If your primary focus of using Agile is to build a product
fast, then you may be missing the point of Agile. Agile values and principles guides you to
build the most valuable software based on the needs of the customer with high
quality and in a timely manner. Notice I
did not use the word “fast” but instead I stated that it should be provided in
a timely manner per the needs of the customers.
While building it fast can help you fail fast, "fast" should
not be your primary drive and imply less focus on quality and adapting to the
needs of the customer.
Building the wrong thing fast is like driving a dragster that
races off the motorway when the road twists and turns as they often do. Instead an Agile racing car is like a Porsche
Turbo that has great suspension, performance, quality engineering, and handling
that can handle the twists and turns of the road. The twists and turns represent the changes in
customer requirements. Also building a
product fast with poor quality does not help the customer or your business in
the long run.
If you really strive to build customer value, then you need an Agile values and principles race car that will
help you deliver what the customer wants, when they want it, with high quality. If you can do this, then they will buy the
product or more of the product, increasing the likelihood of remaining loyal to
you, and helping you grow your business and they receive value.
