Understandable Agile for Everyone

By Andrew J. Privitera

In Understandable Agile for Everyone I want to clarify what Agile is – a lightweight but disciplined way of thinking and working. Not the big, scary techno-monster-under-the-bed people might think, evidenced by poor Agile practices and misunderstandings. Now that we live in an age propelled by massive and unprecedented technological change, the ability to adapt and innovate has become an absolute necessity. It's never been more critical to get these messages right.

 

I have filled these pages with an easy-to-follow guide on the mindset, tools, and techniques, with practical examples, many illustrations and tips that will help you build the concepts from scratch to navigate your Agile journey. It is a guide to grasping the mindset and techniques of Agile that have revolutionised how we approach work and life. Here, I have made it accessible to everyone, not just professionals. The approach in this book is borrowed from what I think are the most effective tools and techniques, taken from various methods and the latest thinking (including the use of artificial intelligence) to understand and use in real-world applications. Whether you're seeking to learn about Agile from first principles, improve your business, enhance customer satisfaction, or improve your team's agile performance – the principles and practices outlined in Understandable Agile for Everyone will help you rethink how you work. 

 

Innovation is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity – and Agile is the core skill to enable improvement and innovation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew J. Privitera
• Release date: Jun 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227340061

Book preview

Understandable Agile for Everyone

Andrew J. Privitera

Published by Andrew J. Privitera, 2024.

For all those who strive to improve

PREFACE

Sitting down with my friend Mark over breakfast on a rainy Melbourne Sunday morning, we got onto the topic of all things innovation and the current explosion of artificial intelligence. Or rather, I got onto the subject as I had an ulterior motive beyond our usual weaving between social, business, and personal commentary and jokes. I was keen to get his view on the state of Agile, as I knew (1) I could always get a straight answer from him, and (2) he had been on a long-suffering and challenging project for a couple of years; and I'd spent many a breakfast or covid-walk trying to help him 'remotely' with my suggestions. Nothing excites me more than trying to 'fix' things – the reason I got into more coaching roles.

Anyway, I asked him – How's your Agile journey going? His silence and gaze before answering was a mixture of deep thought, disgust, and restraint. I knew an eruption was about to be unleashed, but hey, Mark has been a friend for over twenty years and I valued his opinion, so I listened intently. What unfolded was a trainwreck of Agile anti-pattern 101, alternating between: a command-and-control leadership, demanding customers who are never present, lots of assumptions by the technical teams about what is needed by the business, fixed funding for the next year or so leading to unmovable deadlines... and it went on. This led to constantly high levels of stress, excessively long working hours and of course, employee turnover. All while calling their way of working 'Agile'.

"It's as if Agile needs to CHANGE to handle reality," he said. This made me think. Yes, Agile is a lightweight approach that is adaptable – but in this case, not only were Agile's principles being ignored, but I started wondering whether the organisation had invested any time in learning what they are – and practised them – to see how they need to adapt in this way of thinking and working. It felt like a terrible game of Chinese whispers gone wrong, the message about Agile being distorted each time the messages were relayed from one person to the next. Unfortunately, its misunderstanding and misuse resulted in mistrust and an almost defeatist attitude toward how Agile could never work for them.

This is not an isolated story.  Drawing from my own experiences of over 20 years on-the-ground project delivery and teaching in the field, I've seen many individuals and organisations continue to stumble over the same hurdles – paying lip service to Agile and not taking the necessary time and practice to understand and get it right. Many claim to be Agile by merely having a 'standup' each morning, unrealistically squeezing traditional project timelines, or worst of all, getting rid of essential guiding documentation altogether!

I think no one wants to fail or do a lousy job – everybody is trying to do their best with what they have. Unfortunately, the above example demonstrates the crucial messages that these people need to be able to do their best work have gone missing. This is precisely what motivated me to write this book. I want to clarify what Agile is – a lightweight but disciplined way of thinking and working – not the big, scary techno-monster-under-the-bed people might think it is. I have filled these pages with an easy-to-follow guide, building concepts from the ground up on the mindset, tools, and techniques, with practical examples and tips that will help you navigate your Agile journey. You may already identify with the approach intuitively. You may be applying the principles in your daily lives in some way.

As we live in an age propelled by massive and unprecedented technological change, its explosive pace drives massive re-skilling and upskilling of the world's workforce – where the ability to adapt and innovate has become an absolute necessity. It's never been more critical to get these messages right.

This book is a testament to that reality. It is a guide to grasping the mindset and techniques of Agile – a mindset and a methodology that has revolutionised how we approach work and life. I aim to make Agile accessible to everyone, not just professionals. Understanding and applying its principles is more vital now than ever.

Agile – no longer a buzzword, is a way of thinking, a way of working, and most importantly, a way of delivering value. It is the foundation upon which innovative methods like design thinking are built. The approach in this book is borrowed from what I think are the most effective tools and techniques, taken from various methods and the latest thinking, to understand and use in real-world applications. And yes, this includes the use of artificial intelligence for greatly enhanced productivity and quality.

This book can help you get the best value from your time, business and customer goals. Ultimately, it is a reminder that understanding Agile is only the first step. True mastery comes through practice, iteration, and a willingness to adapt. Whether you're seeking to improve your business, enhance customer satisfaction, or become more efficient in your approach to working with people, the principles and practices outlined in Understandable Agile for Everyone will help you rethink how you work.

Innovation is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. Agile is the core skill to enable improvement and innovation.

Andrew J. Privitera

INTRODUCTION

Who should read this book? Anyone and everyone. Whether you are a professional starting their Agile journey, or on the way there but stuck and needing more guidance, a student, a career changer, or simply someone curious about Agile, this book is for you.

In Understandable Agile for Everyone, I've borrowed from a few approaches and ways of thinking such as SCRUM, Extreme Programming, SAFe®, DSDM, Lean Thinking and Customer Experience, to come up with what I consider to be a straight-forward, generic approach, using more intuitive language – but of course, giving more context where it is less intuitive. Speaking of context, I've injected what I feel is a fundamental element often overlooked: understanding the business context to ensure the correct problems are being solved.

I've also used relatable real-world examples where more abstract concepts need to be brought to life, and for further ease of understanding I've also peppered the book with many descriptive diagrams and practical tips based on my experiences. They will appear when you see the following icon.

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Understandable Agile for Everyone is divided into two main parts – Understanding the Agile Mindset in Part A and Agile Delivery's tools and techniques in Part B. It's