Why agile processes won’t save you without a coherent strategy

Agile development, once revered as the ideal state for tech companies, is now facing criticism as many organizations have misinterpreted its core principles, leading to disillusionment with its processes. Agile involves breaking down projects into short cycles called sprints to deliver working products quickly and gather feedback, aligning closely with lean principles. However, the focus has shifted to rapid feature delivery without ensuring these features meet customer needs, overshadowing the importance of clear goals, strategies, and customer outcomes. Unhappy scrum teams often suffer from a lack of defined goals, unclear product strategies, and an absence of connection between development and customer outcomes, issues that cannot be resolved by merely adhering to processes. Addressing these requires a well-articulated, daily-lived strategy, clear goals, and a focus on target customers, which are more challenging to establish but essential for long-term success.