Reviving Agile Principles for Modern Teams

Back to Basics Series – Agile Principles Review

As I said when I restarted this series back in August, over six years ago, I began a series exploring the 12 Agile principles. Life, work, and changing priorities got in the way—but now, more than ever, it feels timely to revisit them.

Honestly? I think we’ve forgotten them. At least I know I have. Between command-and-control habits, bloated processes, and organizational pressure to “just deliver,” it’s easy to lose sight of the simplicity and elegance the Agile Manifesto laid out.

Here’s a complete overview of the principles, with links to the full posts. I hope you take them back to your teams, reflect on them, and use them to guide your practice.

Principle 1 – Customer Satisfaction

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

  • Deliver early, deliver often, and focus on value. Customer satisfaction is why we do what we do.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Ask: How are we actively checking that our work delivers value?
  • Discuss one change to improve customer feedback loops.

Principle 2 – Embracing Change

Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.

  • Change is opportunity, not failure. Adaptability is a competitive edge.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Identify one area where flexibility could improve delivery.
  • Brainstorm how the team could respond faster to change.

Principle 3 – Frequent Delivery

Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

  • Cadence matters more than calendar. Shorter feedback loops = faster learning.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Ask: What prevents us from delivering smaller increments more frequently?
  • Plan a small experiment to shorten the delivery loop.

Principle 4 – Business & Developers Together

Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

  • Collaboration beats handoffs. Daily connection ensures building the right thing.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Invite business stakeholders into your next sprint review or planning session.
  • Identify one area where collaboration could be improved.

Principle 5 – Motivated Individuals

Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

  • Motivation drives ownership, creativity, and innovation. Trust your people.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Ask: What’s helping or hindering our motivation right now?
  • Discuss small changes that could improve focus and engagement.

Principle 6 – Face-to-Face Conversation

The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

  • Real-time communication prevents misunderstandings and accelerates problem-solving.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Agree on a “conversation trigger” for issues that aren’t resolving asynchronously.
  • Reflect on how real-time communication could improve clarity and speed.

Principle 7 – Working Software as the Measure of Progress

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

  • Metrics and dashboards are nice, but real progress is tangible, usable software.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Evaluate whether each sprint delivers something usable.
  • Brainstorm one change to make software delivery more tangible.

Principle 8 – Sustainable Pace

Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

  • Heroics aren’t agility. Consistent, maintainable pace drives long-term success.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Ask: Are we overcommitting this sprint?
  • Identify one adjustment to maintain a steady, sustainable pace.

Principle 9 – Technical Excellence & Good Design

Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

  • Quality enables agility. Shortcuts cost more than investing in technical excellence.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Discuss where technical debt or shortcuts are slowing you down.
  • Identify one small improvement for better technical practices.

Principle 10 – Simplicity

Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.

  • Focus on what matters. Trim the rest. Simplicity accelerates value delivery.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Review current work: What could we remove, simplify, or delay?
  • Prioritize only what provides clear value to the customer.

Principle 11 – Self-Organizing Teams

The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

Take It to Your Team:

  • Identify decisions the team can make without waiting for approval.
  • Reflect on how self-organization could improve outcomes.

Principle 12 – Regular Reflection & Adjustment

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

  • Continuous improvement is the heartbeat of Agile. Reflect, adjust, repeat.
    Read full post →

Take It to Your Team:

  • Ask: What worked well this sprint? What didn’t?
  • Experiment with one small change based on reflection and measure its impact.

Why Revisit These Principles?

The principles aren’t outdated—they’re timeless. But we forget them. I know I’ve done it myself. Revisiting these principles helps us:

  • Stay focused on what truly matters
  • Avoid slipping back into old habits
  • Keep teams motivated, innovative, and effective

Agility isn’t a checklist—it’s a practice. Returning to the basics is how we keep it alive.

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