Comments on: Toward a More Robust Agile http://www.pmhut.com/toward-a-more-robust-agile Thu, 24 May 2012 22:56:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Ian Chamberlain http://www.pmhut.com/toward-a-more-robust-agile/comment-page-1#comment-25425 Ian Chamberlain Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:05:06 +0000 http://www.pmhut.com/?p=5953#comment-25425 I've read the two articles you've written with care. Unfortunately you seem to have fallen into a common misconception that Agile is a specific method for developing software. This is just not the case. Agile is a manifesto of values and principles. Many different methods can be used in a way that conform with the manifesto, including RUP, but excluding Waterfall. Often many methods and practices need to be combined for a process to allow true Agile for any given context. For example Scrum and XP are often used together. Unfortunately the diagram you present in this article is not only wrong, so too are many of the weaknesses you indicated in the previous article. Calling something Agile doesn't make it Agile. Lots of teams and organizations say are they "doing" Agile and then ignore the values and principles. Would you say someone was doing Project Management if they decided not to bother with planning, monitoring, executing? Providing examples of activities that are not Agile as examples of Agile weaknesses is a straw man argument that at best might be called misleading. I would suggest that if you had really spent time with teams that are truly Agile you would have a better understanding of the subject. As it is you are just perpetuating some of the myths and fallacies provided by the ignorant. I’ve read the two articles you’ve written with care. Unfortunately you seem to have fallen into a common misconception that Agile is a specific method for developing software. This is just not the case. Agile is a manifesto of values and principles. Many different methods can be used in a way that conform with the manifesto, including RUP, but excluding Waterfall. Often many methods and practices need to be combined for a process to allow true Agile for any given context. For example Scrum and XP are often used together.

Unfortunately the diagram you present in this article is not only wrong, so too are many of the weaknesses you indicated in the previous article. Calling something Agile doesn’t make it Agile. Lots of teams and organizations say are they “doing” Agile and then ignore the values and principles. Would you say someone was doing Project Management if they decided not to bother with planning, monitoring, executing?

Providing examples of activities that are not Agile as examples of Agile weaknesses is a straw man argument that at best might be called misleading. I would suggest that if you had really spent time with teams that are truly Agile you would have a better understanding of the subject. As it is you are just perpetuating some of the myths and fallacies provided by the ignorant.

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