Agile Insider reality bytes…

God Mentality

My recipe for developing a God Mentality.

Ingredients:

• a team of non-agile developers
• a single zealous (or inexperienced) agile coach

Method:

• Prepare a clean team working area
• Gently introduce the agile coach to the team
• Gently stir until a process emerges
• Trust the coach
• Allow process to fester
• Praise the coach
• Serve with a slight pinch of sarcasm

Adopting agile is extremely difficult and coaching is a great way to being in the necessary skills and expertise to a team.  However, coaches are not infallible and will inevitably leave their own stamp on your project.  Leave a single coach on a team for long enough and they will become an almost god like figure and the team will depend more and more on their advice and wisdom (KB/C3).  A good coach will be able to adapt the processes and methodologies to suit your environment, but a zealot will probably insist on adapting your environment to match the methodology.  To produce a really good God Mentality it is imperative that they are unquestioned in their approach and instead followed blindly.  This works particularly well with a team of inexperienced (or long serving corporate) developers.

Unfortunately, if you fail to produce the perfect God Mentality, you're probably doomed to a life of perfect agile.  The moment some diversity is allowed to challenge the preaching from God #1 you are on your way to never exalting a single guru (or their processes) again...

Unfortunately, the quality of agile coaches varies remarkably and this recipe may not always produce the perfect God Mentality.