The Best of Agile

Agile frameworks encourage adaptability and work well for projects that need to move quickly and pivot. Before diving into my favorite parts of the Agile methodology, I also want to briefly touch on other methodologies:

• Waterfall emphasizes a linear progression from one project phase to the next. Waterfall has its drawbacks, but it works well for stable, legacy projects that aren’t likely to require last minute changes.

• Six Sigma is focused on quality improvement with the goal of reducing defects, minimizing variation, and increasing quality and efficiency.

• Lean, which is often used in the manufacturing sector, emphasizes waste reduction.

  
  

Agile involves short release cycles, and works well with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) practices. On the documentation side, I led the initiative to create articles for cloud programs, and one of the main operational benefits was minimum viable documentation, which enabled the team to build up a large documentation set from a small base, resulting in quicker delivery. This goes hand-in-hand with the Agile emphasis on incremental delivery. In a software development environment, the Agile methodology brings a lot of benefits. My favorite part of Agile is the emphasis on collaboration and accountability.

Scrum Framework

I am using the Scrum framework as an example, but SAFe and other Agile frameworks provide similar benefits. Scrum (and Agile as a whole) generally emphasize a flat hierarchy. The typical Scrum framework includes the product owner, scrum master, and developers that bring their own expertise.

• The product owner defines what will be built and owns the product backlog. The product owner is accountable for the order of items in the backlog, but other stakeholders still have a say.

• The development team includes people with different areas of expertise. For example, the team can include engineers, QA, documentation, and so on. While the product owner defines what will be built, the development team defines how each item will be built.

• The scrum master plays the role of a servant leader or facilitator that helps address problems and resolve conflicts. For example, if there is a blocker, the scrum master will coordinate a discussion with the right people to resolve the problem and improve the team’s productivity.

The product owner and scrum master are not task masters. The development team is responsible for defining their work items and ensuring everything gets done on time and with quality. This framework encourages accountability and responsibility. Each person is a knowledge worker that should have the expertise to do their job well.

Benefits of a Flat Hierarchy

Organizations with overly rigid hierarchical structures can limit what each employee can do and restrict how cross-functional teams work together.

In a flat hierarchy, people at all levels can openly communicate and share knowledge. A flat hierarchy encourages accountability and reduces bottlenecks by empowering individuals to share insights and become experts in their domain.

Lean, Waterfall, and other methodologies still benefit from a flat hierarchy that encourages cross-functional collaboration, but this is essential for Agile teams. When teams communicate and work together closely, it is much easier to pivot and accommodate scope changes.

Conclusion

Agile values incremental delivery, enabling teams to continuously iterate and drive improvements. The Agile mindset encourages adaptability, innovation, and accountability, and fosters an environment where people work together to achieve a goal.