Why Waterfall Scrum can be Real Agile
Agile means: ability to move quickly and easily.?
Meaning of Agile according to the Cambridge dictionary
Dogmatic Agile kils Agile
When an Agile Coach or Scrum Master is so convinced that Agile Scrum must be implemented in a certain way (for example: exactly as described in the Scrum Guide), then there is a significant risk that Agile Scrum will be implemented dogmatically, 100% the opposite of the meaning of the word Agile.
A characteristic of dogma is that there is no room for other opinions or thinking out of the box.?
When dogma starts to flourish, it is discouraged to think or behave in a way contrary to dogma’s rules.
So we can say:
At the moment that Agile becomes a dogma, Agile dies.
Agile “against” Waterfall
A good example is the waterfall way of working as “against” the Agile way of working like Agile Scrum.?
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There are situations where waterfall may still be the best way to achieve goals for the organization and for its customers.
I have encountered this myself. A couple of years ago I was working for a big global high-tech company. This company created the newest and hottest high-tech solutions for their customers all over the world. These solutions took years to design, build, test, and deliver. This relied on large programs in which hundreds of millions were spent, and the specs of the end products were already determined.
That company started years ago working in an Agile Scrum way. Over the years, Scrum was adapted and adjusted to fit that company and its customers best. It enabled this company to successfully deliver large-scale waterfall projects while still working in an Agile-ish way.
Had Agile Scrum been implemented dogmatically in this situation, it would have created enormous risk and costly failure for large-scale programs.?
Because the people in this company developed and focused on keeping an Agile mindset, it was possible over the years to create a working environment in which the teams could use Agile Scrum but still deliver the milestones of the waterfall projects. They would not have succeeded in that had they been dogmatic about Scrum.
Agile thinking does not exclude any way of working that creates adaptation, speed, quality, and ownership.
Like I stated before: when Agile is implemented dogmatically, the possibility to adapt dies, and therefore Agile dies.
So, yes, I do believe and have experienced that sometimes the Agile way to go forward is to pair it with waterfall practices. This is shown by the example above in which the company developed a highly successful hybrid way of working, a combination of Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall.
Does this mean I do not support Agile (Scrum) in its pure form? NO WAY!?
I’m a BIG supporter of Agile Scrum in its pure form like described in the Scrum Guide, and I will do all in my power to support a company to transform to this way of working.
But, when it becomes a dogma, I become very worried and careful because dogma kills open minds, adaptiveness, and therefore kills Agile and Agility.
Softwareontwikkelaar bij de Douane te Apeldoorn
4 年I think you are right. But I have the feeling that the problem is very broad. I noticed the following problems when dealing with scrum in a team: - Interpretation differences of the scrum / agile guidelines - Willing to change - Too much freedom because some people need a very direct approach I doubt it will cause the death of agile though...
Enexis | Slimme meters | Releasemanagement
4 年I think people completely misunderstand what a truly Agile enterprise looks like. An Agile Enterprise is not an organization where each and every value chain is working in an Agile way, whether it's scrum or not. Agility is about being able to innovate fast in order to respond to change. The Agile Enterprise is able to do this within the value chains where the flow of change is high. Take the Cynefin model. Agility thrives in the complex quadrant. But when the characteristics of the work being done put you into the complicated or simple quadrant you should not bother too much going agile. But as you mentioned in your article as well, the value is in the behaviour. So when trying to become a truly Agile Enterprise, it's key to make sure everybody has the same mindset and shows the behaviours as described in the agile manifesto. This way you are making sure the value chains with a high flow of change will be able to cooperate with the other teams. In short: No one should try to become a 100% agile company and ban all the wonderful things scientific management has brought us. However, you should understand the nature of the work being done has changed and therefore the processes in the organization have to change accordingly. This means, the "hybrid" we often talk about during "transitions", is actually your end state. Make it work and be proud of it!