Thread by @LogRocket

The Agile Manifesto has sparked innovation in ways the authors didn’t expect and has reached far beyond the world of software.

Let's break down the Agile Manifesto with a focus on its four values. A thread (1/10)...

#productmanagement #agilecoach #agile
blog.logrocket.com/product-manage…

The four values of the Agile Manifesto are:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan

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People often reference the four values without considering the introduction, but it’s important to establish a philosophy of constant change and improvement as well as generosity:

"We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it."

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What does the Agile Manifesto's introduction mean? Basically, to be agile is  to be perpetually dissatisfied.

Sharing learnings is crucial to any agile project. If you have a lot of unchanged processes, you probably haven’t been “uncovering better ways.”

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Before we dig into the values, let’s skip to the bit at the end, where the Agile Manifesto tells us how to read them correctly:

"That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more."

Now let's review the 4 Agile Manifesto values:

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1. "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools"

What it means: Processes & tools are good, but individuals & their interactions are even more important.

To be agile means to be all-in on people. The authors knew that people matter & collaboration is essential.

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2. "Working software over comprehensive documentation"

What it means: Documentation is good, but delivering working software is even more important.

In other words, a product with no documentation is preferable to having documentation and no product.

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3. "Customer collaboration over contract negotiation"

What it means: Business commitments are good, but the voice of the customer should come first.

Contract negotiation refers to any agreements involved in the work, internally or externally.

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4. "Responding to change over following a plan"

To quote former US president Eisenhower, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”

The point is that plans are good to work on, but they should always account for uncertainty. Plans are only as good as they are flexible.

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To summarize the four Agile Manifesto values:

• The preamble encourages continuous improvement
• No. 1 places people at the center
• No. 2 focuses on solutions rather than documentation
• No. 3 promotes building the right thing
• No. 4 is about responding to change

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Is the Agile Manifesto still relevant today? Not only is it relevant, but many industries outside of software development have adopted it. Simply tweaking a few references to “software” has helped marketing, HR & many other teams deliver valuable outcomes more efficiently.

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