People Over Processes: Are We Viewing It from the Right Perspective?

I have a strong affinity for processes—which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that I’ve been involved in process-related activities for over a decade! When designed wisely, processes can be both reliable and predictable.

We are surrounded by processes every day, from morning routines and commuting to work to the complex engineering behind space shuttles. Some processes are bureaucratic, requiring multiple steps and approvals (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), while others are lightweight and easy to follow.

Humanity has lived with processes for centuries, and for the most part, we’ve been fine with them. However, in 2001, the Manifesto for Agile Software Development emerged, radically changing our perspective - especially in fields where adaptability is key, such as software development.

THE ROLE OF CULTURE

The very first value of the Agile Manifesto states: "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools." In other words, people take precedence over processes.

That said, many early adopters of Agile misinterpreted this principle, leading to a tendency to discard processes altogether. Even today, I still hear statements like, “We don’t plan because we’re Agile,” which is amusing but also concerning. This kind of mindset has fostered a new cultural phenomenon that I call process nihilism.

Now, let’s examine the idea of people over processes from a cultural perspective.

Why focus on culture? As the famous management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” No strategy can succeed if the underlying culture doesn’t support it. But culture doesn’t simply materialize out of nowhere - it’s shaped by the values we uphold and the behaviors that reinforce (or contradict) those values.

W. Edwards Deming described a system as

a network of interdependent components that work together to accomplish a shared goal.

In this sense, culture forms the foundation of a system, influencing how its components interact.

Processes alone don’t shape culture - our behaviors do. If we want to improve inefficient processes, merely introducing new ones or tweaking existing ones won’t create meaningful change. Instead, we must focus on values, foster the right culture, and empower people to refine processes themselves.

UNDERLYING CHALLENGES

This brings us to two key challenges in process development.

First, processes are typically designed and documented by process specialists but executed by businesses, clients, and other stakeholders. This creates an interesting dynamic: process experts effectively generate demand for processes themselves. It’s similar to product development, where producers shape demand rather than merely responding to it. For example, people didn’t originally ask for automobiles - automobile manufacturers created the demand. Likewise, no one specifically requested the telephone, yet Alexander Bell (and his contemporaries) introduced a new way to connect, which ultimately shaped demand.

The second challenge is the strong emphasis on ensuring processes comply with reference models such as ISO standards. While compliance is important, process specialists can sometimes become so focused on meeting these standards that they end up creating processes for the sake of process itself - losing sight of the fundamental goal: delivering value.

To foster the right culture, we must strike a balance between compliance and business focus. Compliance instills discipline within a system, while business focus ensures it delivers value. Though this may seem obvious, truly prioritizing "people over process" means designing processes that serve people - not the other way around. Otherwise, as W. Edwards Deming said,

A bad system will beat a good person every time.