The Four Core Values

The heart of the Agile Manifesto lies in its four core values. These values set clear priorities, guiding decisions and behaviors in an agile environment.

They do not negate the importance of the elements on the right, but emphasize that, in the search for better ways to develop products and services, the elements on the left are valued more highly.

These values provide a compass for navigating complexity and focusing on what really matters: delivering value and adapting effectively. Understanding them is essential to internalizing the agile mindset.

Individuals and Interactions > Processes and Tools

This value prioritizes people and direct communication over the rigidity of predefined processes and over-reliance on tools.

It recognizes that effective collaboration, face-to-face communication (whenever possible), and collective team intelligence are more crucial to success than blindly following a procedure or relying solely on a specific tool.

Processes and tools are necessary and useful, but they should support people and their interactions, not hinder them.

The goal is to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and foster an environment where communication flows freely.

Software/Result Working > Extensive Documentation

Agility values the delivery of a functional product or service that provides real value to the user over the creation of detailed and comprehensive documentation.

While necessary documentation has its place, the primary focus is on tangible results that the customer can use.

Excessive documentation can consume valuable time that could be spent developing or improving the product.

Look for "just enough" documentation (sometimes called barely enough), that which actually adds value to the process or end product, rather than generating bureaucratic artifacts that are rarely consulted.

The primary measure of progress is the working product.

Customer Collaboration > Contractual Negotiation

This value emphasizes the importance of an ongoing, collaborative relationship with the customer, treating them as a partner in the development process, rather than strictly adhering to the terms of an initial contract.

Contracts are necessary, but close collaboration allows you to better understand the customer's changing needs, get constant feedback and ensure that the final product truly meets your expectations.

In complex environments, it is difficult to define all requirements at the outset; collaboration allows those requirements to be discovered and refined throughout the project, avoiding costly misunderstandings.

Responding to Change > Following a Plan

Agility recognizes that change is inevitable in complex environments and values the ability to adapt quickly to new circumstances or requirements over rigidly following a pre-established plan.

While initial plans are useful as a guide, holding on to them when reality changes can lead to suboptimal results.

Agile processes are designed to welcome change, even at late stages, and leverage it to the customer's competitive advantage.

It's about being flexible and adjusting course as needed to maximize the value delivered, rather than measuring success solely by adherence to the original plan.

Summary

At the heart of the manifesto are its four values. These set clear priorities, guiding decisions and behaviors in an agile environment.

They prioritize: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. And Software (or output) working over extensive documentation being the primary measure of progress.

They also value: Collaboration with the customer over contractual negotiation, treating the customer as a partner. And responsiveness to change over following a plan.