program selection system

It seems that this stage, Questioning Agile, really is quite worthwhile as it has brought out many polarizing camps amongst its practitioners. It’s good to see people take up the debate, just look at the standard deviations on these sessions!

The Agile Manifesto was drafted in 2001 and gave a face to a movement that had been gathering for quite some time. Seven years have passed since its introduction and as a result has put agile on the main stage and forefront of software development. The manifesto’s original tenets while quite elegant and expressive of the agile movement in 2001 have now perhaps been dwarfed by the industry that has grown around agile.

Perhaps it is time now, 7 years later, to revisit the manifesto in light of the many changes that have come into vogue and have become associated with the agile movement over that short period of time.

For example, principle #1 of the Agile Manifesto states “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools” but how many groups now swear by agile processes and tools? Where would they be without management processes such as SCRUM or development processes such as TDD, etc.? Was that first principle a statement against older processes? What does it mean today given the current state of the art of software development? Another interesting example shows how other processes have changed, almost radically since 2001. Principle #3 states “Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.” Believe it or not but contracting has shifted toward purchase orders and task oriented contract vehicles, does this principle, as stated, even make sense any more?

The world of software development has continued to evolve and in a way the agile manifesto has helped spur that growth but perhaps it needs to evolve and continue to take the lead and provide a new vision for the ever growing legion of agilists.

This stage is Questioning Agile, while this might be interesting for those fairly new to agile and perhaps even to high quality software development, to understand the underpinnings of the agile movement. It is proposed mainly for a highly experienced audience. Policy discussions are usually a bit too esoteric for newcomers or for those more interested in the practical hands-on part of the theory. But don’t sell the theoretical aspects of any science short. Those that sat down and carefully crafted the manifesto did so for your direct benefit. Seven years is a long time in the software industry. I have seen tremendous change in just the last 5. I believe this is a very pertinent session to those of us interested in setting policy and the direction of the theory behind the practice. With time all practitioners develop a deeper appreciation for the theory as their knowledge increases. I, too, was only interested in the practical side of software development, not so anymore. Hope that helps. This session might not be for everyone but neither is this stage either. Those that just want to get the job done won’t be that interested in academic debates.

To quote the Martial Arts Master, Bruce Lee, “Man, he is constantly growing and when he is bound by a set of ideas or way of doing things, that’s when he stops growing”. Agile is growing, too, the manifesto and hence the Agile Alliance should continue to lead the way.