Agile Snake Oil?

Warning:  Today's blog is part blog - part rant.  As always, I welcome your thoughts and differing points of view.

To paraphrase Scrum co-founder Ken Schwaber, "Scrum is simple to understand but difficult to master".

He's also famous for saying that "Scrum is like your mother-in-law - it points out all your faults."  

So be VERY wary of anyone that tells you that the transition is easy, and that we can just ignore the Agile Manifesto, Agile Principles and all the difficult and challenging cultural changes required to do Agile well and still expect to receive the benefits promised by Agile done well.

I recently encountered an "Agile expert" who started a "training" by telling people that Agile is nothing more than the Miriam Webster definition of the word "agility".  Do whatever you want, as long as it matches that dictionary definition.

Although the original drafters of the Agile Manifesto likely used the word 'agile' because it pointed to a mindset, saying that "anything that matches the dictionary definition of this word" -- allowing you to do "anything you want" -- is simply selling you snake oil.  (Note:  the world "agile" dates back to 1375-1425 according to Random House)

Now snake oil salesmen were a big hit in the old West.  They promised the world in a little bottle and preyed on unsuspecting and vulnerable but good folks by making a complex system like people's health a simple thing easily solved by what they just happen to have in their possession.

Anytime an "Agile authority" tells you something, consider running it up against not just your good common sense judgment, but also the Agile authorities that created the concept and the Agile community in general.  If you can't get broad consensus from several respected Agilists, you're likely headed for trouble.  Remember you are being asked to accept a new paradigm, and that, at times, will be counter-intuitive.  Wisdom is being able to see the difference between a paradigm shift and snake oil.

Don't fall for the snake oil salesman, even when it sounds like an easy way to fix a difficult challenge.