It’s been over two decades since 17 developers met in Utah to draft the Agile Manifesto. They weren’t trying to create a rulebook—they were trying to articulate a better way of working, a philosophy for software development that emphasized people, collaboration, adaptability, and delivering value.
And yet, if you look around today, I can’t help but wonder: how many organizations are truly living these principles, rather than just following a methodology?
What Industry Leaders Are Saying
Kent Beck, one of the co-authors of the Agile Manifesto, recently reflected on his career and the evolution of development practices. Even with decades of experience, he finds excitement in experimenting with modern tools and approaches, emphasizing continuous learning and adaptation as core to being agile rather than doing agile (Business Insider).
Agile consultant Niall O’Keeffe stresses that the core values of Agile remain relevant, but that today’s context has changed. He calls for a reassessment of how principles are applied in modern teams (LinkedIn).
Similarly, Joe Van Os, in his piece Revisiting the Principles of Being Agile, notes that while the principles themselves are timeless, many organizations struggle to adapt them to new technologies and modern challenges (Medium).
Even organizations like the Scrum Alliance remind us that Agile principles should guide behavior, not dictate process. They emphasize that teams should revisit these principles regularly to ensure they remain relevant and effective (Scrum Alliance).
My Take: BE Agile, Don’t Just DO Agile
Here’s where I see a huge gap. So many companies have latched onto methodologies, frameworks, and metrics without understanding the why behind the Agile Manifesto. They track data, enforce strict workflows, and later blame teams when the “process” isn’t followed perfectly.
But the manifesto never commands. It doesn’t tell teams to track every metric or enforce a specific way of working. Its message is simple: focus on individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change.
The problem is that many organizations confuse being agile with doing agile. They try to execute rituals, dashboards, and reports, but miss the essence: adapting to change, delivering value continuously, and empowering people. True agility is a mindset, not a set of rules.
Why This Matters Today
We live in a world of constant change. Markets, customers, and technology evolve at a pace no rigid process can keep up with. Agile principles were designed to help teams navigate complexity with flexibility and purpose. When organizations ignore these principles in favor of strict adherence to methodology, they sacrifice:
- Innovation: Teams stop experimenting and learning.
- Collaboration: Interactions become transactional and process-driven.
- Value Delivery: Focus shifts to output and metrics, not outcomes.
If we want to see real agility, we need to return to the basics. Revisit the principles. Ask why we do what we do. And remind teams and leadership that Agile is a philosophy, not a performance review tool.
Take It to Your Team
For your next sprint or retrospective, try this:
- Ask: Which Agile principles are we actually practicing today? Which ones are we ignoring or bending?
- Reflect on whether your team is being agile or just doing agile.
- Pick one principle to focus on in the next sprint—then inspect and adapt how it changes your workflow, collaboration, or delivery.
Agility isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about living the values, continuously learning, and adapting. If we forget that, the Agile Manifesto becomes nothing more than words on a page.
Scrum Bubbles 