Do we “do Agile” or do we “be Agile”?
Ultimately, Agile is a mindset. But how do we get there?
Consider these two alternatives:
- Learning a framework
- A team does the following:
- daily stand-ups
- has a product backlog
- breaks work up into 2 week chunks and plans what they will do
- attempts to build entire chunk
- stops working after two weeks to inspect & adapt & demo what they have
- has a Product Owner and Scrum Master
Alternative approach
- Learning the actual work
- A team knows how to take their work and slice it into small pieces with
- acceptance criteria they got working with their product owner.
- They focus on finishing
- Every two weeks they see where they are, demo it and do a retro. Then they plan out two more weeks of work.
Which will be more effective? Which approach will help them start operating more as a team?
Which will create more resistance to having more ceremonies and more meetings? (I suggest the second will have them embrace the ceremonies of the first as supportive).
BTW- this is not a thought experiment. We’ve done both (but only do the second one now). If you also think the 2nd is better, it’s nice that it’s also less expensive in time & money. Drop me a line.