The Myth of Small Incremental Improvements

Incremental changes do not provide emergency exits for a failing system. It’s time to recognize when a tool is not useful

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

You want an intro that goes straight for the jugular? Here’s one: Agile methodology’s veneration of small incremental improvements is bullshit.

I am not here to worship waterfalls or eulogize Kanban, and I’m not saying all of Agile’s philosophy is bad — I could even argue that small incremental improvements are not inherently part of its philosophy.

Nonetheless, given the common association, I felt compelled to write this article to help others recognize when they might be riding the wrong horse, or maybe they have unwittingly been participating in a status quo death cult because they can only envision their world moving in painfully slow ways.

An eye-catching piece of agile propaganda which appears to make sense… on its surface.

It is usually a product, software, or business manager who takes issue with the size or nature of a code change: if your work falls afoul of their assessment of whatever constitutes “small” or “incremental”, then it’s the death knell for your hard work.