I’ve been thinking a lot about alignment lately. No, not the alignment of my tires, but the lack of alignment I’ve often seen or heard about in technology organizations.
It’s truly one of the biggest stumbling blocks that stagnates companies. Just think how often business units believe that their technology teams are not delivering what is needed or how often the technology teams struggle to understand the true nature of the issues they are experiencing. This results in the adoption of various systems in order to solve this very problem.
Reassessing Agile Practices: Have We Strayed from Core Principles?
We’ve made significant investments in Agile practices, particularly SCRUM, yet we now face an overwhelming backlog of tickets and feature requests that require extensive time to manage. We rank them, estimate them, and sort them into sprints. Then, we pull together metrics to track what the tech teams have built and measure their velocity. When you step back and think about it, it’s mind-boggling—are we still aligned with the original principles of Agile?
Reflecting on the simplicity of Extreme Programming as Kent Beck introduced it, it’s hard not to feel that, at times, the process has gone overboard. Despite getting a lot of high-quality work done with well-designed solutions, I wonder if we are building things that truly shift, transform, and differentiate. These kinds of breakthroughs do happen, of course, but at what stage in a company’s lifecycle and practice maturity are they occurring?
The Importance of Alignment and Understanding the ‘Why’
So, why am I sharing these thoughts? I believe we’re on the cusp of a transformation in our practices. A growing number of people recognize this misalignment and want to address it, understanding what’s at stake if we don’t. We need to have honest, blameless conversations about why these misalignments exist in the first place. Only by identifying the “whys” can we determine meaningful corrective actions.
Much like an incident post-mortem, these discussions allow us to reflect on processes without assigning blame. Once we know why we’ve deviated, we can adjust our practices and principles to realign with Agile’s original intentions.
Autonomy, Empowerment, and the Power of Purpose
The uniqueness of organizations lies in their people, and no single practice or process will fit all. My experience has allowed me to identify common threads that help address these problems. For Agile to thrive, everyone involved in creating solutions needs to feel connected, not only to each other but also to the purpose behind the work they’re doing. They need to understand deeply who they are creating solutions for. With this understanding, teams should be granted autonomy and empowerment to do their best work.
Rigid practices are like shackles that can restrict innovation, and it’s crucial to remove these constraints to allow creativity and adaptability. In a way, this is about stripping back to the basics: fostering a culture where people are encouraged to solve problems in the most effective way possible. When people feel connected to the purpose of their work and have the freedom to innovate, great things happen.
Toward a New Agile Transformation
I think we’re on the brink of a new approach to Agile, one that moves beyond strict adherence to frameworks and instead fosters alignment, autonomy, and purpose. This shift requires us to let go of the rigid practices and empower our teams to achieve outcomes that truly matter. Sounds simple, right? But implementing it will require thoughtful adjustments to our current practices and a collective commitment to evolving in the right direction. If you want to dive deeper and explore how this dynamic affects your organization, reach out and let's talk!