Part 1 in a 4 part series. This post covers communication and collaboration.

To start 2022 off right, I’m writing a series on the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Given that the Manifesto is quickly reaching 21-years-old, I wanted to cover my learning and reflection on its impact.

Two disclosures:

1. I am not a software developer
2. When this was published, I thought it was a fad

The first value;

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Manifesto for Agile Software Development

Communication and collaboration. Keys to positive and productive human interaction. For each of us, this takes on different meaning depending on the context of the interaction.

As I wrote in my first post of the year, tools don’t fix problems. People fix problems. The Manifesto signers understood this in the context of software development.

And yet, this also applies to other pursuits as well.

If a team doesn’t know what the problem is, let alone how it might be solved, do processes and tools matter?

For me, the answer is a simple ‘no.’ No, processes and tools alone will not identify the problem. I am writing from experience.

If I have a bent nail I need to remove from a wood board, would I use a screw driver to fix the problem? No, I would need to find a claw-head hammer to remove the bent nail.

Houston, we have a problem (communication and collaboration)

Stepping back, if the financial health of my company is failing, do I know what the points of cause are for the problem? Maybe, maybe not, it depends. Discovery is required to figure out what may be cause the money loss.

Can a tool determine the cause, not knowing what the problem is?

Can a process define the problem?

Simply answered, no. It takes bright, talented people working together (individuals and interactions) to define the problem. Then those same people set out to solve the problem.

In life, there is no certainty from one day to the next day. It’s time to embrace the uncertainty and get down to working on today’s problems.

The key is using communication and collaboration to solve the right problems.

Value 1, Value 2, Value 3, Value 4