• Agile & Scrum Basics

The Agile Manifesto? Five(!) guiding principles for any Agile approach

Agile working is ubiquitous, read: everywhere at once. The approach is so popular that many organizations are rushing into it, resulting in chaos. Note: starting quickly is possible, but you really need a solid foundation. The Agile Manifesto. When in doubt about whether something is Agile, you can always fall back on that Agile Manifesto. Officially, it contains four simple principles. If I may be so bold, I’d like to add a fifth. That fifth point, however, is not self-invented, it just clearly puts into words what you otherwise have to read between the lines about fact-based working.

The tips in this article follow the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto lists the values that are important for Agile collaboration. The Manifesto is made up of pairs of two values, one of which is more important than the other. So not only are the values themselves important, but certainly the balance between them.It probably looks familiar to you as an Agile Coach. Feel like getting started with it right away? Check out the new Agile Coach Training II.

Read on or quickly click through to one of the sections of the Agile Manifesto.

• 1. Individuals and interaction are more important than processes and tools
• 2. Added value over documents
• 3. Working with customers is more important than contract negotiations
• 4. Responding to change takes precedence over following a plan
• 5. Facts and figures over intuitions and assumptions

1. Individuals and interaction are more important than processes and tools

Agile is meant for solving complex issues. These types of issues are best tackled with a diverse team. The more diverse the team, the more perspectives you have on a possible solution. So the interaction with which the team juxtaposes individual perspectives is important.
Processes and tools are also valuable. They help the team to avoid reinventing the wheel and to work together efficiently. Tools do tend to become a straitjacket. If that feeling creeps up on you, think back to this article and free yourself from the straitjacket. Processes and tools should serve the team. Not the other way around.

2. Added value over documents

The manifesto officially says “Working software over comprehensive documentation.” But Agile, of course, has long outgrown the realm of software development. The original text still holds true if you use a more abstract definition of software. That’s the definition where software describes processes and services of the organization. The second half of the statement is also relevant if you don’t develop software: comprehensive documentation. Think of the many Powerpoints and emails that go through the organization. Those are important to keep an overview and aid your memory a bit. But are so many really necessary? Ultimately, it’s about what changes for the customer. For very few customers, a Powerpoint adds immediate value.

3. Working with customers is more important than contract negotiations

This third statement illustrates how important it is to work on trust when tackling complex issues together. You need trust to take the uncharted paths. That’s how you arrive at truly new and valuable solutions. But trust is a verb [link to blog: transparency is a verb]: you can’t just claim it. Clear frameworks – contracts – can be the stepping stone to trust. But tough negotiations about the frameworks can also easily reduce that trust to zero. Very strict agreements cause those agreements to take on a life of their own. The agreements can then get in the way of added value.

4. Responding to change takes precedence over following a plan

Funnily enough, this is where the most Agile teams I encounter go off the rails. And not in the way you expect. What happens is that all plans go overboard in the name of agility. But that’s not what responding to change means. Responding to change means periodically reviewing your plans. The key question then is not, “Is implementation going according to plan?” The key question is, “Is this plan still going to add the intended value?” Perhaps there is advancing insight that makes another plan deliver more value. Or maybe the plans have even become completely irrelevant. That’s possible. But you only know if you also have a plan to hold up to the light.

5. Facts and figures over intuitions and assumptions

The creators of Agile were such science nerds that they probably didn’t think to include a statement about empiricism. Empiricism is the scientific approach in which you try to disprove assumptions with observable facts. So you come up with a theory – or formula – and then do experiments to find out if it is correct. For Agile working, this is an important foundation. Agile is an iterative approach. At each iteration, you run an experiment and use observable facts to examine whether you are still on the track to adding value.
Should you then banish all intuition? On the contrary. Intuitions and assumptions are often the source of ideas for new experiments. It only goes wrong when someone on the team pushes through assumptions without gathering observable facts.

The conclusion

If you feel like your Sprint Review isn’t going well, or if you feel like you don’t have enough control over execution, read back through the Agile Manifesto in this article again. Chances are you’ll see right away what’s not right. By bringing that up, you’ll help the team get back on track.

Do you enjoy lifting teams to the next level of Agile working? Then check out the Agile Coach Training I and the in-depth Agile Coach Training II.