Agile as an Excuse

Using Agile as an excuse to not do work on a project is problematic. To say that we don’t document in Agile is a misinterpretation of the Agile Manifesto, as is saying that the code is the documentation. This can sometimes be the case, but this is often insufficient. Wrong, too, is the idea that we don’t estimate in Scrum.

Obviously, this is the intention of neither the Agile Manifesto nor the creators of Scrum. The Agile Manifesto says that the delivery of useful software to the customer is most important, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no documentation. Sufficient documentation should be created, especially when the software will be handed over to a maintenance department.

Such statements are made unconsciously and consciously to mask the shortcomings of a project when Agile is used as an excuse not to use common sense. Even more worrying is the tendency to use Agile as a conscious excuse to mask a project’s failure. Be wary of using Agile ...