SPHERE OF INFLUENCE, INC. – software studios and services

Theresa Smith

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a Washington DC APLN or the Agile Project Leadership Network event.  It was a great event with an excellent speaker.  But invariably I learn just as much from the general conversation with other attendees as I do the main speaker.  Someone in the audience asked the question “What is so special about Agile?”  The audience paused for a moment.

This same person went on to explain that the Agile Manifesto was as simple as “mom and apple pie” and he was perplexed at how something as simple could offer anything special, unique, or new.  This seemed a rational question to ask but I did not have an opportunity to give my answer.

I contend that Agile is not so important for what it stands for – but for what it stands against.  I suspect that part of the reason the room became quiet after the question was asked is because the room was full of technical people who had suffered through conventional projects using big process approaches, initially developed for government projects.  Big clumsy practices became the defacto and accepted approaches for all software projects.

But to answer the question, it is clear to me that Agile is much more important in what it formally debunks rather than what it stands for.  That these inadequate practices have taken hold in the software field is to put it lightly.  Technical people know these practices do not work.  Agile is that rally cry to all who want to make the changes for practices that lead to better technical products.