Lean and Agile are sets of principles, not processes (My Lean and Agile Cheatsheet)

Or how to avoid getting distracted by frameworks

What are Agile and Lean, really?

I was having a conversation last week with a coworker. His team was debating if they were correctly working in an Agile way. Was the process they are using really agile?

This reminded me of how easy it is to forget what working in an Agile way really means. It is common to think that the most important thing to do is follow one of the defined processes that are labeled “Agile” (like Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.).

However, Agile is not defined as rigidly adhering to a particular process. In fact, it is the opposite! Lean thinking, while different, is similarly a set of principles, not a process.

Whenever I get lost in the meaning of Agile, I look at the cheat sheet below, which I created for myself years ago. This cheat sheet provides the simple and clear principles that define Agile and Lean ways of working.

Next time you get stuck debating processes, I recommend returning to these principles and checking whether you might be getting lost in your framework…

My Cheat Sheet — Core Principles of Lean and Agile

Before we jump into the more detailed principles, I love this simple summary that captures the essence of Lean and Agile thinking:

"When in doubt: scope way down, shorten the timeframe, & make it a requirement that at the end something is shipped. Never fails to unlock creativity and impact."

—Maggie Crowley¹

Part 1 — Lean Software Development Principles

Lean software development is a set of principles that aim to produce better results by eliminating unnecessary work through learning and end-to-end optimization.

Note: The principles below are paraphrased from several articles from Marty Cagan (see the references section at the bottom).

Lean Principle 1 — Risks are tackled early

Risks are tackled up front rather than at the end. We tackle these risks either (a) before deciding to build anything; or, (b) by building as little as possible before the risks are minimized.

First, we tackle these risks:

• Value risk — Will customers buy it?

• Business risk — Will this solution work for the different aspects of our business, such as financial, contractual, and legal?

And then we tackle these risks:

• Usability risk — Can customers figure out how to use it?

• Feasibility risk — Can our engineers build what we need with the time, skills, and technology we have?

We aim to reduce risks as early as possible by developing prototypes in product discovery, especially value and business risks. We do this because any time spent building something before the risks are reduced will be wasted time if the risk later turns out to be fatal.

Lean Principle 2 — Product definition and design are collaborative and iterative

Products are defined and designed collaboratively and iteratively rather than sequentially.

We don't do this:

1. First, the product manager defines requirements.

2. Then, a designer designs a solution that delivers those requirements.

3. Then, engineers implement those requirements and design.

4. Each person is unable to change the decisions made in the previous step.

Instead, we do this:

Product people, designers, and engineers work side-by-side, making tradeoffs and using insights learned from each other, to create technology-powered solutions that our customers love and that work for the business.

Lean Principle 3 — Focus on results, not features

We focus on solving problems and producing results, not implementing features. Conventional product roadmaps are all about output. Lean teams must ensure they are solving the underlying problem, which means they care about results.

Clearly define and follow up on goals, using a framework like OKRs. The goals are the roadmap, a list of features is not the roadmap.

Me with the cross-functional development team I worked with at Klarna back in the early 2010s.

Part 2 — Agile Principles

Agile software development is an iterative approach to software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches.

The original Agile Manifesto, written in 2001, is as relevant today as it was then. It provides a needed antidote to complex processes that often call themselves Agile.

The original Agile Manifesto:

• Individuals and interactions, over processes and tools

• Working software over comprehensive documentation

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

• Responding to change over following a plan

The principles behind the Agile Manifesto:

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

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

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

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

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

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

Note: The above is taken directly from the original Agile Manifesto (see the references section at the bottom).

Further Reading

Albrecht, Kevin. "Dual Track Agile: Focusing on Customer Value" Kevin on Code Blog, 31 August 2015, medium.com/kevin-on-code/dual-track-agile-focusing-on-customer-value-a2e39312585b.

Cagan, Marty. Inspired. www.svpg.com/books/.

Cagan, Marty. "Product vs. Feature Teams." Silicon Valley Product Group, 29 August 2019, svpg.com/product-vs-feature-teams/.

Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup. theleanstartup.com/.

References

Beck, Kent, and others. Manifesto for Agile Software Development. 13 February 2001, agilemanifesto.org/.

Cagan, Marty. "Beyond Lean and Agile," Silicon Valley Product Group, 29 January 2017, www.svpg.com/beyond-lean-and-agile/.

Cagan, Marty. “The Four Big Risks.” Silicon Valley Product Group, 4 Dec. 2017, www.svpg.com/four-big-risks/.

1. Maggie Crowley (@maggiecrowley). “When in doubt…” Twitter, 10 Jun 2022, twitter.com/maggiecrowley/status/153533327202825