Agile Principle #1 Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

So after the four core Agile values, we are starting with the 12 Agile Principles and this is the 1st one. But before we get there that let me share something with you.

Last two weeks I was away and did not create the weekly Newsletter. To be honest I was in a bit of a dilemma. I was trying to find the purpose and value of doing this, to me personally and those who read it. unless purpose is defined and checked on often nothing lasts. Purpose is what drives the action. Or that is how it should be. 

Value for others: I think some people who are new to agile could gain some food for thought. Even things that they don’t fully agree with and can start thinking about it. But for those who have been in the field for a while, I am not sure of the real value they would get going through these basics. But I want to get into basics and I think it adds value to me.

Yes there is a value…After 27 years of being in the industry and spending over 10 years specifically on Agile Scrum and last three years a significant amount also in coaching and explaining the principles and process to teams and even people far away from agile, I think it is high time I start going over the basics again. So in a way these Newsletters are for me to reflect on what they mean and ask open questions and put it here. 

Sometimes we need to ask more questions than be confined in already known/accepted answers

 So let me start by discussing out a few items from this principle

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

Highest Priority: Knowing what our priorities are is key and when we are building software or anything else the fundamental goal is to get more customers. But what are our priorities? It is easy to say our top priority is getting customers, but no. it is to satisfy customers… Why?

Because It is not just just getting more customers, it is also retaining the acquired customers. And retaining them as happy customers. We do business in a market where there is both competition and disruption and customers have choices. So priority is to satisfy customers. That is if you want to keep them. You cannot trick them. 

Satisfy Customers: How do customers get satisfied? Customers are satisfied through a range of things like their needs being met to the feeling that they are getting value for what they pay. Also knowing that they are important to you as a company in the whole scheme of things. that is beyond what they pay.... As a customer sometimes I do feel that even knowing that a company is working on products and services that has my best interest in mind is refreshing. The question now is how can a customer feel that?

Early and Continuous Delivery: The whole point of 'Being Agile' is that we need to deliver functioning pieces early. Unless we deliver early we won’t know if we need to tweak, change, pivot, add. Unless delivery happens pretty much things are hidden, unknown. And Why ‘continuous’? because unless you have a system to do 'continuous delivery' you cannot sustain this concept of early delivery. 

I delivered early and then we got feedback and then we worked and worked on it and finally after 8 months we delivered. Nope… that won’t work… deliver continuously… weekly.. bi weekly… not in 4 and 8 months… lot would have changed in 8 months...

Also when you deliver early and continuously you get more touch points with your customers which will help you keep them satisfied, understand their slightest tilts and work with them. You can better gauge what is of Value.

Valuable Software: What the heck does that mean? Isn’t every software valuable. Oh yes! they say… but no… Some don’t even work properly forget about being valuable. Not to make anyone feel bad. But this was quite common and it was not any individual or team’s fault. The process just did not permit us to check on value delivery like the agile method allows us today. 

Now Read again: 

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

To do this week: And this does not have to be on a professional side alone. Think of three terms Priority, Satisfaction, Value Delivery. How do we see ourselves in our daily professional and personal selves.? If you get time think what 'Satisfaction' would mean to you.

Podcast this Week: Again I was confused, did not know where to take my Podcast but finally got a thread and published it out yesterday “How did I become a Scrum Master”. I think it is important for us to revisit the stories that brought us here.

Books: None.. Well I did some reading of an earlier book, but was busy with a few things. And I spend more time reading poems. May be because of the news of the Nobel Prize on Literature. Spent some time Translating the poem ‘Aboriginal Landscape’ by Louise Glück into Malayalam. Also spent time on some Beat reading specifically Kerouac.

What Else?: Had done a post on this yesterday, but will mention again. I did launch a new learning program in Malayalam. Why? Because I figured most professional and personal development content were in English and in a changing world much of the thinking needed to function and respond should not be language specific. So Malayalam being my mother Tongue I wanted to do some work on that side…