Agile - where do I start?

I was asked this week what training I would recommend for someone new to Agile so here's some of my thoughts...

1. Start with some history

- understanding where the concepts of Lean & Agile came from will help provide a foundation for your thinking. It's all about how we think and act as humans rather than just following rules or process. You're unlikely to find a training course specifically about the history of Agile & Lean but there's lots of useful stories to read online. NB: as with all history there are some different versions but each one offers an interesting perspective.

2. Focus on mindset

- cogitating on how the values and principles behind both Lean and Agile thinking apply to your situation will help you build a mental reference for why the rules and artefacts of any of the frameworks & methodologies exist. You'll find much overlap across Lean and Agile principles - understanding the differences will provide additional insight.

3. Find a community to share and discuss

- you will need access to experience and different perspectives to maximise your understanding. Remain as open minded as you can and remember that most learning starts with different opinions. Whether it's online or a physical meetup, immersing yourself in an active community discussing a wide range of topics relating to Agile is invaluable to learning.

4. When you're ready, look in detail at specific frameworks, methods or working practices

- compare and contrast and consider the elements of each that may be relevant to your environment, team or situation. New frameworks & methods seem to appear every few months so giving yourself knowledge of the rationale for each will help you far more than jumping on any passing bandwagon.

Footnote:

The above advice applies to an ideal (and probably unrealistic) 'green field' scenario. Many of us are introduced to Agile in stage 4 by being part of a team following a particular framework or methodology. In this situation I can only recommend returning to stage 1 at the earliest opportunity. In my experience, little of the commercial Agile specific training available today will consider the mindset first. Frameworks provide a simple route to certification and the illusion of agility, whilst mindset development requires much more effort to assess and certify and is therefore harder to monetise.