Have you encountered challenges related to Scaled Agile authenticity or ethical concerns in your organization?

Agile Ethics Organizational Culture

Stelian ROMAN Project Manager| MicroSafety Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia

As organizations seek to scale agile practices across large enterprises, many adopt ‘scaled Agile’ frameworks. At the same time, there is a growing trend of incorporating tools and methods from traditional Project, Portfolio, Program Management, and Lean Six Sigma into Agile programs. While cross-pollination of good ideas can be valuable, there are important ethical concerns when traditional practices and content are copied and presented as new agile practices, metrics, or tools—especially when these adaptations misalign with the core values of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.

Blog post: https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-pos...thenticity-

Posted: May 19, 2026 1:18 AM

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Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa

Community Champion

Program Manager| HARPER SRL Santo Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic

Using practices from other approaches is not really the problem. What becomes difficult is when organizations add more governance, reporting, and structure while still presenting everything as Agile, even when teams feel less adaptable in practice.

Sometimes the terminology changes faster than the mindset or leadership behaviors behind it.

Posted: May 19, 2026 9:01 AM

Stelian ROMAN Project Manager| MicroSafety Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia

Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa I believe that the problem is not adding governance, reporting, etc., but the fact that management (and some consultants) try to force current/old processes and tools in Agile.

Posted: May 20, 2026 1:12 AM

Luis Branco CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal

This is an important ethical issue.

Cross-pollination between Agile, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, Portfolio Management, and quality disciplines can create real value when it is done transparently and with contextual judgment.

The problem is not adaptation itself.

The problem begins when existing practices are rebranded as “new Agile” without proper attribution, without explaining their origin, and without clarifying why they are appropriate in a specific context.

That creates confusion, weakens professional trust, and can distort the intent of Agile itself.

In my view, the key question is not whether Agile can learn from other disciplines. It clearly can.

The key question is whether those practices preserve Agile’s core orientation toward collaboration, adaptation, customer value, learning, and responsiveness to change.

Some structure can support agility at scale.

But when structure becomes control, when metrics become compliance, and when frameworks become commercial products detached from their intellectual origins, authenticity is at risk.

This is not only a methodological issue.

It is a question of professional integrity.

(Unfortunately, I could not access the full article through the link provided, so my reflection is based on the post excerpt above.)

Posted: May 20, 2026 5:43 AM

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Have you encountered challenges related to Scaled Agile authenticity or ethical concerns in your organization?

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