The first value listed in the Agile Manifesto states that we value individuals and their interactions more than we value formal processes and tools (or words to that effect). Yet, it seems as if most people who are trying to get a handle on all this "agile" stuff approach it from the standpoint of Process. Maybe this is to be expected, since everyone has experienced the adoption of the New Process of the Day many times over the years.
Along comes "agile" and here we go again: Another new Process. So, then, under this new rubric what steps must be followed? What phases must be passed through? What ceremonies must be practiced? What documents must be written? What catch phrases must be recited? Show us these things, that we may redecorate our working lives with the approved accoutrements while avoiding honest introspection and fundamental change.
Granted, much is asked of us when we must apply values and principles with sensitivity to context, rather than just following a Process by rote. Isn't it better that way? Oddly, to hold such power in hand causes many people to feel off-balance rather than liberated. It seems an alien idea to many that there can be structure without rigidity, identity without stasis. Julio Cortázar's character, Lucas, struggled with the same issue, in his own way:
En los juegos eróticos tempranamente encontró Lucas uno de los primeros refractantes, obliterantes o polarizadores del supuesto principio de identidad. Allí de pronto A no es A, o A es no A. Regiones de extrema delicia a las nueve y cuarenta virarán al desagrado a las diez y media, sabores que exaltan el delirio incitarían al vómito si fueran propuestos por encima de un mantel. Esto (ya) no est esto, porque yo (ya) no soy yo (el otro yo).
¿Quién cambia allí, en una cama o en el cosmos: el perfume o el que lo huele? [...]
(excerpt from "Lucas, sus críticas de la realidad" in Un Tal Lucas, Julio Cortázar, 1979.)
