This website contains the normative content of Agile 2: that is, the principles – on which all of the Agile 2 authors agree – and the underlying ideas (“problems” and “insights”) that led to the principles. Among the Agile 2 team, there are differing opinions about the underlying ideas. We provide them so that the thought process behind the principles can be seen. This thought process provides the “why” behind the principles, and we think that the “why” is essential for being able to intelligently apply any idea.

This Is Not an Instructional Site

This website is not an instructional site. There is no training material here. We do not expect people to be able to thoroughly learn Agile 2 ideas from this site.

That said, we have written the content in an informal manner, and many people will read the principles and immediately relate to them. Others might not quite understand some things. That is okay. This site is a foundation. More accessible explanations will follow in other forms.

There is a LinkedIn group for asking questions. Come March 2021 there will be a book (print, Kindle) that explains Agile 2 at a high level. There might also be a book that delves into it at a detailed level. There are and will continue to be articles that explain the ideas. There might be training – we are receiving requests for that already. If there is training, it will be the “real deal” — it will be based on learning theory and inquiry, it will be built around “what if?” propositions, and it will be experiential. It will have tests, and it will not claim to supersede real-world experience. And it will not be a “certification mill” nor require periodic renewal.

Most of all, it will not be dogmatic. We have stated clearly that Agile 2 is only a set of ideas – an open set of ideas. It is not a methodology, and it is not self-contained. To apply Agile 2 ideas, one must consider other ideas as well as one’s own experience and the uniqueness of each situation. If one only reads Agile 2, one will not know enough to apply Agile 2 ideas. We encourage people to read about every Agile school of thought, as well as domains outside of what is considered “Agile.”

None of the ideas of Agile 2 are new. Some of the ideas of Agile 2 are as old as the Pyramids. Agile 2 merely collects a set of useful ideas, many of which have a long history. The ideas include some ideas that parts of the Agile community somehow have not been paying enough attention to, even though the ideas are ubiquitous in human writing and collective experience. We are publishing them in an Agile context, as if to say, “Don’t forget about these things!”

This Was Not a Research Effort

This website also does not provide many references to source material. That is intentional: if we had, it would start to look like a research effort. This is a practitioner effort, and the principles are not based on any particular theories. Our principles are based on experience about what works – in our experience.

The Agile 2 book will attempt to explain some of the principles in various theoretical contexts, where those theories are useful for explaining Agile 2. That is akin to observation being compared to theory: if there is a mismatch, then either the observations should be scrutinized or a new theory is called for.

It should be pointed out that any theory of human behavior is at best a model: human behavior is complex, and no human behavioral theory can hope to be completely predictive. Even a controlled study is suspect: humans have too many variables to control them all. Therefore, observation and practical experience must take precedence over theory, despite the risks of observational bias. One must do one’s best to reduce those risks. Theories are extremely important and useful, they are how we understand phenomena; but in the end, the judgment of an experienced person is often more predictive than the best theory.