Why does the Agile Manifesto still prioritize "Technical Excellence" as a core principle?

All answers to this question.

You have to speak the language of "Technical Debt." Explain that every "quick and dirty" fix is like a high-interest loan. Eventually, the interest payments (bugs and slow development) will consume the team's' entire capacity, and you won't be able to deliver any new features. Agility means being able to move fast forever. Without technical excellence, you move fast for two months and then crawl for two years. Use a "Sustaining" vs. "New Feature" chart to show leadership how much time is being wasted on old mistakes. That visual usually changes the conversation.

   Answered 2024-08-21 by Susan Martinez

Does your team include "Refactoring" as part of every story, or do you try to ask for separate "Technical Debt Sprints"? I’ve found that asking for permission to do technical work usually ends in a "No."

   Answered 2024-08-24 by William Anderson

• William, we used to ask for "Tech Sprints" and were always rejected. Now, we just include the necessary refactoring in our story estimates. It’s part of the job of being a professional. If a story takes 5 points to do "right," we don't tell them it would take 3 points to do it "wrong." This has helped us maintain a much cleaner codebase without the constant friction.

     Commented 2024-08-26 by Charles King

Technical excellence is the "engine" of Agile. You can't have a fast car with a broken engine. Show them the "Bugs found in Prod" metrics to prove the point.

   Answered 2024-08-29 by Linda Robinson

• Precisely, Linda. Quality isn't an act, it's a habit. If we lose technical excellence, we aren't being Agile; we're just being fast and reckless.

     Commented 2024-08-31 by Jennifer Garcia