This little article echoes a definition of agile given by @nrosenberg during an apéritif (web, agile, other, ? I don’t remember anymore, I get the impression that to overcome isolation, Toulousains drink every evening).

This definition reached my ears and I really liked it. What is it about? A governor of Ohio, Potter Stewart, had launched a crusade against the pornography industry. But during the trials he had initiated, when asked how he defined pornography, he replied: “I know it when I see it”.

It’s a very intuitive, very emotional definition, one that defines itself through rupture. Thinking about it, if I had to give a quick definition of agile, or at least answer the question: “are we agile?”, this answer would satisfy me quite well.

Intuition & rupture

We must clearly understand that agile is in complete rupture with the way we have envisioned projects, management, for more than 20 years (ok, I’m not totally generalizing). Change is agile. And it’s a shattering novelty, therefore shocking for some people. So yes, to the question “are we agile?”, we should be able to easily ask ourselves: “I know it when I see it (or not)” in a very intuitive and emotional way. Ask yourself the question. The evidence, the rupture should appear naturally (or not). I repeat myself, this answer highlights the blatant way in which we have gone astray concerning project management, management, for years.

Thanks Nathalie (@nrosenberg) for this insight.

With that, I’m going back to work on a cheesy series worthy of M6 from the 80s that I need to make spicier.