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Dan and Sam have covered a lot of ground in previous episodes about agility but never the full scope of what exactly is considered agility. Many people have their own unique definitions of what agile is and what it looks like\u2026but when you really dig in, these are often ways that do not seem to be in alignment with the Agile Manifesto or principles.

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So, in this week\u2019s episode, Dan and Sam are diving into another fantastic listener question to address this topic! Chris on Twitter asked, \u201cWhat is agile?\u201d They take a deep dive into the history of why the Agile Manifesto was declared, the need that the principles and values were born out of, and ultimately: what is agile.

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Key Takeaways

Why was it important for the Agile Manifesto to be declared? What is the history behind it?

It was created in reaction to what was happening in the software industry in 2001 (predominantly waterfall and other predictive methods with bad track records for delivering on time)

In response to \u201cscope creep\u201d (AKA changes or uncontrolled growth in a project\u2019s scope at any point after a project begins)

Because it is very difficult to predict what you need to do when you\u2019re trying to solve a new problem every time\xa0

Out of necessity (as any work that requires creativity and a high degree of uncertainty about the outcome you\u2019re trying to achieve [such as software development] is difficult without a set of principles and values)

Because every problem is unique with software development

In the Harvard Business Review in 1986, an article was published titled, \u201cThe New New Development Game\u201d that outlined the need for a new way of working where teams could be given objectives instead of tasks and they work together as a unit to accomplish their work

The \u201crelay race\u201d method was clearly not working and agility offered a better model, better compared to playing rugby

\u201cAgile wasn\u2019t: \u2018Let\u2019s get together and think about a new way of doing things.\u2019 It was: \u2026 \u2018Hey, we\u2019re doing some things. It seems to be getting better results than the industry as a whole. What are we doing that\u2019s common across the different methods?\u2019\u201d \u2014 Dan Neumann

Those that came up with the Agile Manifesto didn\u2019t put it together to justify their existence; they put it together because they recognized the success they were having through its methodology and wanted to figure out the commonalities

What is the Agile Manifesto?

It\u2019s the thing we point to when someone says, \u201cWhat is agile?\u201d

If you\u2019re asking if something is agile, you can reference the manifesto\u2019s values and principles

What is agile?

It\u2019s creating competitive advantage and being the disruptive force

Delivering working software as your primary measure of success

A collection of values and principles as laid out in the Agile Manifesto

It is the ability to deliberately respond to change and demand; not just react

Controlling risk

Building stuff that people actually want and will use

Solve the problem that the customer has called for and not gold plating everything

Agile practices are simply that; practices \u2014 they\u2019re good in some circumstances and not good in others

Are you changing just to change or are you harnessing change for competitive advantage? Is change happening to you or are you creating the change?

Change is not just about keeping up with your competition but making your competition keep up with you

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Mentioned in this Episode:

\u201cThe New New Product Development Game,\u201d by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka | Harvard Business Review (January 1986)

Agile Software Development Ecosystems: Problems, Practices, and Principles, by James A. Highsmith

The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash A Culture of Innovation, by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless

LiberatingStructures.com

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