You’ve probably come across or heard about the Agile Manifesto at some point in your working life or somewhere else. But what exactly is the Agile Manifesto and why is it so valuable for our work and our interaction?
In this article, we take you on the journey of the Agile Manifesto and why we employ it so successfully. The Agile Manifesto was written in 2001 by 17 authors under the name “Manifesto for Agile Software Development”. It creates a basis for agile project management and comprises only about 100 words in its original version. Since 2001, the Agile Manifesto has hardly been changed. That alone shows how ingenious it is 😉.
The Agile Manifesto represents four values:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
While the values on the right are important, the values on the left are even more important.
These four values give rise to a further twelve principles. You can read more about them here.
amiconsult & the Agile Manifesto
For us, the Agile Manifesto is not just a collection of bullet points and processes, but culture. Working according to the Agile Manifesto usually requires a change in working life first. As the way of working changes, you need a new framework.
In recent years, the importance of agile working in our society has increased. More complex problems, higher expectations and more competition require a quick adaptability to remain marketable.
However, the adaptation processes are still ongoing in some larger companies. First of all, the working world must get used to this new way of working. A change of mindset is necessary for successful work according to the Agile Manifesto.
It is therefore important for us to give employees time and space to question! Agile working does not establish itself magically and needs time, effort, resources, freedom and energy. In order for this to work, employees are not burdened with work 100%. We make sure to always leave some slack time so that you don’t find yourself utterly caught up in the day-to-day business. 40 hours a week full of project work cannot be agile. Energy has to be put into rethinking and communicating. It is a permanent process that has to be discussed and reflected upon. The individual must be at the centre of this process.
During Corona, we faced a problem here. The little conversations during coffee breaks, which were so important to us vanished. We compensated for this with another aspect that could also be implemented online: fun at work 😉. Regular online lunches and online game nights kept us together.
In addition, every amiconsultant has a basic knowledge of our values. Communication and constructive thinking are desired and encouraged. In weekly 1on1s between mentors and mentees, everything can be discussed confidentially. We are always happy to work with people who are open minded and aren’t stuck or one-way thinkers.
Our Learning
What we had to learn and are still learning is to let it go. To relinquish control and just let things go their own way. Even at the risk of something going wrong. Of course, we let things go “in a controlled way” and make sure that the place doesn’t go up in flames. There is a safety net to guarantee at least a certain partial success.
There is always something to be learned from the mistakes that can arise. What is important here is, once again, open communication.
By transforming mistakes into opportunities to learn, further development is possible, everything is constantly looked at over again and a loop of rethinking is created. So keep your mental flexibility open and don’t think too rigidly 😉.
The three biggest mistakes (in our opinion)
- Too many processes. Every process that is introduced restricts the agile way of working. It will be difficult to get these processes out again. Therefore: As few processes as possible, but as many as necessary. This ensures maximum freedom. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have processes. Some things need fixed processes in order not to end up in chaos. It would be really unfortunate if half the company was on holiday at the same time 😉.
We always recommend keeping an open eye on existing processes. Agility means constantly checking: Does this make sense right now?For us, a process may also be skipped sometimes if it would not make sense. For this to work, there has to be a lot of communication and questioning. If a process no longer fits, we talk about it and then it is adjusted if necessary. And if there is no process for something, we simply try it out. Agile does not mean few processes and a lot of individuality, but rather that the processes existing must be flexible and fit the individuals. - Not admitting mistakes and driving employees crazy with zero tolerance for mistakes. With a German upbringing, we probably find this difficult at first. After all, we are taught from an early age in school that mistakes are bad. Mistakes = bad grade = shame.But they are human and sooner or later everyone will make them. What matters is how they are dealt with. It must be possible to admit to them without punishment. Because it can be worse than the mistake itself not to admit it and not to correct it properly. Instead of attributing it to one person, it should be accepted as such and corrective action taken as a team. Because the initiative to dare to do something is higher with a positive error culture.
- Letting communication get lost. When a company grows, one often faces the problem that the quality of communication decreases with growth. Communication workshops and agile workshops can raise awareness for good communication. And that means the whole company, not just those who need it at the moment 😉. The corporate culture should always be shared and passed on as a central element within the company.As already mentioned, solution-oriented questioning and a positive error culture are also key components. According to the motto: Don’t just complain, but also come up with options and alternatives. And of course: also offer freedom to establish these options and alternatives.
A key value?
After all the years of our experience of working according to the agile manifesto, we can state: There is no most important value. At least we can’t name one. For us, it is always a matter of sounding out the customer’s weak point. Every customer situation is different, must be analyzed and an individual solution must be found.
It is also role-dependent and team-dependent what is seen as important. For a consultant, customer communication is probably ranked higher than it is for a software developer.
In addition, it must be said: Agility does not always work and is not a panacea! In hard bureaucratic areas with rigid hierarchies (e.g. offices) where clearly defined tasks are processed, agility is less suitable. Well-established processes that function and are worked through are not enriched by agility. Agility scores particularly well in complex environments where solutions are not clearly defined or requirements are volatile. In agile transformation, we first take a close look at the situation at hand and consider: What could help and what could not? We discuss and work this out together with the client.
Do you like the way of working with the Agile Manifesto but don’t quite know how to implement it yet? Then contact us and we will help you find out what suits you best and how you can achieve the optimal agile way of working.
