Summary

The takeaways from this chapter include the following:

• “Selling” agile is usually best done by not selling per se, but instead by listening, offering alternative solutions, and by being (or providing) a great example of what agile teams can accomplish.

• When presenting agile to the team, the members will usually object to the number of meetings, having to do gross-level estimating, the perceived lack of architectural planning, and the issue of needing a co-located team. Although all of these issues can be addressed, don’t forget to look for the hidden objections—such as fear of change—that may be driving the resistance.

• Management resistance is frequently centered around the perceived loss of control and personal identity. Although objections such as the concern for lack of long-term planning, missing Gantt charts, and matrix organizational issues can all be addressed, other issues may be deal-breakers: insistence on the success of the current method, lack of trust, or refusal to change for personal/political reasons.

• Issues of resistance from the business or customer that can be addressed include a reluctance to contract on a T&M basis, a lack of time or willingness to spend it with the team, and a need to make changes at the drop of a hat rather than on an iterative basis.

• Other methods of selling agile include socialization, brown-bag sessions, attendance at local chapter meetings, outside consultation, and simply not bothering to sell at all (going agile in “stealth” mode).