Blog Series: Did You Pack the 12 Agile Principles on Your Agile Journey? Pt. 12: Reflect & Adjust

At CapTech, we believe the 12 Agile Principles from the Agile Manifesto are building blocks for a successful, sustainable Agile journey. Many pitfalls that organizations experience are due to oversight and lack of adherence to the Agile Principles. In this CapTech blog series, we will review the 12 Agile Principles, common issues that lead organizations astray, and solutions to get back on course throughout any Agile journey.

Agile Principle #12: At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Common Issues that Lead Organizations Astray

• There's no time for delay! One project is completed and another is started.
• Teams lack the confidence and trust needed to reflect candidly.
• Adjustments translate to failures and unmasking failures is highly discouraged.
• Teams see no value-add in reflecting, adjusting, or improving behavior.
• Teams talk about what's wrong, but nothing actionable comes out of it.

Solutions that Lead Organizations Back on Course

• Introduce Retrospectives! Build in a minimum of two hours between projects (or even better, between Iterations/Sprints) for teams to come together and reflect.
• Set ground rules for Retrospectives, and stand by them! Identify working agreements that create safety and trust encouraging candid communication within the team boundary.
• Embrace and celebrate failures as learning opportunities. Some of the greatest innovations and most iconic people in history were born out of failure.
• Task your Scrum Master with keeping retrospectives interesting, engaging, and productive.
• Capture action items that come out of Retrospectives and track the progress and completion of them. Teams will quickly see which things are being addressed (and which aren't).

Click here to download CapTech's 12 Principles of Agile Poster

Click here to download CapTech's 12 Principles of Agile Poster

Click here to download CapTech's 12 Principles of Agile Poster

Blog Series: Did you Pack the 12 Agile Principles on Your Agile Journey?

• Part 1: Deliver Value
• Part 2: Changing Requirements
• Part 3: Deliver Frequently
• Part 4: Work Together
• Part 5: Motivated Individuals
• Part 6: Face-to-Face Conversation
• Part 7: Working Solutions
• Part 8: Sustainability
• Part 9: Technical Excellence
• Part 10: Simplicity
• Part 11: Self-Organizing Teams
• Part 12: Reflect