AGILE IN ACTION

Hustle - verb, to move energetically and in a particular direction

Bustle - noun, excited activity and commotion

I read James Shore’s blog posts about sense of urgency and hustle, for a second time recently. He hits on an important point which is often not fully appreciated by teams new to agile methods. While it’s essential that a team produces “high-quality, tested code that meets their own estimates”, it’s equally essential that the team “takes the customer’s goals seriously” and hustles, demonstrating they care as much about delivering the iteration’s scope as the customer.

Hustle is not only about keeping the customer happy by looking busy. Hustle creates bustle - a buzz or that air of excitement generated by the purposeful activity, which radiates positive energy that is absorbed and re-radiated by the team members. In return bustle helps to drive hustle by provoking further communication, improving focus, and potentially increasing productivity.

Ron Jeffries wonders whether hustle is sustainable. Certainly, in a human environment, hustle and bustle cannot regenerate each other perpetually. The development team is the primary energy source for hustle and needs to recharge at regular intervals. As Ron Jeffries suggests, this can be accomplished by achieving success at the end of each iteration and by resting frequently as part of an energized work strategy.