Plan, Build (iterate), Deliver
Currently, I’ve been challenged to think about whats happening all over the globe in big tech companies. It’s always good to look around and see how we can improve, right? But the first feeling that I had was the worst: Am I doing it wrong? Then, after some weeks reading, studying, talking to friends I’ve found during this time I’ve been working in big techs, I finally get no conclusion of what’s new or fits better. And that’s not bad, I think.
This conclusion came out today when I was spending time over that, and started to relate my thoughts with the previous text that I’ve written a couple weeks ago: The constant search for something that never comes. There I write exactly about purpose and results, my thoughts are based in the principle that, being at the technological leading edge means something, but only if you achieved your goals. In that article, says that you may want to adapt your goals to do anything using that cool technique or methodology. However, it means that the hype matters more than your results. And I think this is something that definitely means more about the hype itself than the results you aim to achieve.
Suddenly, I figured out that when I want to define goals and achieve it as result of an entire plan, I should definitely think about understand the basics and go deep in the direction where I believe that fits more to my purpose.
Then I spend some time thinking about agility, not the dozens of courses and certificates that you find out there, but what’s common between those methodologies and frameworks that were created by the signatories of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, what they have in common? The fact is that they joined that meeting in Utah because they definitely had something in common.
If you didn’t get what they have in common yet, I’ll tell you:
Plan → Build (iterate) → Deliver
Plan, build (iterate) and deliver are basically what every agile methodology requires. That’s basically the core of being agile. In that previous article that I wrote, I also had the opportunity to talk about the famous post that Dave Thomas written in 2014, Agile is Dead (Long Live Agility). In that article, The Pragmatic Programmer co-author describes what agility means to him. Let me quote it:
Back to the Basics
Here is how to do something in an agile fashion:
What to do:
* Find out where you are
* Take a small step towards your goal
* Adjust your understanding based on what you learned
* RepeatHow to do it:
When faced with two or more alternatives that deliver roughly the same value, take the path that makes future change easier.
— Dave Thomas in Agile is Dead (Long Live Agility)
Going back to basics. That’s the principle that we may face to find answers in order to understand the whole idea of modern management. The concept is here, that’s the model that seems to be used anywhere and actually shows results. What Dave Thomas did show us, elegantly, is the simplification of all those models, methodologies and whatever you may want to bring to discussion — Plan, build (iterate), deliver. Which one you’ll choose? That’s up to you and, off course, your purposes and expected results!
Lastly, I believe teams (managers or not) should be mature enough to understand the basics, and choose what fits, not because you want to make it happen, but you comprehend the way you’ll do it, suits to your purpose and expected results. At the end, the methodology or framework you might want to choose, will lead you tools to achieve that, no more, no less.
Feel free to let your thoughts in comments section! I’d love to see your point of view!
