When you are truly Agile, your mindset will infiltrate non-software aspects of your organization. Lean thinking, value-driven self-assessment and re-assessments will be the norm in everything you do.
And, one thing you do often is communicate. Can we benefit the team and the organization by applying the 12 Principles of the Agile Manifesto (http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html) to communication?
1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
The timeliness of communication can arguably be more important than the timeliness of software. Your communication cannot afford to be held up in an approval process, while the public is using social media to fashion their own message in real-time. The messages produced by your employees must align with the vision and values of the company, and they must be effective and timely.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
Communication platforms change. Social network preferences and norms, audience expectations and environmental triggers all impact the most useful and suitable means of communicating your message. Do not get hung up on the usual, keep in contact with your audience, so you can adapt as they evolve.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
With many of today’s communications (eg: websites, social media), people will visit once or twice… but if nothing changes between visits, the chances of a subsequent visit will drop. You cannot afford to have your information get stale or, worse, be inaccurate or out of date.
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
For communication, the resource creating the communication will vary, depending on the information in question. But in all cases, the creator will benefit from ongoing constructive feedback.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
Do not de-motivate your creative team by editing each outgoing communication to your own style. Allow people their own style (within reason). Let them hear feedback from customers and others, so that they learn their own editing techniques.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
This is all about communication. Yes, face-to-face brings in all of the richness of body language and tone. It can convey more than just the words.
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
Effective communication and user understanding is the measure of success in communication. Does the target audience feel that they have an understanding of the frequency of your communications, do they understand them when and where to look for the answers they need? Not all communication portrays a message that people will like, but it should convey a similar meaning to all who consume the information. It should work the same way for all.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
Training materials, user handbooks and other ongoing sources of information should be designed for sustainable maintenance. The team should be able to keep up to the pace of system re-design. And keeping the information current should not be considered an optional add-on to the product development effort.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
Communication excellence involves continuous improvement in style and delivery, adaptation to audience preferences, and polishing the understanding of the message. It is an ongoing, active process.
10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
Enough said.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
Not all communication can come filtered through one source. With a strong vision and support, teams of people can pull together communications that are efficient and beneficial for the organization. They are professionals, let them use their skills.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Get feedback. Often. Regularly.
I value your feedback, so please let me know your thoughts on how we can apply the Agile principles to communication. If you have applied the principles to other non-software areas of your life or your organization, please let me know. I’d love to hear about your journey.