Please don’t call it Agile

Please don’t call it “Agile”! Really!

I can’t stand anymore listening to the word “Agile” and seeing the main principles neither understood nor respected.
I can’t stand anymore seeing agile transformations where the only goal is the transformation itself as a new process to put in place.
I can’t stand anymore arguing with people who think to have understood “Agile” because they use some sticky notes and do some daily meetings.

For many people who do agile or want to do agile, the agile manifesto is often a piece of paper without real meaning.

I don’t have the agile manifesto attached in my room and the point here it’s not to be a “purist” of all agile principles. I don’t care. I do care about people: respecting people, giving people autonomy, motivating people, trusting people, collaborating and improving with people. I care about the human side of business: business done by people who wants to satisfy and delight customers, business done by people as it is their own private business. I always considered Agile as an enabler for all of this, as opposite of other ways to developing software where people are like “cogs in the machinery“.  Agile is “people oriented”. This is the most important thing to understand.

Agile for me is tightly linked to new Management principles and practices (ex: Management 3.0) and to the organisational structure and values. I believe that you cannot have Agile without changing or adapting the others points, unless they are already “people oriented”. I believe in “Guiding Structure“: the structure of your environment is the largest determinant of your behaviour. So if you want to have Agile ensure that all your guiding structures are “people oriented” too (management, organizational structure, values, rewards, etc.).