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Okay, I hate the Manifesto
I'm an Agile Coach. And as a coach, I'm supposed to be, well, agile. And coach-like.
So I get a whistle and say things like "one more remark like that, Jones, and you'll be running laps this afternoon"
For some reason, this tactic is not effective coaching, at least for software developers. Most software developers would be lucky if they could run one lap, and while they did, they would be plotting to cripple the system with a virus when they got back.
Not exactly the desired behavior.
But the agile part is a little easier. Basically its common sense, but what with all the marketing and hero worship and all, people tend to get it all mixed up.
Take for instance the Agile Manifesto.
As far as I know, the Agile Manifesto was created after a drunken romp in a ski lodge as a way to find something useful to do instead of actually working. It consists of several points which have that kind of "heck yes!" feeling about them. Stuff like.
We love mom more than we love apple pie.
We love programming more than baseball, even when our favorite team plays
We love sunshine more than clouds
Good stuff. Stuff, that on the surface, nobody in their right mind would disagree with.
So of course, I hate it.
I didn't start off hating it. Really I didn't. At first, I just found it slightly obnoxious, the way you do when somebody comes in and does a presentation that feels good but imparts little knowledge or wisdom. Hey, hey, we feel good today!
But then it started appearing everywhere. On walls. On blogs. In conversation. People would say things like, "Well you know that the manifesto says we value working code over documentation," and it was a show-stopper.
After all, who would argue with something with a title like "The Manifesto"? Sounds like something that would get you put into prison in some countries. People would throw pieces of the manifesto out there and then wham! All intelligent thinking would cease. Hey, if the manifesto says it, what do we need to keep thinking about it for?
Then I would see people use the manifesto for evil purposes. Sales people would bring it up in their pitch -- might as well throw out the bone so that we all are on the same side. It's becoming like a secret but public society, where if you're hip with the manifesto, we're hip with you.
So naturally I don't like it. Never liked short-cuts to thinking. Never liked big popular movements. Never liked slogans. Never liked marketing people, even if they were coding wonks, getting into my daily work. Never liked emotional slogans taking the place of real-world experiences.
I love a lot of stuff about agile. I honestly believe it is the thing that can transform the software industry today. Heck, I've been running agile teams for over 20 years. I know the stuff. I live the stuff. I teach the stuff. I love the stuff.
But the manifesto? Hate it. Can't find a use for it, and if it went away tomorrow I'd be happy.
And why? Is it that you disagree or just don't like something you think is hype?
"the kool-aid tastes good - why don't you like kool-aid?!"
I disagree with how the mushy-logic of "well, theword says we don't need X. all hail theword!" is thrown around.
Daniel did explained why. Dogma is a short cut to thinking. Lived long enough to hear it with iterative waterfall, six-sigma, and now agile.
People who believe in "the one true way, as it is writen" suck, and that's all there is to it.
Beware of knee-jerk prejudice against perceived knee-jerk prejudice. I once had an argument with a Comp Sci professor friend of mine, because I happened to reply to her idea by saying "Security by obscurity is no security at all!" (And really, there should be an "only" after the "by" there.)
She started espousing all of these ridiculous and patently wrong positions with regards to supporting the merits of pure security by obscurity. Later she admitted to me that she did it just because she'd heard the slogan and she was resolutely anti-slogan. It would've been funny if she'd been doing it to pull my leg, but she'd actually meant it seriously.
Dogma's okay, so long as it's not a substitute for thinking. Anti-dogma's the same!
Here's the thing, StCred: if the manifesto had been an email, I would have simply looked at it and shrugged. Pretty much good stuff in there. Stuff we've all been saying for years.
But it was taken for more than what it was, and it's become just what you've outlined: dogma. Now while it might be a great email, it's not-so-good dogma. I should go into a longer post about why.
Yes, I'm anti-dogma. But I'm really even more anti-bad dogma. While I understand the masses need a simple set of slogans (and especially people selling books and consulting services), I am finding that once you drink the cool-aid it actually makes your job _harder_ because of the parts that don't fit.
If the manifesto had been something like "Adapt", or "Whatever Makes Sense", or "Create the Minimum Formal Process Possible" then it would be vague enough to not be so sucky. If it were specific, talking about real-time informal risk assessment and how technology decissions are discussed and resolved around central analysis themes? I could go there. But instead we have the illusion of utility, when in fact it makes a much better complaint list than a dogma.
Plus the damn thing is everywhere. Drives me nuts.
Yeah, I agree that the four values stated in the Manifesto fall squarely within the Mom & Apple Pie category. However, have you read the Principles as well? They add some substance.