Building on our post “The Agile Mindset Shift: From Doing Agile to Being Agile” in our Agile series, we now explore the six remaining principles of the Agile Manifesto. For each principle, we provide practical applications and desired outcomes aimed at accelerating value delivery and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Principle: Working software is the primary measure of progress.
Intended Outcome: Tangible evidence of progress and value creation.
Tactical Implementation: This approach embodies the “Don’t tell me, show me!” philosophy. Conducting sprint demos to gather early feedback helps ensure the team remains focused on delivering products that resonate with their target customers. It also enables the team—and other involved teams—to stay informed about upcoming developments. Simultaneously, the team can hold a sprint review, which encompasses the sprint demo, celebrating their achievements and reflecting on how they accomplished it. This method ensures productivity and alignment with the ultimate goal: consistently delivering measurable value. For more insights, see our blog post: Sprint Review: Much More Than Just a Demo.
Principle: Agile processes promote sustainable development. All stakeholders should maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Intended Outcome: Long-term productivity and well-being of the team.
Tactical Implementation: Establish a consistent sprint cycle (typically 1-4 weeks) that the team can sustain over the long term. Maintaining a steady pace ensures that the team remains healthy and productive, avoiding burnout and ensuring steady progress. This cadence can change as the team matures or their situation changes.
Principle: Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Intended Outcome: High-quality, scalable, and maintainable software solutions.
Tactical Implementation: Maintain an architecture runway and regularly conduct architecture reviews, alignments, and backlog refinements to manage technical debt and uphold consistent, high-quality design standards. This approach nurtures a culture of excellence, ensuring the product remains robust and adaptable to future needs.
Principle: Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.
Intended Outcome: Focused and efficient use of resources.
Tactical Implementation: This is also known as the “Work smarter, not harder!” principle. Focus on achieving sprint goals rather than accumulating story points. Keep solutions flexible and avoid prematurely committing to one approach. Prioritizing simplicity ensures that the team works efficiently, avoiding unnecessary complexity and waste. Check this blog post on sprint goals as a tool towards value-delivery and efficiency: Achieving Success with Sprint Goals: A Key to Delivery.
Principle: The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
Intended Outcome: Innovative solutions and empowered team members.
Tactical Implementation: Empower teams to make design and implementation decisions, which are supported by regular tech alignments and backlog reviews. Self-organizing teams are more likely to produce creative and effective solutions, leveraging their collective expertise and knowledge. To learn more about developing self-organizing and empowered teams, check out this blog post: Amplify Your Impact: Steps to a Multiplier Mindset.
Principle: At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Intended Outcome: Continuous improvement and adaptability.
Tactical Implementation: It is a good practice to pause and reflect in order to accelerate. Conducting sprint retrospectives helps evaluate recent performance and identify areas for improvement, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. Regular reflection ensures the team evolves and adapts to new challenges and opportunities effectively, leading to consistent improvement.
Shifting from “doing Agile” to “being Agile” is like going from just wearing the jersey to actually playing in the game. Embrace the agile principles, and watch your team boost efficiency, collaborate like pros, and make customers happier and satisfied.
Are you ready to revolutionize your team’s approach to work and see real, tangible results? Schedule a call with one of our experienced Solution Consultants to discuss your current framework and processes and identify opportunities for improvement. Embark on your transformational journey towards accelerating value delivery and driving sustainable growth. Together, we will tailor strategies to meet your unique organizational needs and ensure lasting success in your transformational journey.
Stay tuned for the next installment in our Agile series, where we will explore the Scrum Framework and how the agile principles are translated into tangible outcomes.
Can’t wait for our next article? Remember, change starts with you. Check out our book reviews on A Sense of Urgency or The Disruption Mindset.