We techies aren't very good at "selling" agile. I've been considering this problem ever since I realised, as I was writing up my dissertation, that my recommendations - to go iterative/incremental - were unlikely to be implemented unless I could "sell" my solution and, to be honest, I didn't have a clue where to start.
My gut feel is that our poor sales skills is what is most limiting the Agile movement - that is, it's our constraint. The Agile Manifesto, written in 2001, begins: "We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it". The agile movement has matured noticably over its brief lifetime and has identified - and even agreed! - on many "better ways of developing software". We've also gotten pretty good at "helping others do it" - with a huge number of websites, books, associations and even a Road Map. But, all this time we've been preaching to the converted. Now we need to figure out how to convert the non-believers.
Put another way: if we were all better at selling agile then we'd all be better off. Take my local agile group - Agile Scotland - for instance:
As a group of individuals we all agree that there aren't enough agile jobs in scotland.
Although many are working in Agile in Scotland, an unfortunate number are:
a) living in Scotland but NOT working in Agile, or
b) working in agile but NOT working in Scotand.
Therefore,
c) IF more of us want to be living in scotland AND working in agile THEN we need to make more agile jobs in scotland.
If we can do this then we'll be instrumental in creating new agile projects and jobs, we'll get X,Y and Z home, we'll instigate a Scottish recovery, we'll end up famous and rich and they'll put statues of us in Princes St. Gardens.Can we techies learn to sell Agile to the non-believers? I think so and I'll be blogging on this subject over the next wee while.
