Common mistakes in agile adoption

These are taken from an excellent paper by Michael De La Maza and David Benz. Happy learning! :)

1. Agile teams have defined dates and scopes
2. A manager assigns tasks to team members
3. Impediments to development are not addressed
4. Team members don’t point out problems when they see them
5. Testing is not allowed because it highlights shortcomings
6. Burn-down charts are altered to present a rosy picture
7. Management plans rather than teams
8. All features are seen as high priority
9. Communication is one way, from leaders to employees through broadcasts
10. Agile is seen as something “the technology people do”
11. Teams are not developing working software
12. Teams are reporting rather than discussing progress
13. Superstars are valued over team
14. Reluctance to hire qualified outside experts
15. Leadership demands results without providing direction
16. Knowledge is hoarded

Other common mistakes

• Teams emphasize on tools and processes over individuals and interactions
• Pursuit of perfect grand plan for big IT project
• No architecture
• Defensive management

If this interests you, you might like to read about agile transformation.

Happy learning! 😊