100% Agile, 100% Fragile... what means 100% Agile?

Did you never had a customer/manager saying… guy, we don’t want to be 100% agile?

I heard quite often this kind of arguments and I was asking myself what did I? what’s wrong? What kind of mistake did I provide through my transition steps?

Then, I start to look back to basics. 

The Agile Manifesto? not explicite enough.

The Declaration of Interdepence? too business oriented.

The underlaying principles of the Agile Manifesto? Yes, that’s the point.

I re-read the points and I start grouping them in categories:

• continuous improvement
• self organization
• changing requirements
• simplicity
• sustainable pace
• iterations
• working items
• technical excellence
• customer satisfaction
• business and development working together
• motivated individuals
• clear communication

Now, based on this, what means 100% agile?

I question myself:

• if you are doing only continuous improvement are you agile?
• or if your teams are only self organized are you agile?
• or if you are accepted changing requirements only are you agile?
• or if you have working items only are you agile?
• or if you have technical excellence, are you agile?
• or if you have only customer satisfaction?
• or if business is working closely with development only are you agile?
• or if you only have motivated individual?
• or if you only have clear communication, are you agile?
• or if you only iterate, are you agile?

Bizarre, isn’t?

It’s an « AND » not an « OR ».

Now if you replace « OR » by « AND », this makes a bit more sense. No?

Assumption 2: it’s an « AND »

• what means 100% continuous improvement?
• 100% means full achievement. Right?
• continuous improvement is, in my brain, an infinite loop
• how could I reach 100% of infinity!?!?!
• 100% self organized teams?
• 100% means that all teams are self organized
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
• 100% accepted Change requests?
• 100% accepted Change requests (CR) is also simple.
• it means that:
• business can make the difference between CR and scope
• there is acceptance and triage
• Change has a governance
• Consulting company accepts change for free (no charge, no new SOW)
• sounds simple
• isn't at all 
• 100% working items?
• 100% working items sounds simple
• for simple products.... very simple products
• low complexity
• it's what I call "Lego bricks and plumbing"
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
• either when you didn't defined somebody in charge with the product aka Product Owner
• 100% technical excellence?
• 100% technical excellence
• like before, everything should be very very simple
• 1 technology (ask SAP guys if it's simple)
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
• 100% customer satisfaction?
• sounds simple
• when you have one customer and it's your loving grand'ma
• not a proxy or a business analyst, a real one with flesh and blood
• according to the level of UX adoption, it sounds that it isn't that simple
• isn't?
• 100% business and development working closely together?
• that's easy
• working closely together? how close? is 5.000km close? is WebEx or Skype close enough?
• I don't know?
• does closely together mean that they have to partner on a daily basis?
• every day?
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
• 100% motivated individuals?
• that's an easy one!
• I make a retro with legos and serious game, we have a lot of fun and it's done!
• really?
• motivated how?
• motivated to follow what daddy says? or the commander-in-chief?
• motivated if one guy wants the latest tool and another pizzas if a third one is vegan and HR prevents for harassment?
• kidding
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
  
• 100% iteration?
• we can iterate one day of another?
• or one week, then 2 weeks, then 3, like a Fibonacci?
• if I iterate once a year, is it enough?
• sounds simple
• isn't at all
• 100% clear communication?
• that's an easy one but I have to get management buy in first ;b)