Unconventional Agility: Beyond Dogma

You’re agile. You talk the talk and walk the walk. Just like the twelfth principle of the Agile Manifesto says—“At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly”—you have regular retrospectives. So, why are your agile practices, whether based on Scrum or SAFe or even XP, the same as everyone else’s? Brandon Carlson explores another agile principle that often seems to be forgotten: “Simplicity—Maximizing the amount of work not done is essential.” Using a case study example, Brandon shows you how and what one company gained from questioning the status quo, taking specific actions, and simplifying their process. Through a thorough examination of their process and questioning everything along the way, this organization achieved higher degrees of cooperation, flow, and productivity. With some new tools and a little bit of gumption, the same can happen for your team and organization.