program selection system

When do you choose to do Agile software development? Why do you think you’ll be more successful using Agile than other methodologies? We believe the IT industry is in the middle of a midlife crisis and Agile is its symptom. Strangely enough, the IT community is operating on a very limited set of historic information which may lead us to solving the wrong problems. Perhaps it’s time to admit that Agile is similar to a 45 year olds’ brand new red convertible that proves he is still alive.

We believe the IT industry is in the middle of a midlife crisis and agile is a symptom of this. We are operating on a very limited set of information and this may lead us to solving the wrong problems. IT has changed in the last 65 years, but are things really better or just different? Isn’t agile just the 40-yearold’s brand new red convertible to prove he is still alive?

Many presentations advocating agile either reference the Chaos Report or mention it briefly. The Chaos Report describes the number of projects that have been successful in the past. One fundamental problem with the Chaos Report is it’s definition of success. It used to be whether or not the project has finished within time and budget and later on changed into whether the original assignment was accomplished.
Is a project that invalidates the business case of the project within 6 weeks a success? Shouldn’t anything that provides business value to the business be considered a success? If that is true, than how valuable are the Chaos studies?

While this in itself maybe very interesting as a session, we think these issues are just a tip of the iceberg of the real problem.

This session is intended to facilitate an axiomatic discussion on the position of agile. What are the underlying axioms of agile? Is there any real proof of agile other than personal accounts?
Some of the axioms that are very popular in agile are:
* Agile is good
* Non-agile is bad
* Spreading the word of agile is good

These axioms are central in all communication. And anyone proclaiming them is doing that for the greater good; agile has become a noble cause. While this leads to a tighter community, at the same time this excludes any discussion on the roots of the movement. Questioning agile becomes hard and creates dogma that could block real progress.

In order to resolve current and future problem we need to face the truth and admit we are in a midlife crisis and that we first needs to (re)assess reality and our true meaning and value in the world before proceeding.