What does “being agile” mean for you? Does that mean that you do things fast? That your projects are completed before the ones managed by others that don’t work in an agile manner?
Well, sorry to say, but this is wrong. Working following an agile methodology does not mean that your project will be delivered quickly, or quicker than if you were using a predictive (a.k.a. waterfall) method. What it means is that you are going to work following an agile mindset. A mindset that fosters iterative deliveries in short cycles, that sets high priority to the teams that deliver most of the value to your clients. By working with an agile mindset, you will probably deliver some value to the business quicker than if you were using a different approach, and your customer will be happy about it. But you won’t necessarily deliver the entire project faster…
Do you want to have a truly agile mindset? Start by thinking iteratively: that report that you need to deliver, doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be out. The solution to that bug that your team has been working on doesn’t need to be the most elegant one. It needs to work. You can refactor it later. What about that Zoom call that you are organizing with your friends to have a “virtual beer” over the weekend? Send the invite out. Forgot someone? Add them later.
A true agile mindset is not about doing things improperly. It’s about delivering quickly what brings value to the organization in an acceptable manner and improving at later iterations.
