I've heard it many times that this little ditty is the essence of why Agile is problematic with its dearth of plans, estimates, etc:
"Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care,' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'So long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat"
- Lewis Carrol from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
Not so fast!
On the other hand
Alice and the Cat are not Agilists!
- No Agile project is sans a Narrative or Vision or epoch story
- No Agile project is without some tie to the business, and thus a business outcome or influence,
- No Agile project is without some commitment of resources from the business -- folks I know don't work for free
On the other hand
- Some Agile projects have trouble getting off the stage; to wit: Are we done yet?
- Some Agile projects spend the money and get little done, certainly little for the business
- All Agile projects benefit from some degree of planning and estimating, if only to frame the project onto the right first step.
Alice and the Cat are not Agilists!
Buy them at any online book retailer!
