Partnership & Possibilities

My theory which is mine. (Thank you Monty Python.)

It’s only a theory and I haven’t developed a test for it yet. Though I’d like some suggestions on how to do so.

My theory is: iterative development + daily stand-up meetings + frequent retrospectives +a culture that supports learning = eventual invention of a home-grown fully Agile approach.

The extended version: IF you have a project and a project team in an organizational culture that supports learning, and IF the project team is made up of people of good will, doing their “prime directive best”* on an ongoing basis, and IF the project leaders (coaches, engineering leads, PMs, scrummasters, etc.) structure the project with 1) iterative development, 2) daily status meetings (preferably short stand-ups), and 3) retrospectives at the end of every iteration, release, and other significant project milestones, THEN sooner or later you will have a project that aligns around Agile values and begins to adopt a variety of other Agile principles and practices. It might take longer than if you start with a value-driven charter and TDD and a lot of other practices, but you’ll get there.

I know I have bias for the “human side” of development. I admit it. I think it’s more important to pay attention to the interactions among humans and between humans and the organizational systems than almost anything.

I wonder what others think are the 3-5 fundamental building blocks of Agile?

* Ask any retrospective facilitator for the definition of “prime directive best.”

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