Why we believe in agile

I spend my days toiling in an anonymous cubical at a large company during the day, while by night and on weekends, I toil for my start-up.  It is thankless work.  I do it because I believe there is a better way to run a business and serve customers.  I do it because I believe in agile and its principles for modern business.  This week, I want to discuss agile and why I strongly believe in it.

When Frederick P. Brooks wrote The Mythical Man-Month in 1975, he talked about what it took to write the OS/360 computer system.  When I picked up a copy of the second edition in 2009, many of the problems Brookes wrote about were oddly familiar.  Projects run out of control.  Communication becomes a considerable challenge, and project managers who treat people like machines stumble across Brooke's Law, which states, "Adding manpower to a late project makes it later."

Besides being able to smoke in the office and use punch cards, Brooks observed many sad realities in software development that are still happening today.  Projects are flying wildly out of control.  Customers are unsatisfied with what is being delivered, and millions of dollars are being squandered needlessly.  This is why I was so attracted to the Agile Manifesto and Scrum.  With Agile, a developer was judged on working software instead of how much documentation they wrote.  Being able to adapt to change was more important than following plans.  Finally, the people building the software had some say in what they were doing and how they were doing it instead of having it dictated from above.  It was liberating, and when I got the hang of it, I was an eager convert. 

Still, I have discovered that Agile is still considered a fad in some business circles, even though it has been around for over ten years.  I discovered why when I read Len Lagestee's inspired blog, 5 Must Ask Questions for Leaders.  Organizations, especially large ones, may not have the correct workforce and be unwilling to trust their employees entirely with the necessary changes.  Finally, business leaders who model themselves after Donald Rumsfeld won't understand the quantum shift necessary to switch from command and control to servant leadership.  I live that reality each day in my day job.

I know there is something better out there.  I know that a company can be nimble and responsive to client needs and treat its community respectfully and with dignity.  I know that Microsoft tools can build fantastic business applications for the cloud.  I also know there is money to be made in the unglamorous world of infrastructure and logistics.  This is what drives me.  For too long, business has been more concerned with its power and influence than what really matters: the customers and the community they serve.  This is why I believe in Agile: I feel like it can build a better piece of software and create a better business. 

Find out what I am talking about by contacting us. 

It is time that business starts acting like it is in the 21st century instead of the 19th.  I hope my little startup is part of a trend to make that a reality. 

Until next time.