Agile Principles, Values, and Best Practices: Agile Practitioners' Perspectives and Insights

A significantly large number of organizations rush into implementing Agile frameworks, models and methodologies, without being truly ready. Teams are rapidly deployed without adequate training and expected to immediately start delivering using the new models. There seems to be a norm for organizations to conduct a workshop, typically over 2 days or so, before launching an Agile team. These workshops or training programs tend to focus on foundational knowledge and concepts – primarily, the ‘structural’ aspects of Agile models. Team members, who have attended any kind of training or coaching sessions, would agree that the subject of ‘Agile Principles and Values’ has not been given due attention or coverage. Most training programs tend to gloss over this topic. As a result, teams tend to ‘do Agile’ rather than ‘be Agile’. There is an enormous difference in 'Being Agile' and 'Doing Agile'. An incorrect or incomplete understanding of the Agile Principles and Values leads to development of anti-patterns; and, over the long run, a culture antithetical to Agile principles. This book aims to make teams aware how to address this gap; and provide the missing link between Agile best practices and the underlying principles.