Why is Agile Popular?

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Why is Agile Popular?


Believe it or not- I've been trying to invest a little more time writing 
lately. Part of this motivation comes 
from working on stories highlighting capabilities and success that the Lab 
Zero team has had in working with our clients. The ice-age this-here 
personal blog has experienced will 
warm, maybe even thaw. I recently put a quick answer onto Quora and figured I'd capture 
it here too. 

Question: Why is Agile So Popular?

Short answer: Agile is not popular.

My answer will focus on the software world but there are many other ways to 
tell this story without the software focus.

The promise of Agility is awfully alluring for roles close to the work in a 
typical org: product managers, designers, and engineers. The way Agile 
prefers 'individuals & interactions' over 'tools & process' breathes fresh 
air into a normally stifled environment. Many see Agile's focus on working 
software over documentation as the right priority for a product team. Any 
product team will feel like they're driving value into their company when 
they're able to respond to change rather than merely follow a plan. Benefits 
abound for teams who want a sustainable pace of work and a high level of 
accountability. Benefits abound for organizations who want unstoppable, self-
organizing teams to drive value.

There are of course real practical challenges in moving a team to a new way 
of working in companies that haven't already made the leap into Agility. Most 
people in the software world have encountered these challenges at some point 
in their career: people get tripped-up on writing / sizing / accepting 
stories, overloading sprints, and so on and so on. The friction that slows 
and challenges a team's adoption of Agile is real - even if a transformation 
is 
well funded and supported with coaches & experts.

But wait, there's more - all this agility must happen in the context of 
delivering software and driving results for a business. Chances are there's 
someone in the PMO (not to pick on Program Management) who wants some 
predictability in planning a portfolio of work. They have genuine needs 
involving 
knowing when reliable work will be delivered. The predictability they seek is 
critical to the success of the business. Even though Agile programs can be 
predictable, many aren't at first. How patient can a business be before it 
sees results from an investment in agility? (spoiler: not very patient)

Here's where it gets tricky- unless someone brings the leadership along, the 
agile transformation will fail. The work of connecting a plan with a vision 
forces leadership to take what can feel like a trust-fall. If you've ever 
helped a leader through their 'trough of despair' in adopting new tricks, 
you've 
seen why many agile transformations fail. Investment that doesn't serve a 
business is waste. No leader can waste time or money in pursuit of agility if 
it's not showing a benefit.

Most agile transformations fail at one of these levels: team, portfolio 
planning, leadership. Transformations 
will fail because teams lack clear signals showing where to focus training. 
Teams need access to 
experts in product management, design, and engineering - not just coaches. 
They will fail because planners 
aren't supported in working with agile teams. They will fail because leaders 
haven't bought-into their role in an agile organization. They will fail because leaders haven't 
seen the benefit to the business.

Sounds pretty bleak, huh? Well that's why you're on Quora, right? 
When I say 'fail' here I mean that the promise or potential of Agile is never realized. Instead, an organization 
will settle for some blend of old and new. If they're lucky they can see some small benefit. But 
the story doesn't have to be this bleak. With access to expertise (from outside the organization) and 
commitment (within) to driving change, any company at any scale can reach it.

Agile is a rare, beautiful thing - and really totally invisible to the people 
within it when working its best. I suspect very few software professionals will ever encounter this in their 
careers. Agile is not popular, but it's worth pursuing.

Go see it in the wild: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Agile-so-
popular/answer/Chris-Greacen


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