This advert made me laugh. Then I got annoyed. “Agile squared - Agility meets Visibility.” When you read that tag line what does it say to you? When I read it, I interpreted the message to say the tool keeps things visible. Bah! If your tool helps keep things visible then say it helps keep things visible. Be specific. Be clear. Don’t let your marketing beast suggest otherwise. If you’re a tool vendor and you really think you’re being agile and are building stuff for people who are being agile then surely one of your values is open and honest communication? It worked for Dudley Moore. Remember “Volvos. They’re boxy but good”. I guess there’s another universe me and the other crazy people should be living in.
2 Comments
I can definitely see how you could get the impression you described. As a member of the cross-functional (not just marketing) team that created this message, I appreciate the feedback that tells us we missed the mark. Your comments were included in our retrospective and will help us improve our clarity in the future.
We certainly recognize that visibility is a core value of any agile process. Taking visibility to the next level (hence the "squared" metaphor) is meant to address the issue of agility being perceived as chaos to other parts of an enterprise. We experienced this challenge first-hand, with our own agile teams, and incorporated that learning into the tools we've developed.
A "tool" is something that extends or amplifies our capabilities. In that context, we are trying to create tools that help teams be more visible across the geographical and organizational boundaries within the enterprise. In the end, it is not the tool that is important, but the leverage that it provides for people to be more effective in their interactions with their customers--both internal and external.
Dale Schumacher, Agile Evangelist
dale.schumacher@borland.com
Thanks Dale for taking the time to explain this rationale.