Week 1, 2019
Agile Methods, Part 2: the Manifesto, Heart of Agile, and Modern Agile
Each week I share three ideas for how to make work better. And this week, I thought I’d start off the new year with a look at the future of Agile. And so if you missed last week’s introduction (w52 2018), I suggest you start there before venturing further.
The traditional form of Agile was codified back in 2001. Two decades hence, and a lot of things have happened. There are books, conferences, certifications, consulting services, plugins, and add-ons to help you adopt and master the approach.
In short, Agile has become an industry.
You’d be forgiven if you find it all a tad overwhelming. And you’d be in good company! Some of Agile’s own luminaries happens to agree with you! And so in recent years, there’s been a significant push both to simplify and extend the approach:
Let’s take a look at what Agile is today and what the future might hold.
1. The Agile Manifesto
Despite what most people think, methodologies like Extreme Programming (XP), Scrum, and Feature-Driven Development actually predates the Agile Manifesto. And so it’s incorrect to think that Agile, as defined by the Manifesto, is the foundation atop which these ideas are based. Indeed, Agile is better thought of as the lowest common denominator between these otherwise disparate methodologies. In other words, Agile is what numerous people across numerous organizations have all found to be best practices for developing software. And it all boils down to four relatively simple values!
For more, visit https://agilemanifesto.org.
2. Heart of Agile
Heart of Agile is a relatively new approach that distills “two decades of practice” into four “critical imperatives” designed to bring Agile back to basics. Its creator — Dr. Alistair Cockburn — is one of the original signatories of the Manifesto, and so it should come as no surprise that these “imperatives” are very similar to the values found in the Manifesto. But there’s more to Heart of Agile than what first meets the eye. For one, it’s modeled atop ShuHaRi — the Japanese martial arts concept of skill acquisition familiar to long-term readers (see w33 2018). As such, Heart of Agile is more than a set of ideals, it’s a journey towards mastery.
For more, visit https://heartofagile.com
3. Modern Agile
If Heart of Agile is all about bringing Agile back to basics, Modern Agile is all about extending it beyond software development. It too centers on four imperatives (now called “principles”). And again, there’s a lot of commonality with the original four values of the Manifesto. The difference, at least to my mind, is an increased focus on people and culture. Gone are the references to software development found in Heart of Agile as well as in the Manifesto itself. Instead, Modern Agile reads more like how-to guide for organizational transformation with clear ties to Teal organizations.
For more, visit http://modernagile.org
The future of Agile is bright. Adoption is on the rise and the community is thriving. Good results are part of the reason . Another part, I suspect, is that Agile’s core tenants are well-aligned with the future of work that is currently emerging.
This future has many permutations. In technology circles we might call it Agile. In design circles (and increasingly in business circles as well) its called Strategic Design (see w52 2018). And in organizational design circles, we increasingly talk about Teal organizations (see w42 2018).
There’s a Swedish idiom that suggests that “a cherished child goes by many names”. And I think that’s true here as well. Teal, Agile, and design-driven organizations have more on common that not. It’s just that we use different labels to talk about similar things.
The label you choose depends on your background.
Which brings us to next week’s topic.
What do you call a Teal organization that is design-driven and works according to Agile principles? One group of people think they have the answer. And next week I’ll introduce you to their manifesto.
Until then, stay calm.
