Tools don't make you agile

Often times, when I speak to colleagues or friends about IT organizations on their agile journeys, I get these questions :?

• Do you use Jira ? or Confluence ??
• Is that what makes you agile ??
• Are you using something else ?
• What tools are you using ??

Not that these are not meaningful questions but given the context, I’ve realized that there is a big misbelief between being agile and using “Agile Tools”.?

So first thing first, there are no “Agile” tools (but we are going to come back to that). The right first thing would be: what is Agile ?!?

ChatGPT says : “Agile refers to a set of principles and practices for software development and project management that prioritize flexibility, collaboration, and customer satisfaction.”

I say: “It’s a way of being, imbodied by people working in a common environment, experimenting, trying, failing, learning; all that so they can continuously create something meaningful to another group of people ''.?

But do what I know ??

Well I know that, before we talk about frameworks, training, tools, roadmaps, we need to first understand the values (provided by the Agile Manifesto). And I’ll stop at the first one: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. This means that we value processes and tools, but not as much as we do Individuals and Interactions. Actually, I prefer to read it this way: Processes and tools to serve (or enable) individuals in their interactions.?

This brings humans “US”, to the center of the discussion, reminding us that we create the product or service for our loving customer. Not our processes! Not our tools! Our interactions can help create alignments, remove impediments, enable learning and adjustments (if not improvements) through feedback.?

Is that all we need ??

No, we also need to embody the 3 remaining values and 12 principles! My grandpa used to say: “you cannot just build a house by the power of the thought“ - It sounds better in French: “Tu ne peux construire une maison juste par le pouvoir de la pensée”. Anyway, my point is that you will need enablers: skills, tools, building blocks, frameworks, resources etc … I can see some of my colleagues saying : “So tools are just enablers ?“

• Let’s say I want to build a Product vision, for an organization of 15 people, seated in the same working area. Do I need Jira for that or should I just write a big Paper Board ?
• What if this was with 100 people collocated ? Should I still use a paper board ? (if that was my choice)
• I need to create a transparent Product Backlog available with my partners in Alaska. Should I use Trello, Jira or Paper Board ??
• Let’s say I’m using Trello and now, I have new partners in a country where Trello is blocked. What should I do ??

The answers to these questions don't matter to me, they only matter to the group of individuals trying to solve those problems. The takeaway here is not to focus on the tool but rather on what you are trying to accomplish. And please keep it simple but adjustable.?

What should you take away ??

The process and TOOLS are here to serve the individuals in their interactions. And like I said before there are no “Agile” tools. The same Stick-notes, Jira or Trello, Confluence which for some of you, are great enablers throughout your agile journey, can be (and are) painful to use for others. And the same tools can be used in waterfall organizations, it doesn’t make them agile.

It’s also important to mention that, just because you think you chose the right tool, doesn’t mean everything is going to work as planned. People need to come together, align and commit on how to use it. Accept that it might not work at first, you might need to adjust practices as you use them (fail fast and learn). Do not let the tools dictate the rules for you, you should know what you want out of them and make changes when required. This could even mean getting rid of them when they are no longer serving a meaningful positive purpose.?

Should I use Jira ? Yes/No! The true question is what do you need ? What are you trying to accomplish ? How will the chosen tool serve the purpose ??