Last week I completed scrum master training... and now need to prepare for the exam to become a certified scrum master. This makes me a scrum padawan at this point. Right?
So... first up, commit to heart the key statements of the Agile Manifesto.
We value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
So - to internalise this, in my own words... it's about putting the people and the product first. The people making the product, the people using the product, the people for whom the product matters. It's about making sure the product meets the needs of those people, and if it needs to change to do that better, more effectively, or more profitably, then yes, change it. But most of all, it's get a working version ready as fast as possible. Not about having ALL THE FEATURES ready for launch, but starting with just the features needed most.
But the "That is..." statement is really important - too often agile is accused of ignoring the things on the right, when that's not at all the case.
I like this. It resonates for me on some kind of useful frequency.
So... again, actually typing it this time instead of just doing a copy and paste ;)
Individuals and interactions
over
processes and tools
Working software
over
comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration
over
contract negotiation
Responding to change
over
following a plan
Prioritise the former.
Edit 11 April 2016: I've distilled this into 4 words - people collaborate, product evolves.
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