When Did Agile Jump the Shark?

I am bullish on what agile has taught us. I am bullish on the productivity gains realized by agile teams around the world.

I groove on discovery; that is, the discovery that happens by having working software at iteration one. Discovery is fun.

But I use a lowercase "a" in agile. "a" signifies pragmatism. And, there are smells.

I invite you to have some fun considering that critical flash in time when agile Jumped the Shark.

I see Fonzie rapidly approaching across the lake on water skis.

Which option in the LinkedIn poll would you select?

Do you have an option I missed?

Dessert Only, Skip Vegetables

Dessert Only, Skip Vegetables is inspired from James Shore's post The Decline and Fall of Agile

"...teams say they're Agile, but they're just planning (and replanning) frequently. Short cycles and the ability to re-plan are the benefit that Agile gives you. It's the reward, not the method. These pseudo-Agile teams are having dessert every night and skipping their vegetables. By leaving out all the other stuff--the stuff that's really Agile--they're setting themselves up for rotten teeth, an oversized waistline, and ultimate failure."
--James Shore

Dogmatic Bandwagon Traction

When colleagues start splitting hairs about what is and what isn't agile, and when colleagues counsel against something, saying you should, or you shouldn't, watch out! It might well be that the Method-ists are gaining traction and it could be time to get out of Dodge, or at least gallop off to the city limits.

Scrum Licenses User Groups

Does having the Scrum Alliance issue licenses to users groups strike you as regressive, or just plain silly?

If I hand you a gun, does that guarantee you'll shoot yourself in the foot, or does it only increase the probability?

See Scrum User Group License.

Brand-Aware Conferences

Branding is cool, but branding around an open-minded approach is a sticky wicket. Brand-ism refers to an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement focusing on the brand.

Brandism breeds over-zealous partisanship - like Nationalism. And authoritarian Brandism begets brand Fascism.

Software Replaces Post-It Notes

Agile software tools are a hindrance. Why?

• Critical information is frequently obscured;
  
• Several popular tools have serious usability issues;
  
• They're frequently the wrong fidelity or weight; and
  
• While admittedly helpful to PMs and Scrum Masters, they're confusing to product owners and they're counter-productive for developers.