In February 2001, seventeen IT professionals got together to draft the Agile Manifesto. The set of four Values and twelve Principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto are the Drivers of all Agile projects. Sometimes we forget this when we are in the middle of a hard Project, and often we misinterpret or gloss over a Principle.  As part of the Continuous Improvement cycle, ‘Principle 12’ should be invoked:-

“At Regular Intervals, The Team Reflects On How To Become More Effective, Then Tunes And Adjusts Its Behaviour Accordingly”.

The perfect forum for this is a Retrospective. In addition to the normal questions asked throughout the Retrospective, it would be helpful to review the Manifesto and discuss whether the Project is aligned with its ideals, Value by Value and Principle by Principle. Where there is a deviation, it is likely that there will be a weakness in the Project. If “Customer Collaboration” (Value 3) was disregarded, there might be an issue with User Acceptance of a Feature. Below is a short Review of the Agile Manifesto and the Values and Principles. It also discusses how they add to Value to a Project.

Agile Manifesto: The Four Values.

The four Values are itemised below.

‘Individuals and Interactions Over Processes and Tools’.
‘Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation’.
‘Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation’.
‘Responding to Change Over Following a Plan’.

The group who tabled these 4 Values included IT luminaries such as Ken Schwaber and Alastair Cockburn. They continued to establish Agile in the subsequent years. What they stated about the Values was:-.

” That Is, While There Is Value In The Items On The right, We Value The Items On The Left More”.

This does not mean that the lower category should be ignored, simply that its lesser. No exact metric was used to these Values; however we suggest a ratio of 60:40. The thinking behind this is:-.

• 50:50 gives equal significance to the 2 categories.
• 80:20 (or Pareto) would indicate that the classification that has a weight of 20 can be overlooked.

A ratio of 60:40 or perhaps 70:30 acknowledges that the less important category is still relevant. The items on the right-hand side, which are about Governance and Compliance, still need to Feature in any successful Project.

Agile Manifesto: The Twelve Principles.

The ‘Twelve Principles’ describe how the Manifesto Values need to be supported. These Principles could be summarised thus:-.

The Key Driver of Agile is ‘The Frequent Delivery of Working, Lean and Quality Software’ on a Continuous and Ever-Improving Basis. This is Achieved by Collaboration Between business and Development and Willingness to Change Requirements to Deliver the Right Product at the Right Time.

How the Principles Add Value to a Project.

Speed to Deliver and Minimizing Risk.

Traditionally, businesses have given their Requirements to their Software Developers and then waited and waited to see any result. Some Projects took years, going over time and budget in the process. Then what was delivered was out-of-date and inappropriate for the business, because the business and its Requirements had Changed direction or been faced with new challenges during the time it took to Deliver.

Agile Development looks for to Change this waste of time and money by ‘Principles 1,2,3 and 4’. ‘Rapid Delivery’ and the willingness to accept Change mid-stream reduces requirement risk, because the risk of Change is reduced by Delivering as swiftly as possible, and the Changes that are required are kept to a minimum. Traditional Projects might be significantly extended by introducing Scope Changes. Value 4, “Responding to Change” is both acknowledged and applied by Agile Development. This is achieved through the Sprint Review and Spring Retrospective Meetings. Changes can be applied as early as the next sprint. Where the changes are accepted they are selected by the Team within the Sprint Planning meeting.

Managing Customer Expectations.

‘Principles 2,4,6, and 10’ speak to ensuring a good customer experience. The need for customers to be intimately involved in the Development of the new Product will both keep the Software Developers on track and highlight the possible need for any Changes as early as possible. It can be a challenge to get the business to come to the party, after all, they have their own workload. But if it is understood that success relies on a joint effort there should be mutual cooperation.These Principles support the 3rd Value “Customer Collaboration”.

We found these books great for finding out more information on Agile Scrum:

Agile Manifesto: Deliver What is Needed.

‘Traditional Projects’ that overran typically were loaded with Features that were not crucial. This is why design thinking and the identification of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) prior to the Project commencing are so crucial. ‘Principle 10’ – “simpleness” talks of an MVP.

Make It Possible For the Development Team.

The Scrum Team (Agile Scrum Master, Scrum Product Owner and Scrum Development Team) is autonomous and democratic. It is the Team members who choose what the Team can Work on, not a manager. Making it possible for a Team is everything about trust. ‘Principle 5’ covers this. The outcome of such enablement leads to ‘Principle 11’, optimal design where Project members are provided the freedom to Work as a Team.

Agile Manifesto: ‘Freedom is not Given at the Cost of Quality’.

In ‘Principle 7’, the important word is “Working”. It does not help to Deliver Buggy Software really quickly. ‘Principle 1’ also explains “valuable” Software. The 2nd Value is “Working Software”. ‘Principles 9 and 11’ mention Technical Excellence, while ‘Principle 12’ calls on the Team to introspect regularly to enhance the method they Work. This will help Developers to maintain pace and sustainability over the long term, which can be very difficult and is expressed in ‘Principle 8’.

Human-to-Human over electronic Communication.

Regular Interactions between Customer and Developer, Developer and Developer and any other Stakeholders is emphasised. ‘Principles 4, 6 and 12’ address the need for Communication. Communication ought to be Face-to-Face. This is also expressed in the first Value “Individuals and interactions“. Regular and Frequent Communication will keep the Project on track, spot potential glitches and keep everyone informed. ‘Principle 12’ likewise indicates that there is a time and place for meetings in the Project, such as the 4 “Ceremonies” of Scrum.

Using the Manifesto for Project Success.

The Values and Principles of the Manifesto are totally agnostic with referral to the Agile Development Framework your organisation chooses. Where a Project is not as effective as anticipated, retrospection will show that one or more of the Principles was ignored, particularly in the place of Customer Collaboration and Communication.