Agile 2018

Back in 2001 when the word agile appeared it was a manifesto – a set of ideas, the term “agile” also served to group a bunch of tools and techniques which could make software development “better.” It painted a picture of a shining city on a hill we all wanted to live in.

Agile was a place you wanted to go, it was a journey you wanted to make, it offered hope. More important as the tools – sprints, stand-ups, etc. – and approaches – just in time, last responsible moment, test first – were the stories agile people told. These were stories of a better world, of that shining city on the hill.

Today everyone is agile. Nobody is promoting traditional (“waterfall”) working. Not being agile is about as popular as leprosy.

Agile won the war. Agile is respectable and everyone is agile now. Big business rush to be agile, Governments want to be agile, consultants will sell you agile.

But agile lost the peace. While many say they are agile, few software developers live in a shiny city. The place they live in might be better than the place they came from but it doesn’t quite live up to the dream.