Have We Taken Agile Too Far?

In a world driven by rapid change and innovation, the concept of “agile” thinking has evolved far beyond its original roots in product development and manufacturing. Today, it’s not unusual to encounter the agile approach in various aspects of life, from budgeting to talent management and even family meetings. While agile methodologies can be powerful tools for product development, it’s becoming increasingly evident that some organizations may be taking agile too far, relying on it to the exclusion of careful planning and preparation. In this article, we’ll explore this issue and suggest how combining agile with a different approach, “working backwards,” can offer a more balanced and effective solution.

The Overreach of Agile

Agile methodologies are typically employed when an organization is developing a product or service that doesn’t yet exist but needs to move quickly. In such cases, conventional customer feedback methods may not suffice because customers can’t respond to a hypothetical product. The agile solution involves creating a prototype or minimum viable product through a series of sprints, typically lasting two weeks. The goal is to produce something good enough to show customers and gather their reactions. If the idea fails to gain traction, at least the team has saved time and resources, possibly uncovering a better idea in the process. If it succeeds, the team can iterate quickly to improve the product.

However, the working backwards approach, which emphasizes thorough planning, offers an alternative perspective. This approach emerged in 2004 at Amazon, a company renowned for its e-commerce success. Instead of diving headfirst into product development, as an agile mindset might encourage, Amazon urged a “go slow to go fast” philosophy. CEO Jeff Bezos himself referred to his role as the “chief slowdown officer.” He intervened when he felt teams were rushing into coding without a clear understanding of the customer problem and an elegant product solution.

Working backwards involves creating a fully realized vision of a proposed product, captured in a written press release for the product’s launch. This process may seem counterintuitive to software developers and product managers eager to begin coding. Teams often spend weeks or even months fine-tuning this press release and a corresponding FAQ that explains to colleagues, customers, and senior management how Amazon intends to deliver the product, balancing affordability and profitability. Only after executives approve these documents can the coding process begin.

This approach has endured, and Amazon continues to work backward from what it believes will delight customers, even if it lacks the current capabilities to produce that product. Notable Amazon products, such as the Kindle e-reader, AWS cloud computing services, and the Echo voice assistant with Alexa, have all originated from this method, even when Amazon had limited experience in these areas. These products have maintained their market dominance over time.

The Pitfalls of Speed

The core issue with agile, as many companies employ it, is that its relentless pace often leads developers to bias speed over thorough planning. Teams prioritize launching a minimum viable product in just a few weeks, potentially neglecting the essential step of defining what the product should achieve. In some cases, they make two significant compromises.

First, instead of taking the time to develop new capabilities, they opt for their existing skills, thereby accepting their current constraints and limiting the potential for a high-growth offering.

Second, they temper their product ambitions. Rather than striving for a breakthrough, they focus on incremental improvements or, in bold attempts, produce a minimum viable product that isn’t truly viable, making customer feedback unrealistic. The rush for two-week sprints often overshadows the importance of carefully assessing what’s necessary to genuinely delight customers.

It’s a common misconception that any information gathered during these sprints is valuable for future breakthrough products, yet such breakthroughs seldom materialize. Teams often get caught up in the sprint process itself, lacking the time to reflect and think deeply about what’s needed to deliver an innovative product. It’s important to remember that writing code isn’t the same as making real progress. By adopting the working backwards approach, companies can expedite successful product launches by emphasizing planning.

The Synergy of Agile and Working Backwards

We’re not suggesting that companies abandon agile altogether; it remains a highly effective tool for product development, especially in software-driven offerings. Many of its principles and processes have been successfully applied by Amazon and other companies. For incremental changes, agile is ideal, requiring minimal thought and enabling the testing of two rough alternatives in the real world, where valuable feedback is obtained.

For teams working on breakthrough products, agile can also be beneficial, provided they have completed the groundwork typically involved in the working backwards approach. During the coding and product construction phase, speed and efficiency are crucial, and sprint methods keep teams on track, ensuring the product reaches the market.

The optimal approach is to combine agile with a strategy like working backwards. Amazon, for instance, employs the working backward process for idea development and then switches to agile when building and launching the product. Even startups can adopt this balanced approach, following in the footsteps of giants like Amazon.

Conclusion

Agile has brought undeniable benefits to innovation and product development, it’s crucial not to sacrifice careful planning and preparation on the altar of speed. A combination of agile and “working backwards” offers a more holistic approach to developing successful and groundbreaking products. It’s a lesson from Amazon’s playbook that even smaller companies can learn from.