For most of us the concept of Agile is nothing new – it has been around for quite some time and we have a good amount of experience with it under our belt. However, Agile is only now reaching its maturity and that means the practices and its methodologies are still changing. There are new methods, innovations and adaptations coming up constantly and the only thing that has remained the same over the years is the Agile Mindset.
The Mindset has been defined by the Agile Manifesto in 2001 and has been barely touched since. Though what has worked effectively for small development teams in the beginning is a far cry from the answer nowadays. As of now there is yet to be an updated version of the Manifesto or anything that could put its values closer to what we need today. However, due to the changed ways we practice Agile, we believe soon there will be.
Don’t think so? Here are our top 5 reasons why the Mindset will in fact be updated and soon.
- Expanding communication
The original Agile was created to serve the purposes of a small team. While it did create clear ways of communication between the team and their clients, it is no longer fit to serve the interconnected teams of today. Nowadays Agile needs to govern communications not only between the team and the client, but also count in various other teams, stakeholders, managers and the rest of the organization. It is no longer serving the lone team and therefore the way the parties communicate has to change as well.
- Organization as a team
Another aspect of large organizations adopting Agile is the way we see an Agile team. The traditional view of small “pizza” teams is no longer applicable and the organizations are forced to rethink not only the way they work, but also the way they see and understand what an agile team is. The mindset will have to find a new way to describe a client-centric view and the team that surrounds it.
- Various industries
Just like Agile was not created for whole organizations, it was not created for any industries but software development. So there is no surprise that companies from other industries are struggling with defining processes and getting proper coaching, while software developers can get that without any hurdles. So another big change in the Agile Mindset will be creating this infrastructure and making sure Agile works for any industry that is using it.
- Practitioners of different backgrounds
Talking about the different industries another shift in Agile today is its individual users as well. Whereas at the beginning they were mostly software developers looking to run away from the traditional project management, today we have various professional that might have been used and attached to this very process. So the way they are introduced into this method has to be rethought as well. Only this way it is possible to ensure they are introduced to Agile correctly and can accept it.
- Versatility between the countries
Lastly, we need to think that Agile is going global and just like we had to figure out cross cultural management and communication, we have to understand that Agile will be different in separate parts of the world. What is considered normal in the western countries may be Ludacris in Asia and vice versa. And with more than ever countries adopting Agile in 2015, there needs to be a possibility to not only understand each other, but also to work together.
There is no doubt in our mind, that the Agile Mindset will change a lot in the coming years. However, as it is becoming more and more diverse, there is great possibility that this Mindset will not be defined by a clear set of rules, but rather by guidelines that can interpreted and used based on each specific situation.
