2025 digest: Agile the ugly, the bad and the good

Common misunderstandings

This is a collection of common misunderstandings found in many companies adopting Agile, fuelled by some large consultancy company and some practitioners’ mistakes.

• Agile Theatre (AKA performative Agile voided of the key elements that make things work better)
  • Post: https://www.smharter.com/blog/2021/12/13/same-words-different-meanings/
  • Linked-In post for comments and interactions: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_am-i-missing-something-important-here-fyi-activity-6885003251209551872-Y65c
    
• Agile Anti-patterns (detrimental practices)
  • Full list: http://p2.fed.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/common-agile-anti-patterns
  • Linked-In post of one popular anti-pattern Agile playbook: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_agile-agileantipatterns-playbook-activity-7036280536629145601-M1If
  • Linked-In post of another one popular anti-pattern Agile Maturity Models:
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_agileantipatterns-agile-maturitymodel-activity-7038829895417786368-aSNx

Major problems created by the Agile Industrial Complex

This is a collection problems leadign to bad Agile that have been created by the economical exploitation of Agile popularity.

• Agile Imposition, certifications exploitation, end of critical thinking:
  https://www.smharter.com/blog/2024/06/14/reflections-on-the-state-of-agile-in-2024/
  
• Scaled “Agile” frameworks widespread failures:
  • SAFe: https://bit.ly/SAFe4DecisionMakers
  • Popular website summarising these findings with a critical tone: https://safedelusion.com/
  • Market reaction:
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_agile-agility-scalingagile-activity-7159198954184654848-I5_Q
  • Reactions of some authors of practices assimilated by scaled frameworks:
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_safe-agile-safe-is-not-agile-heres-why-activity-6859034441424109568-8FR8/
    
• Large consulting firms canned solutions and standard recipes: https://bit.ly/agileOffering4DecisionMakers
  
• Agile professionals populaton change:
  https://www.smharter.com/blog/2024/09/11/agile-what-changed-from-the-pioneers-to-todays-practitioners/

Good alternatives rooted in agile that work well in many great companies

This is a list of positive effective examples of Agile adoptions. It is not complete, it is just a small example to compare and contrast with the bad examples listed above.

• How large successful companies achieve agility at scale:
  https://www.smharter.com/blog/how-large-successful-companies-achieve-agility-at-scale/
  
• Agile Time Machine (overview of the pivotal moments and momentous ideas worth spreading again, and a general feeling of the original essence):
  https://www.smharter.com/blog/2019/08/28/the-principles-of-people-centred-agile/
  
• Collection of Agile practices and patterns for the whole organisation (alternative to scaled frameworks):
  http://p2.fed.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/agile-practices-and-patterns-for-the-whole-organisation
  
• One of the many examples of principle based adoption at scale of Agile:
  http://p2.fed.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/agile-at-scale-generative-principles
  
• One of many examples of theories, prinicples, behaviours that can help bring good agile forward:
  • Interview: https://www.trusted-magazine.com/en/post/q-a-with-luca-minudel-1
  • People-centred Agile principles:
    https://www.smharter.com/blog/2019/08/28/the-principles-of-people-centred-agile/
  • A collection of principles, theories and models relevant to Agile:
    https://www.smharter.com/blog/2019/11/11/a-collection-of-principles-theories-and-models-relevant-to-agile/