Imagine planning a road trip using the latest GPS and real-time traffic updates. You’ve set your destination and the GPS suggests the fastest route. But when you encounter unexpected construction or heavy traffic, you ignore the alerts and stubbornly stick to your original plan.
Sound familiar? This scenario perfectly illustrates how many organizations approach agility in software development – they have the tools but lack the mindset.
The illusion of agility
Many companies say they want to “go agile.” They introduce daily standups, organize work into sprints, and conduct retrospectives, expecting these ceremonies to automatically deliver faster results and higher productivity. But after a few months, frustration sets in—deadlines continue to slip, developers feel overwhelmed, and leadership starts questioning why agile “isn’t working.”
The truth is that agility isn’t about checking off a list of ceremonies—it requires a mindset shift. This transformation in thinking is precisely what many organizations claim to embrace but struggle to actually implement.
Let’s be real—many organizations are essentially looking for a “high-speed waterfall”—delivering everything they originally planned, just faster. They are committed to:
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A fixed, predetermined feature list
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Hard deadlines
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The same team structure and hierarchies
Then, they layer agile ceremonies on top, hoping it will magically improve the delivery process.
The real key to agility
Agility isn’t about speed—it’s about adaptability.
If you can’t shift priorities, adjust scope, or change direction when new information emerges, you’re not being agile—you’re just doing waterfall development with additional meetings.
For agility to work effectively, at least one of these must stay flexible:
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Scope: Being open to adjusting features based on user feedback and emerging market needs
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Timeline: Allowing reasonable flexibility in deadlines to accommodate meaningful and valuable improvements
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Resources: Being prepared to scale teams or provide additional support when needed
If all three are locked, you’re in waterfall territory — and that’s fine. Some projects can benefit from this approach, but expecting agile results without actual flexibility is a recipe for frustration.
I find this analogy particularly helpful in explaining the difference:
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Waterfall is like a canal—structured, controlled, and efficient for traveling along the predetermined path
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Agile is like a river—flowing, adapting, and sometimes finding better routes along the way
Organizations that merely “do agile” while keeping the rigid structures are essentially trying to turn a river into a canal while calling it agile. They want the predictability of waterfall with the speed promised by agile methodologies.
Measuring agility
We have sprints, we’re agile! Do you think that is true? How do you know if you’re actually agile? Look beyond velocity and burndown charts and consider these:
| Signal | What it shows | Why it matters | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision change rate | How often plans shift based on new information | True agility means adjusting when needed | Sticking to the original plan regardless of new insights |
| Experiment frequency | Small tests before full rollouts | Encourages learning and iteration while reducing waste (by avoiding deployment of features users don’t want) | Launching big features without testing |
| Time to Customer value | How quickly users see the benefits | Measures real impact, not just task completion | Long delays between development completion and actual user value |
| Team psychological safety | Comfort level in questioning assumptions and processes | Creates a culture of continuous improvement | Silence in meetings; no new ideas |
| Retrospective driven changes | How often retrospectives lead to meaningful action | Proves that learning is happening | Meetings with no real follow-through |
Agility is about building adaptability that aligns with the needs of the team and the product, especially in complex, unpredictable environments. In a setting where everything is stable and foreseeable, agility might not be necessary.
Stop “doing agile” — start “being agile”
Agility isn’t about rituals or tools—it’s about creating an environment where teams can handle change without chaos. Organizations need to stop forcing work into rigid plans and start trusting teams to find the best way forward.
Before kicking off another “agile transformation,” ask yourself: Do we actually want to be adaptable, or are we simply trying to move faster while maintaining rigid control?
The choice isn’t between agile and non-agile—it’s between being flexible and staying rigid. The most successful organizations understand that in today’s rapidly changing environment, adaptability isn’t just a methodology but also a competitive advantage.
Choose wisely, because true agility requires more than ceremonies — it demands courage, trust, and a fundamental shift in how we think about planning and execution.
Originally published in the ProductDock blog