The Problem with Agile and Scrum

Every engineering organization has the same story: "We're Agile. We do Scrum. We have standups, sprints, retrospectives." But here's what most organizations don't realize: they're practicing cargo cult Agile. They're going through the motions without understanding the principles. They're performing rituals without achieving outcomes.

Agile has become a religion. Organizations follow Scrum ceremonies religiously: daily standups, sprint planning, retrospectives. They measure velocity, story points, burndown charts. They have Scrum Masters, Product Owners, sprint reviews. But they're not getting the benefits Agile promises: faster delivery, better quality, happier teams.

The problem isn't Agile—it's how organizations practice Agile. They focus on process compliance, not outcomes. They measure velocity, not value. They optimize for sprint completion, not business impact. They follow Scrum by the book, without adapting it to their context. They've turned Agile into a rigid framework, the opposite of what Agile was meant to be.

High-performing teams do Agile differently. They focus on outcomes, not process compliance. They measure value, not velocity. They optimize for business impact, not sprint completion. They adapt Agile to their context, not follow it blindly. They use Agile principles to guide decisions, not Agile ceremonies to structure work.

The best teams understand that Agile is a mindset, not a methodology. They value individuals and interactions over processes and tools. They value working software over comprehensive documentation. They value customer collaboration over contract negotiation. They value responding to change over following a plan. They live these values, not just recite them.

Scrum ceremonies become performance art when they're done for the sake of doing them, not for the value they create. Standups become status updates. Sprints become arbitrary deadlines. Retrospectives become complaint sessions. The ceremonies exist, but they don't improve anything.

So if you want Agile to work, focus on principles, not process. Measure outcomes, not compliance. Adapt to your context, don't follow blindly. The question isn't whether you're doing Agile. It's whether Agile is helping you deliver value faster and better. If it's not, you're doing it wrong.