Agile advice from our ancestors

Old sayings might not be the first thing which comes to mind when considering agility, there are many proverbs which are apropos.

Two heads are better than one (or the similar Maasai proverb “One head cannot hold all wisdom.”): I’ve found this saying to be useful when presenting pair programming. Prefacing an introduction of the practice with this saying helps as people will generally agree with its merits so they are more likely to be receptive to the concept of non solo work.

Out of sight, out of mind: This proverb can be used when referencing traditional techniques for tracking and reporting delivery progress and contrasting those with the increased transparency which is encouraged with agile approaches. Most listeners will remember a time when a lack of visibility or shared understanding resulted in needless churn from one or more key stakeholders.

The wise do as much as they should, not as much as they can: Whereas traditional approaches might have encouraged gold-plating or feature bloat, this saying is well aligned with the tenth principle from the Manifesto: Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.

A stitch in time saves nine: Cost of poor quality increases when we don’t take the time to identify the root causes for variations and merely inspect and correct. Shifting quality “left”, reflecting on how we can improve our processes and then implementing improvement ideas quickly and developing quality-focused Definition of Done guidelines are all ways in which this saying is put to good use.

Cut your coat according to your cloth: Focus, like transparency is a pillar of Scrum and most other agile methods. Multitasking, building up too much work in progress or taking on more work items that we can complete in a quality manner are just a few examples of how we ignore the wisdom of this proverb.

Chickens should be seen and not heard: While we encourage stakeholders to visit and observe ceremonies such as standups or sprint planning, their purpose in attending is to learn and not to disrupt.

When we were younger, whether it was from our parents or our grandparents, chances are we heard a number of proverbs. While those might have been intended to impart wisdom to us during our formative years, they can also be relevant in our adult lives.