Agile has become an all-encompassing and accepted part of industry practices. It is no longer restricted to the realm of information technology product development but is being adapted and used across all functions of an enterprise. Everyone, practically, has adopted Agile as their principal means of product development.
The intent of Agile is important to recall. It was meant to speed up product development and provide relevant value to the end user, by providing solutions that meet their needs.
The rise of Agile was in response to the regimented way of waterfall methodology that did not allow much flexibility once the project got underway. The Waterfall method was more of a philosophy. It showed up in many different ways of making a product. the waterfall methodology was itself a reaction to the problems faced at that time.
A common reason for the failure of most projects was the lack of clarity in articulating the expectations of the project. The first issue was the lack of clarity on the objectives of the product. The second was the failure to define the requirements clearly before starting the project. The Waterfall methodology was a structured approach to ensure that adequate deliberation is done over the objectives and requirements before undertaking the project.
In practice, the waterfall methodology is quite systematic and works very well in many industries. It is perhaps the most efficient way to construct something when you are sure of the requirements and specifications before you start.
The rise of Agile was a reaction to the multiple checkpoints, approvals and sign-offs that got built into the waterfall system as it became more bureaucratic due to wider and extensive usage.
Agile found wide adoption initially in software development, as the waterfall methodology was taking too much time and by the time the system got built it may miss the mark as the end user requirements may have changed. Clients wanted more frequent feedback on the development and the requirements were kept dynamic as they were changing rapidly as the software developed.
The essence of Agile is that it is not desirable to figure out everything upfront. Good solutions are an interplay of what is required and what is possible. It is better to experiment and quickly develop them rather than come back with a theoretical solution.
As the Agile manifesto found wide acceptance, it spawned an entire family of vocabulary including sprints, stories, and backlogs etc., We also have various shades of agile – Scaled Agile framework, Scrum, and Enterprise kanban, each with a different structure and intent.
One cautionary aspect one has to keep in mind. waterfall methodology was criticised because the implementation practice was too big, too unwieldy, too bureaucratic and formalised. Agile is slowly coming to the same dangerous phase.
This applies not only to big Agile teams but also extends towards how smaller teams interact and work together. many of the practices have become codified and rigid. It is human nature to codify something that works and expect the same result every time. The challenge is to understand that every experience is unique.
It all depends on what we emphasise and our intention. When we try out something for the first time, we are attentive, creative and ready to experiment all of which lead to a sense of achievement when it succeeds. the next time we do it we do not have the same intent.
this is the problem that AGile faces and it is very significant. Today, Agile has become rigidly defined in many organisations. The practices have become codified and adhered to even if they do not add value.
An essential basis for any methodology is that we do what works. The problem is that once something works, we keep doing it the same way over and over again. We move away from the principles on which this practice was founded and start questioning the relevance of everything that has been done. This could lead to another methodology taking birth to replace Agile. But this does not have to be so. To avoid this, it is necessary to go back and not lose sight of the underlying principles in favour of following the codified practices.
Has Agile Jumped the Shark?
Mark Mullaly
PMI 2022/12
R2G 