Q: I'm new to Agile and want to introduce it at my current company. Which framework is the best?
As this is the first post on Agilisation, it seems only fitting that I look at how you go about selecting an appropriate Agile Framework. Personally, I have quite a bit of experience working with Scrum, Kanban, Scrumban and XP and there are other frameworks out there too, such as Lean, DSDM, Rational Unified Process and newer variations on PRINCE 2. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. So which do you choose if you're looking to adopt an Agile approach to software development (or any other process) in your organization?
The short answer in my opinion is all of them, but none of them. This is because each of the 'types' of Agile out there is a framework, it's a selection of tools and techniques that help you to achieve an end goal. That end goal might be to improve software quality, to reduce time to market, to improve process visibility within your organization, all of the above or something else completely.
Sure, you need to start somewhere - so pick a framework that you think might work well for you in your current situation (based on previous experience, advice from peers, etc). Then implement it gradually, trying out new techniques from that framework as a team. If it works for your team / organization, keep it. If it doesn't, don't be afraid to discard it and move on. Read around your subject, investigate other frameworks and borrow from them too. Go back to the team and discuss these new techniques, gain buy-in and try them out too with the aim of building an improved end-to-end process that achieves your adoption goals.
Remember your end goal is not to implement Scrum, or any other methodology, it is to improve your business by using the best tools and techniques available.
