Can you believe that the Agile Manifesto has been around for 20 years?
It’s actually in my lifetime, in my professional career. This is what amazes me.
Since I started my career, project management has changed a lot.
We have better collaboration tools
Remote working has become the norm and not an exception.
There is greater awareness about the benefits of different teams
As the world shrinks, more project teams will include overseas colleagues and suppliers
Companies cannot require women to wear heels at work (thanks, Equality Act 2010), unless they also expect the same for male workers.
Yet…
The Agile Manifesto is the most influential on how projects are managed, even non-agile ones. Even predictive projects can benefit from the principles of iterating and developing, and focusing on value.
The Aspen Room at The Lodge in Snowbird in Utah has a lot to offer.
Celebrating 20 Years
The Agile Manifesto date was from 11-13 February 2001. The Snowbird summit took place that year and 17 authors came together to discuss how software developers could have a better future.
It’s been 20 years since Agile Manifesto was created. That’s a milestone worth celebrating. We have come a long ways since the “birth” Agile Manifesto, and it is difficult to quantify the impact agile methods have had on how work gets done.
It seems that every tool now has the option to display work on Kanban boards. And that’s just the beginning.
Although I am not an agilist, I do use Kanban boards to plan my tasks. Concepts like iterations and progressive elaboration, as well as regular lessons learned meetings are just a few of the ways my work has benefited from an understanding of agile methods.
What does the Agile Manifesto mean?
The Agile Manifesto states:
We are uncovering better ways of developingsoftware by doing it and helping others do it.Through this work we have come to value:Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a planThat is, while there is value in the items onthe right, we value the items on the left more.The Agile Manifesto Authors
Kent BeckMike BeedleAlistair CockburnWard cunninghamMartin FowlerJames GrenningJim HighsmithAndrew HunterRobert C. MartinSteve MellorKen SchwaberJeff SutherlandDave Tom(c) 2001, the above writers). This declaration may be freely copied but only in its entirety through this notice. People did.
The 12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto
The Manifesto provides a brief summary of what it means for people to hold certain values and work in agile manners. The Manifesto is accompanied by 12 principles that explain more about how to work in this manner. They are not intended to be prescriptive but they help set the tone for what is most important.
These are our principles
We make it our top priority to satisfy customers through timely and continuous delivery of valuable software. Customers are our top priority. We welcome changes in requirements, even late in development.