The Twelve Agile Principles (Part 2)

Continuing the exploration of the principles that underpin the agile mindset, this section addresses the remaining six.

These principles delve into such things as measuring real progress, sustainability of effort, the importance of technical quality, efficiency through simplicity, optimal team structure, and the imperative need for continuous improvement.

Together, these twelve principles form a coherent framework for applying agile values in day-to-day teamwork and product or service development.

P7: Measure of Progress (Working Result)

Working software (or output) is the primary measure of progress.

This principle states that real progress is demonstrated through the delivery of functional and valuable increments of the product, not through extensive documentation, completed phases, or percentages of tasks performed.

However, it is crucial to interpret this correctly: a functional product is not necessarily a successful product if it does not bring real value to the customer.

Therefore, a more complete interpretation would be that bringing added value to the customer through a functional result is the main measure of progress.

P8: Sustainable Development (Constant Pace)

Agile processes promote sustainable development. Sponsors, developers and users must be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Agility is not about exhausting sprints followed by downtime, but about finding a productive pace of work that the team can maintain over the long term without burning out.

This involves balancing the workload and avoiding excessive overtime to ensure quality, creativity and team well-being.

P9: Technical Excellence and Good Design

Continued attention to technical excellence and good design improves agility.

Neglecting technical quality or design in favor of short-term speed creates technical debt, which slows future development and reduces adaptability.

Continually investing in sound engineering practices, clean architecture and good design is not a luxury, but a necessity to maintain long-term agility and ensure product quality.

P10: Simplicity (Maximize Undone Work)

Simplicity-the art of maximizing the amount of work not done-is essential.

This principle advocates focusing on delivering only what provides real value and avoiding over-engineering or the inclusion of unnecessary features (known as gold plating in other contexts).

It is about relentlessly prioritizing and constantly asking whether a given task or functionality is truly essential to meet the customer's needs at that moment.

P11: Self-Organizing Teams

The best architectures, requirements and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

When teams are trusted, given autonomy and empowered to make decisions about how to do their work, they tend to be more creative, engaged and effective.

Self-organization allows solutions to emerge from those closest to the technical work, leveraging the collective intelligence of the team.

P12: Periodic Reflection and Adjustment (Continuous Improvement)

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to be more effective, then adjusts and refines its behavior accordingly. This principle is the foundation of continuous improvement in agility.

Through mechanisms such as retrospectives, the team inspects its own work process, identifies obstacles and opportunities for improvement, and agrees on concrete actions to adapt and evolve.

Summary

The remaining six principles delve deeper into sustainability and technical excellence. They complete the framework for applying agile values on a day-to-day basis.

Principle 7: Performance is the primary measure of progress. Principle 8: Promote sustainable development while maintaining a steady pace. Principle 9: Technical excellence improves agility.

Principle 10: Simplicity, the art of maximizing unfinished work, is essential. Principle 11: The best architectures emerge from self-organized teams. Principle 12: Periodic reflection and adjustment for continuous improvement.