Quote Series Part 1 - Agile

Over the years, I've collected quotes from my agile surroundings. This collection has been growing for almost 5 years now. I've used it to inspire my teams by writing a new quote on the top of the team's wipeboard every few days. It keeps them thinking and on their toes. I've decided to do a series of blog posts to share them with all of you. (it's also good filler while I'm on leave due to the birth of my 2nd child and many in the industry are at Agile 2009.)

Quotes on "Agile"

My definition [of agile] is that you accept input from reality, and you respond to it - Kent Beck

An agile manager must: manage & deal w/ risk, be results oriented, have high energy, be a team player, have multi-tasking ability, be improvement oriented, listen first and speak second - Lee Henson

Agile is:
- A project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation
- A leadership philosophy that encourages team work, self-organization and accountability
- A set of engineering best practices that allow for rapid delivery of high-quality software
- A business approach that aligns development with customer needs and company goals
- Mike Cottmeyer / Jon Strickler

Deliver Frequent Releases, Empower Teamwork, Inspect and Adapt, Build Quality In - Karl Scotland

Agile != following steps, Agile != tools training
Agile = individuals & interactions, Agile = Collaboration & Teamwork
Agile = Environment Matters! Agile = learning from experience
Agile=reflection, Agile is an adjective not a noun!
- Rachel Davies (Agile 2007)

Agility might be said to be about encountering all the problems so early and so often that the effort to fix them is less than the pain of enduring them. - Ron Jeffries

Note: where I can, I've credited or linked the source of the quote. Finding the source of a quote is like chasing a ghost. When a mentor says something witty, you might not know they are quoting someone else. If you are aware of a more appropriate source for any quote, PLEASE put a comment on the post and I'll do what I can to validate this. I mean no disrespect to anyone. I believe the risk of incorrect citings is outweighed by the value of sharing these wonderful nuggets.