agile transition

Agile software delivery is about doing sufficient up-front analysis, design, and planning—and then deferring decisions to the appropriate time. But what does “enough” really mean? And why has the term "agile" become a cliché in development circles? Terms like "post-agile" or "pragmatic agile" have emerged as a response to this, but this is only a short-term fix.

Agile is being evangelized in executive boardrooms and introduced top-down with increasing frequency. Considering that Agile advocates self-management by the individual and within a team, what is the role of senior leadership? My experience from this top-down perspective has given me insight into attitudes and techniques that are successful and others that fail. I assert that there is an effective and appropriate stance for senior leadership that will improve the effectiveness of an Agile transformation. Key to my list of recommendations for making Agile work is the balanced involvement of both senior-level leaders and practitioners in the planning and executing the introduction of Agile practices.