I am currently working on a short presentation which aims to communicate the justifications for and the benefits of employing Agile methods. The target audience is management, specifically the decision-makers, and includes those business people affected by the delivery of software and those people responsible for the development and delivery of software.
I want to conclude the presentation with the clear message that moving to Agile methods is not about following a prescriptive procedure of adoption (like you see with traditional methodologies such as RUP), nor is it about implementing a process, and it doesn’t just involve techies. Reginald Braithwaite-Lee provides some excellent material in his post, Agile is an attitude, not a product . I have distilled the key points below:
- Agile methods are not a product that can be purchased as an off-the-shelf solution and installed by techies.
- Agile methods are about people whose attitude, or perspective on all things, is founded on open and honest communication, collaboration, empowerment, trust and respect.
- Agile methods are about living by a common set of values, being guided by a common set of principles, and interacting in a highly social environment.
- Choosing to employ Agile methods is the start of an extensive change process - Bob Schatz, Primavera. Employing Agile methods is a commitment to an effort, which weaves the values and principles into the cultural fabric of an organisation, and involves everyone in that organisation, from top to toe.
Comments are always welcome.
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I just wanted to point out that the bulk of my post "Agile is an attitude...", including the title, quotes Ken Schwaber, the inventor of Scrum.
http://www.controlchaos.com/