I have a hard time with the words 'adopting Agile' or
'transitioning to Agile'. (Notice that I'm using Agile with a big
'A'.) They suggest an end state, but I don't think there is an end
state. It's certainly possible to be 'not agile'. I believe agility
is a scale measured by your
ability to deliver value to customers
in a continuous flow realising maximum return on investment for the
business while dealing with change in a rational and empirical way,
and having fun doing it . In my mind, achieving agility is
simply a journey of continuous inspection and adaptation, and in
lean terms, a journey of
continuous improvement . It's a
journey without an end. And that's no bad thing.
Many people are afraid of this "no end-state". Sometimes they use
it as an excuse not to embark on the journey. Others simply invent
an end-state (and stop trying to improve). I said before that
we're not limited by our abilities
but by our vision . I see this thinking as a lack of vision.
They're not seeing all the step-by-step improvements for what they
are: Tangible improvements that add value. If something moves you
forward to something better and adds value, it's got to be worth
doing for those reasons alone. Who cares about an end-state?
As
Chris Pitts
says , there's no time like the
present. So, start your journey today and begin improving from
here.
Thursday, 19 July 2007
A journey without an end
Posted by Simon Baker - Permalink
