Tuesday, January 5, 2010

we do agile...

... yeah right.
Here's a quote from James Shores' blog, The Art of Agile, that sums up the reality.
"At the risk of ending on a downer, the vast majority of shops that say they're doing 'Agile' do nothing of the sort. Instead, they use the terminology without actually following the underlying ideas. For example, teams will plan in 'Sprints' but not actually produce shippable software every month. So don't be surprised if nothing really changes except the terminology. Real change of the sort Agile needs requires willpower and commitment on the part of both managers and team members. That's easier to fake than supply."
That is pessimistic!

I haven't had enough work experience here to make any informed comment about the agile scene in NZ. The buzz is loud, and i've been assured that some of the cultural obstacles i have observed in the RSA are less of a problem here. I can't help thinking though that commonalities of behaviour are more likely. James Shore is probably speaking of the US, it resonates strongly with what i have heard in the RSA, are the Kiwis really that different? Consider for example the tall poppy syndrome which quite a few folk tell me remains prevalent here. That's only sand in the agile machinery.

Let's see what experiences and observations the new year has to offer.

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