The One Immutable Law of Adopting Agile

I have three non-negotiables when it comes to running an agile transformation. If we are unwilling to create clear, well-articulated backlogs… if we are unwilling to form complete cross-functional teams… and if we are unwilling to produce working, tested software on regular intervals… we probably shouldn’t even get started. Without these three pre-conditions it is unlikely that adopting agile practices (or even an agile culture) will make much of a dent in terms of how you put product into market.

That said, the number one thing that gets in the way of creating clear, well-artciulated backlogs, forming complete cross-functional teams, and producing working tested software on regular intervals is dependencies. Let’s just say it… dependencies are evil. Dependencies break agile. You have two choices when faced with a dependency… you can either break it or you can manage it. The more dependencies you choose to manage instead of breaking, the less agile you will be over time.

This might just be the one immutable law of adopting agile.