Teams, Backlogs, Working Tested Software

I think there is a lot of noise in our system right now. Lot’s of methods to consider. Lot’s of ways to do agile. At the end of the day… for me, for LeadingAgile… it comes down to three things.

Can you form teams, do those teams have an actionable backlog, are those teams able to produce a working tested increment at the end of a predetermined time interval?

Do the teams have the means to hold themselves accountable, do they have clarity around what to build, can they measure progress against a known outcome?

Do the teams have the autonomy to get the job done, do they have a meaningful purpose to build toward, can they demonstrate mastery of their craft?

Teams, backlogs, working tested software

Accountability, clarity, measurable progress

Autonomy, purpose, mastery

All the same stuff, just said three different ways. Honestly, I don’t care what method you choose, but if we ever talk and you tell me you are doing agile, those are the three conditions I’m going to test for.

Furthermore, these are the only three conditions an executive must test for to know if their organization is on the right track with agile. Failure in any of these three and you aren’t doing it right, period.