The Agile Engine
From the Scrumptious Blog
by Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
Scrum is the most popular framework used within an agile environment to convert complex problems into valuable products and services. In this blog, we will examine all things Scrum to shed light on this wonderful organizational tool that is sweeping the globe. There will be engaging articles, interviews with experts and Q&A's. Are you ready to take the red pill? Then please join me on a fascinating journey down the rabbit hole, and into the world of Scrum.
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In his 2006 book Innovation: The five disciplines for creating what customers want, Curtis Carlson said that “innovation is the primary driver of prosperity”. Many Agile enthusiasts who have read his book agree, and take it one step further, asserting that Agile is the “world’s best innovation engine” (Denning, 2015).
This may very well be true. Certainly, for Agile practitioners, Agile and its various approaches (i.e. Scrum, Kanban, DSDM) offer a creative and innovative way to solve project problems in an efficient way. It’s the reason why there are literally thousands of blogs dedicated to these Agile methods alone, including this one. So, with so many successes, why change anything at all? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? But I would argue that this complacency is actually part of the danger.
In our project world, every successful Agile delivery is a celebration of the framework we know so well. Every year the surveys boast growing numbers of successful projects under Agile and Scrum, and our old waterfall friend loses yet another trophy to its Agile counterpart.
But who is driving the Agile engine? People like you and me are driving it. No matter how squeaky clean and efficient the Agile engine is, if there is a problem with the driver, then you won’t get from Point A to Point B, and even if you do, you may arrive at a place you weren’t expecting.
Agile exists as a framework and approach shared by like-minded people with a common purpose. If we rely too much on the engine to steer itself, we will lose the innovation within ourselves, and instead, become slaves to an Agile prescription mandated by certifying bodies and self-proclaimed experts.
We have talked a little about the Agile engine and the driver. But no one has mentioned the fuel. That is a very different story for another time!
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Sources:
Denning, (2015). Agile: The World’s Most Popular Innovation Engine. Leadership Strategy. Forbes Magazine.
Thank you for your interest in the Scrumptious blog. If you have any ideas for Scrum topics, please message me here. Until next time, remember, projects can be Scrumptious!
Posted on: November 30, 2019 07:09 PM |
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Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Financial Management Specialist | US Peace Corps
Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon
I just love this phrase "No matter how squeaky clean and efficient the Agile engine is, if there is a problem with the driver, then you won’t get from Point A to Point B, and even if you do, you may arrive at a place you weren’t expecting..."
Merci
I am happy you enjoyed it Kwiyuh.
Keith Sellars
IT Manager| Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service
Bainbridge, Ga, United States
One thing that is critically important to remember is that there is no one-size-fits-all method to Agile development. When I became Scrum Master certified, before my PMP certification, I was taught that it is either SCRUM to the letter, or it is not. Any variation causes it to NOT be SCRUM. This is not true for SCRUM nor Agile. Every organization has its own unique environment. This is why it is critical that as a practitioner, you learn about the different approaches and methodologies. It is imperative that you develop the "Agile Mindset" and actually understand the philosophy rather than just memorize bullet points.While the memorization is required at the beginning, if it does not quickly lead to understanding, then you are simply stuck at a place that will never allow you to be proficient.
All organizations and situations, even projects within an organization, are unique. There is rarely any truly pure Waterfall approach instituted, nor a truly pure Agile method, whether it be SCRUM, XP, Crystal, or one of other Agile methodologies. Usually, maybe with the rare exception, there is at least some level of hybridization. For instance, many predictive, waterfall projects will have have iterative tasks on their Task List and Gantt Chart. Many SCRUM sprints will have predictive stories contained within the Sprints even similar stories within different sprints.
It is important that as you start your career as a Project Manager that you realize that you have to put project management solutions in place that are tailored to your needs and not feel constrained by a legalistic framework where you are afraid to do something out of order or not 100% inline with what the books teach. Learn about Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Lean, etc., then build a solution that fits the project needs in your world. That is the true meaning of Project Management anyway - "managing" the projects, not going through the motions.
Ashleigh Kennett-Smith
ICT Project Manager| Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
@Keith I'm finding more and more that the agile mindset allows an organisation to be comfortable with being flexible about how we deliver work (organisational value). So, we can be comfortable identifying when we know enough to start (but not knowing everything about the end product or constraints) and the delivery approach (we can tweak our mix of control framework and iterative delivery as we go) but we *will* start!
Picking up Kwiyuh's comment that "you may arrive at a place you weren't expecting...", we can also learn to be comfortable deciding to do something completely different or substantially changing elements of the end product if that delivers much better organisational value i.e. it must be justified and defensible.
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