The domination of software development by a paradigm of industrial views and beliefs, a copy-paste of old manufacturing routines and theories, got us in a crisis. The attempts to overcome this crisis by fortifying the industrial approach are without result. The flaws and problems are huge, known and well documented. The crisis largely continues to this day.
The seeds of a new world view were already sown in the 1990’s, and resulted in 2001 in the formal naming of ‘Agile’. A turning-point in the history of software development. A new paradigm for the software industry was born; a paradigm that thrives upon heuristics and creativity. A paradigm that restores the respect for the creative nature of software development and the intelligence of its practitioners.Yet, many say that Agile is too radical. They keep propagating, to this day, a gradual -if any- introduction of Agile practices into existing, traditional processes. Having witnessed several of such attempts, I am extremely skeptical about such a 'gradual' evolution, a slow progression to the Agile paradigm. Because:
- A gradual evolution only scratches the surface. New names are installed, new terms, tools and techniques imposed, but the fundamental thinking remains the same.
- The mentioned paradigms consist of fundamentally different concepts and ideas, and many are mutually exclusive. No meaningful introduction of Agile practices in an industrial paradigm is possible.
A gradual shift is factually a status-quo. The industrial paradigm remains. A permanent crisis is called upon us.
It requires honesty to accept the mismatch of the old ways, and courageous leadership to embrace the new ways.
Abandoning the old thinking will take time. Scrum helps. Its distinct rules help in getting a grip on the new, Agile paradigm. The limited prescriptions allow immediate action. They allow developing new ways of working; through discovery, experimentation-based learning and collaboration. It is worthwhile the giant leap.