Agile in a Flash No 2

The Agile Values, aka the Agile Manifesto - The Idea

Agile in a Flash by Jeff Langr and Tim Ottinger (card #2)

"We (the signatories) have come to value

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over Comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over Contract negotiation

Responding to Change over Following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Agile software development teams collaborate and adapt with minimal ceremony and overhead to deliver quality software.

You may need “the things on the right” to success with agile, but it is effective to bypass paperwork and just talk to people. Translating needs into written form is wasteful compared to having your customer simply tell you what they wan and remain available to answer questions.

Similarly, working software matters. Documents? Not as much. Capture specifications in the product and its tests through agile practices such as TDD and acceptance testing.

You can diminish the importance of contracts if you negotiate on a continual basis. This involves an increase in transparency and trust, supported greatly by the openness and heavy collaboration that agile promotes.

Plans are valuable, but your customer and the marketplace care less about your plans than about you delivering software that fits their ever-changing needs."