Is your team or project supposed to “be agile?” You might not feel that way if you have a years-long backlog, standups are individual status reports, and everyone is still multitasking. The people on the project want to do great work. But how you work feels a lot like an “agile” death march.

There’s a reason you feel that way. You’re using fake agility—a waterfall lifecycle masquerading as an agile approach. Worse, fake agility is the norm in our industry. No one has to work that way.

Your management does not care about “agile”—but they care a lot about agility. Instead of fake agile, you can assess your culture, project, and product risks to select a different approach. You can choose how to collaborate, so you can iterate over features and when to deliver value. When you do, you are more likely to discover actual agility and an easier way to work.

Learning Objectives

• Have a clear understanding of the different lifecycles and when to use each.
• Be able to assess your project, product, and portfolio risks.
• Know how to customize a lifecycle based on the unique culture and requirements of the team.
• How to create shorter feedback loops in any lifecycle for product success.

Johanna Rothman, the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank, practical advice that you can immediately apply to your product development challenges.

She helps leaders and teams see their current reality. Because one size never fits all, she helps them explore options for what and how to change. The results? Leaders and teams learn to collaborate and focus on outcomes that matter.

Her clients and readers appreciate both her trademark practicality and humor. Explore all her books (20 and counting!) and writing at jrothman.com and createadaptablelife.com.