This week’s blog post is based on a chapter from our book, Scrum 101: the most frequently asked questions about Agile with Scrum, which is available to buy for £9.90.
The Agile Manifesto (Beck et al., 2001) says:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
For example:
Talking to people to tell them that you have completed a feature … rather than relying on people being notified by an automated email from a management tool. Face-to-face communication is most effective and builds relationships.
The best measure of progress is whether something actually works in live … not how thoroughly you have documented its internal workings (or your intentions).
Rather than defining requirements, or the end product, upfront … work with your customer to define the direction as you go and agree the best way to achieve the goal.
Whilst it’s okay to have a plan, things change (for example, market conditions) … don’t continue with the original plan if it no longer makes sense. You want to build what is right now, rather than what was right when you started.
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