions should be of more concern than following a specific process that could box the team into being inflexible.
Value #2: Working software over comprehensive documentation
This value says that working software is the true measure of progress and to focus more on the need to deliver business value instead of unnecessary paperwork that doesn’t provide value. In agile, documentation should be just enough to satisfy the “Definition of Done” for a delivered feature to customers.
Value #3: Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
This statement says to be more flexible and accommodating to customer needs rather than fixed and unaccommodating. Instead of being so rigid by forcing business partners to uncompromising change requests, we should recognize at the beginning things will change and we will need to work with customers throughout the project to reach shared success.
Value #4: Responding to change over following a plan
From the beginning of a project, things will change and we should understand initial plans are inadequate and based on many unknowns about what it will actually take. Instead of spending effort towards trying to bring an initial project plan back to the original plan, more energy should be spent responding to changes that arise. This is being adaptive. We still need a plan, but also need to acknowledge the initial plan was made when we knew least about the project. This is especially true for software projects where high rates of change are common.
Conclusion
I have seen lots of times when a team transitions to an agile framework, these 4 Agile Values are often overlooked and instead the focus is the actual procedures related to Scrum, Kanban, XP, etc. But before going into the actual “how” you want to make sure your team understands the why behind agile, which is this mindset. It requires strong leadership to take your team to excellence.
I hope this article helps you in your quest to become an excellent agile practitioner. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to talk about something specific, I look forward hearing from you!
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