Is Agile a Methodology?

In this video I read through some of the more interesting comments that have been left on my videos about Agile and discuss the common misconception that Agile is a methodology.

I've published a book called "Starting Agile" that is designed to help you start your team's Agile journey out right. You can buy a copy from Amazon, but I'm giving free copies away to my subscribers from YouTube. You can signup for a copy at this link:

[binnysharma]

Love your videos about Agile. They are informative and a fun way to learn

[furasmaco]

Mark so good as always I had fun and it was informative at the same time!! Keep up the great job you do! I would call it Agile evangelization!!! with many disciples following your teachings!!!

[ralfrolfen]

Sooo underrated! Thank you very much for the work!!

[johnkistler]

Mark...entertaining AND informative. 👏🏻

[ariaagile]

it's very well said Mark! Love to watch it

[ct]

Spot on. I can see why you get a lot of negative comments. This could be disturbing to people who insist on "doing agile" rather than "being agile." Plus, there' s a lot more money and a lot less work in instructing and directing people in "doing agile" rather than helping them understand how to "be agile." Oh well, some of us get it. I do teach Scrum and have for over 15 years. Scrum is a nice way to organize work, but people turn it into a methodology (easy to do, for sure.) I was taught and mentored in its use by Ken Schwaber, and he insists it is a "simple, flexible framework with few rules." Perhaps. But, many people see its "rules" as methodical, not flexible


So, the first thing we do in my CSM and CSPO workshops is intensely examine and understand what being agile means and that there is no doing agile. That stirs the pot right immediately, especially with people who orient to traditional project management. We also examine VUCA, Complex Adaptive Systems, Cynefin, and approaching work in an empirical manner or defined manner based upon the kind of work we are doing. And, I teach that it is the work team that decides the approach and processes based upon that kind of work and the principles that guide its behaviors. Of course, we watch your video "What is Agile?" in every workshop. That starts the ball rolling.


Scrum is easy to learn and do. I started using it without any training in 2004. Being agile was easy to understand, but I ran headlong into traditional culture and a host of other inertial problems. Agile is easy to understand and easy to be...except when it isn't and that arises when it runs into the wall of conventional culture bias, entrained bureaucratic thinking, organization apprehension, and personal fear. Thanks for this video. My attendees will watch it, too.

[flyingsalmon]

Thanks for the video, Mark. Now a question for you (hopefully it'll trigger some more in your mind-->more videos): Do you think most high-tech companies are using daily scrum meetings the wrong way? Why or why not?

[conse]

Mark, this is an awesome video which explains Agile well...Thank You. As a side question, can you address how frameworks are different than methodologies? I know Agile is neither, thanks to this video, though many others use both terms interchangeably. Anywho, thanks again!