First day in ableneo: “Do you know what agile is ?”
My first day at ableneo: “Do you know what agile is ?”
Me: What?
I remember my first months at ableneo and how any lecture or discussion about agile reminded me of philosophy lessons at university. By the way, I failed philosophy. So here are a few things I’ve learned about agile.
It does not matter whether you work in an environment where agile is practiced on a professional level or is in an implementation process. Explaining agile can seem too abstract. Especially for new junior colleagues. I’ve heard about agile a thousand times, I was involved in many discussions and I presented the lecture led by the co-author of the Agile manifesto. But I wasn’t able to properly clarify what agile is until I started practicing it on projects. If you are trying to induct novices into agile, provide them as many examples from “real life” as possible.
Agile = transparency. And enough space for feedback. I had an opportunity to talk and work with people from a department where an agile implementation was not successful. They just didn’t get it. But they also missed the possibility to provide regular feedback.
Agile = perfect workflow. The workflow should be perfectly defined, based on dedicated discussions. My theory is, that if you are onboarding a new colleague, he (or she) should get the basic principle of the workflow in one day. Otherwise, you are doing something wrong and should consult your scrum master.
I am a junior so I am still learning, but I acquired various experiences on different projects. Agile is not a topic from the metaphysics lessons anymore. It became my favorite technique. But I still meet with negative reactions or even aversion to agile. In many cases, it is caused by incorrect implementation. In some cases by lack of experience. So don’t forget to provide enough space for feedback and try to transform it into action points.
…But beware when they start to descend
It’s then that those employees go back to their bad habits
Agile is your best friend…
First day in ableneo: “Do you know what agile is ?” was originally published in ableneo Technology on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.