Agile Maturity Model & Scrum Success Story...

I wanted to make sure my readers had the chance to review these two links, so I'll share them here:

• Ryan Martens over at Rally talks about IBM's (Scott Ambler's) proposed Agile Maturity Model. It's a good read, I agree almost perfectly with his statements. My take on these topics is this: once you box and define agile, you lose the magic. Agile is about inspect and adapt. Definition for the mainstream removes the adapt part (it just sets a straight goal) and then inspection is unnecessary because the definition allows you to falsely believe you've attained your goal. (Hint: The goal keeps moving as you get better!)
• Samir Bellouti posted a great experience report about his team's successful first year of Scrum implementation. I'm no longer a strict follower of Scrum, I tend to blend various agile approaches, but I believe that if you don't have a coach or resource to help you through implementation, then Scrum is a great recipe to start with. It's most documented and supported and will allow you to figure it out on your own with the published works available. This story is an example of how it SHOULD turn out and notes the value provided to the business.

Folks, agile is not easy! Just like dieting to lose weight, going agile is hard work for a more efficient and valuable outcome.