Your Project Is FAKE Agile, What Now?

Thriving Technologist

It's finally sinking in. Your software project is FAKE agile. Is there anything you can really do about it?

The sad reality is that more companies have fake agile software development processes than those that are authentic. You can fight tooth and nail to try and change the system, or you can accept when there's nothing you can do.

Being a truly agile software company is not usually something any individual programmer or manager can change. It has to start from the top. If the company doesn't do agile budgeting and have a culture of adapting to feedback, they are a typical feature factory focused on output over outcomes.

In this episode, I offer some practical ways to let to of your frustration and do the best job you can given the circumstances. If you're the type of software engineer, manager, or any other tech job role that considers themselves a change agent - you may be challenged by this one.

But this episode isn't for everyone. It's for those of us who are experiencing mental health issues, burnout, and anger over our software project being fake agile. I hope it offers some relief.

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RELATED EPISODES

Spot a Fake Agile Team in Under 7 Minutes! https://youtu.be/H6GdK-dChtY

An Agile Budget Keeps You From Being a Code Monkey https://youtu.be/pG4wNLopMZA

Is Your "Agile" Backlog Really a Waterfall Project? https://youtu.be/OosYzkP-pLk

Can User Stories Make Software Projects Late? https://youtu.be/NavlPobhj7A

Are Programmers Really To Blame For Bad Estimates? https://youtu.be/m5A1Wg8hYGo

Chapter markers / timelinks:

(0:00) Introduction (1:30) How to Cope With FAKE Agile Development (3:25) 1. Stop Forcing Change (5:10) 2. Exercise (7:25) 3. Become a Requirements Lawyer (10:33) 4. Charge for Changes (13:12) 5. Protect Your Reputation (15:12) 6. Define Your Own Success (21:54) Episode Groove

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