Rob Buecker Consulting

I have been kicking this concept around for a few years now working at various places that tout having teams using Agile software development. Very few places put much, if any, focus on how the end-to-end process worked. There seemed to be a belief that if there were rules or processes in place then it was no longer “agile” because there were processes and procedures in place… Except, that isn’t the “real” goal. It leads to shoddy work being pushed to the production environment resulting in bugs, bad data, end user frustration, etc.

In my opinion, the real goal is to have the development pipeline so refined and streamlined that changes can be implemented without lengthy wait times. Not by cutting design meetings, design and code reviews, and testing at multiple levels; but by building fast and reliable checks to ensure any changes aren’t going to negatively impact existing functionality.

“But that costs too much!” — Well, you get what you pay for. Want quality, it’s going to cost. What cheap and fast, well it’s going to cost in other ways than time and money.

Now, I’m not advocating that the team or organization get locked into paralysis by analysis. (Another argument against implementing processes and procedures.) Actually, quite the opposite. Declare what the intention is and stick to it! For each meeting, design/coding session, release version, documentation review, etc.

The “hard” part is simply following the rules. Why is that? It’s almost always because someone high enough in the power chain claiming there is an emergency and it must be fixed now! The ironic part – if you’ve gotten the process down pat — you don’t need “emergency” fixes…

There is a balancing point for each organization. It largely depends on putting time and effort in finding where the balancing point is and documenting it where all stakeholders can easily find and review it as needed. Once again, costing time and money… Pesky priorities…

Stepping back, this doesn’t only apply to software development. It can apply to all functions of business and even personal relationships. How we think and what we believe shines through to those that know how to see it.

Similar to physical fitness and martial arts. High levels of agility are only achieved by focusing on putting in the work to get you there; the processes and procedures. Then sticking to it when it would be cheaper and easier to deviate from the course.