When agile methodologies converts to agilen’t methodologies
When you are finding a new job, you can found the famous title ‘Experience with Agile Methods’ using Scrum as a key word and if you ask to anyone which methodology of work they are using, the quick and common answer is: ‘Agile’.
I don’t pretend to be a hater of Agile methodologies, but sometimes we forget the purpose of this. The routine sometimes turns us into slaves of rules in each framework, transforming every meeting into a square and disabling us from progressing because it’s not possible to follow a specific rule:
- ‘We need to discuss about…’
- ‘Yes, but this should be done in another meeting’
¿What is the propose of agile methods?
- Continuous delivery (with value)
- Improving communication and interactions
- Responding quickly to change
To name some key things about that. I believe the most important thing is to remember: It is a framework, not a series of rules, and it’s essential to adapt to the context of a problem and not be a blocker of a quick solution. But this is about balance.
I’m not just saying forget all the structure of a methodology. It’s about taking the important things and being part of the essence of Agile: quick adaptation for a prompt response of value. For that, we need to have good communication skills to find a consensus in the moment that a meeting is running in circles. It’s not only the responsibility of the scrum-master; all the parts of a team should be concerned with that.
This sometimes presents a big challenge when your inner critic takes over your mind: “Is this a good solution?” “Maybe I will ask a dumb question.” We have to try to fight these blockers. It will be a significant victory because you can explore and be free to make suggestions, and the process of communication improves.
We have to keep in mind that if you are trying to generate a big picture of a problem, you will be able to give more and better ideas. This will be the key to innovation, and a good way to delve deeper into a problem is through communication.
