Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

The Agile Theater

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
WhatsApp

We’ve all seen it. It’s quite an elaborate show with Scrum Masters, Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Secret handshakes, a lot of artifacts, ceremonies, roles. The recent “broadway”-level productions include bigger pictures, more roles, artifacts.

It is like visiting the city set in that classic Universal Studio ride. Excellent production value but not really a working city.

When we go to  Universal Studios or a Broadway show we know it’s just a facade for our amusement/entertainment. When we do the Agile Theater in our organizations we think we’re doing the real thing. Now that’s a problem!

I’ve heard one time too many the executive telling me “We are already agile here” and right after that describe to me the reality of unfocused teams, too much going on at one time, slow progress with rare delivery to production due to long testing cycles, quality issues due to buggy and complex code, reliance on super-heroes to save the day and all kinds of things that sound nothing like the other really agile organizations I’m working with.

Before, those people would realize they are using an obsolete way of working and would be motivated to do something about it. But with the Agile Theater many of them feel like they already did what they could using the “latest and greatest” approach whether it be Scrum, Scaled Agile Framework, or whatever other flavor of the day is currently en vogue. This is frustrating.

I’m glad more and more people are seeing the Agile Theater for what it is and starting to look for deeper answers. I’m also glad to see more and more thought leaders in the agile community invest energies in exposing this theater.

But the hard part actually comes after getting rid of the theater. With do you do afterwards? Our answer at AgileSparks is to invest time in making sure you understand the underlying principles driving agility, why the practices in Scrum, SAFe and other frameworks work, and invite people in the organization to structure their own approach that provides them with the agility that they need based on those common starting points. This takes more time than copycatting a big picture. It requires attention. It typically shows the painful truths about the organization that the theater was so good at covering. You have to do something about it. Or you don’t. But at least you know where you really are, not living in an illusion that is keeping you stuck in place.

The curtain is closing. The show is almost over. Now let’s get to work on the tough problem of achieving real agility. Who’s with me?

Subscribe for Email Updates:

Categories:

Tags:

A Kanban System for Software Engineering
Entrepreneurial Operating System®
Implementing SAFe
Scrum With Kanban
Iterative Incremental Development
Agile Community
Story Slicing
Lean Software Development
Agile
Lean-Agile Software Development
Amdocs
Scrum Values
Scrum Primer
Lean Agile Basics
Agile Marketing
Spotify
Nexus vs SAFe
Scrum
ScrumMaster Tales
lean agile change management
QA
Video
Kanban 101
Certified SAFe
Managing Risk on Agile Projects
EOS®
POPM
Professional Scrum Master
System Integration Environments
Effective Agile Retrospectives
Artificial Intelligence
PI Planning
Change Management
AI
Nexus
Atlaassian
Limiting Work in Progress
Agile Exercises
What Is Kanban
Large Scale Scrum
Tools
Scrum Guide
Introduction to Test Driven Development
Risk Management in Kanban
Coaching Agile Teams
Agile Program
Webinar
Frameworks
predictability
LPM
Agile Outsourcing
Continuous Improvement
Agile Delivery
Built-In Quality
Product Ownership
Nexus Integration Team
Jira
Pomodoro Technique
Lean Agile
ART Success
Principles of Lean-Agile Leadership
Scrum Master Role
TDD
Risk-aware Product Development
Kanban
Scrum Master
Reading List
Value Streams
PI Objectives
Sprint Iteration
Professional Scrum with Kanban
System Archetypes
Introduction to ATDD
Rapid RTC
SAFe Release Planning
Lean and Agile Techniques
ALM Tools
SAFe
SPC
Agile Israel Events
Continuous Planning
RTE
Achieve Business Agility
An Appreciative Retrospective
Agile Project Management
Portfolio for Jira
Test Driven Development
Applying Agile Methodology
The Agile Coach
Manage Budget Creation
The Kanban Method
Self-organization
agileisrael
Agile India
Agile Mindset
Agile Product Development
AgileSparks
Agile Development
GanttBan
Lean Startup
Agile Games
Engineering Practices
LAB
Operational Value Stream
ATDD
Nexus and SAFe
Legacy Code
Professional Scrum Product Owner
Tips
Agile Testing Practices
Product Management
speed at scale
WIP
Lean and Agile Principles and Practices
Agile Release Planning
Advanced Roadmaps
Agile Games and Exercises
Risk Management on Agile Projects
Agile Assembly Architecture
Kaizen Workshop
Certification
IT Operations
Lean Agile Organization
Accelerate Value Delivery At Scale
Scrum and XP
Sprint Retrospectives
Lean Agile Leadership
Kaizen
Sprint Planning
LeSS
Kanban Kickstart Example
Lean Agile Management
Implementation of Lean and Agile
Jira admin
SAFe DevOps
Slides
Planning
Scrum.org
Agile Product Ownership
Legacy Enterprise
Hybrid Work
Agile Release Management
Quality Assurance
Kanban Game
Lean Risk Management
Agile Contracts Best Practices
Release Train Engineer
Business Agility
Presentation
Covid19
Kanban Basics
Elastic Leadership
Code
Continuous Deployment
chatgpt
DevOps
System Team
Software Development
Jira Plans
ROI
Agility
RTE Role
Jira Cloud
Managing Projects
Software Development Estimation
User stories
ATDD vs. BDD
Continuous Delivery
AI Artificial Intelligence
ARTs
Agile for Embedded Systems
Perfection Game
Development Value Streams
Releases Using Lean
Lean Budgeting
Agile Risk Management
Daily Scrum
BDD
Agile Project
Process Improvement
speed @ scale
Nexus and Kanban
Agile Israel
NIT
Acceptance Test-Driven Development
Games and Exercises
Agile and DevOps Journey
Systems Thinking
Program Increment
Agile in the Enterprise
Enterprise DevOps
Lean-Agile Budgeting
Agile Techniques
Continuous Integration
Agile Basics
RSA
SA
Scaled Agile Framework
AgileSparks
Logo
Enable registration in settings - general

Contact Us

Request for additional information and prices

AgileSparks Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter, and stay updated on the latest Agile news and events

This website uses Cookies to provide a better experience
Shopping cart