Working in Tech: Is the Agile Manifesto Still Relevant?
In early 2001, in the secluded mountains of Snowbird, Utah, 17 software development leaders gathered to discuss the state of their industry. Frustrated with traditional, cumbersome development processes, they shared a common goal: to find a more effective approach. The outcome of their meeting was the creation of the Agile Manifesto—a concise, 68-word document that articulated a set of values and principles to guide software development.
The Agile Manifesto took us from software development cycles that moved at a snail’s pace to an era of agility, rapid iteration and adaptability. As we embrace constant improvement and innovation in the tech sector, is it time to revisit the Manifesto itself?
What Made the Manifesto Revolutionary?
The core problem the 17 software leaders identified in Utah was around clunkiness: organizations were overly focused on planning and documenting, which often led to projects losing sight of what truly mattered — satisfying the end customer. The Agile Manifesto aimed to shift the focus back to customer value and collaboration, proposing four key values and 12 guiding principles that continue to shape the way software is developed today.
The Manifesto emphasized flexibility, customer collaboration, and responding to change—values that were radically different from the rigid, plan-driven approaches prevalent at the time. It introduced concepts such as:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
These values resonated deeply with developers and project managers alike, and soon, the Agile Manifesto became a touchstone for those seeking more adaptive and responsive ways of working.
While these principles continue to guide many organisations, however, the world around them has changed dramatically. Today, agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean are commonplace not just in software development, but across a variety of industries. With this widespread adoption, it’s natural to question whether the original principles still hold up—or if they’ve been diluted in the process.
Has Agile Lost Its Way?
The evolution of agile has not been without controversy. Some argue that agile has become a victim of its own success, resulting in the so-called "Agile Industrial Complex." This term refers to the monetization and over-complication of agile principles by consultancies and training organizations. As a result, we see the rise of “faux agile” or “dark agile”—practices that appear to follow agile rituals but miss the essence of the original values. This has led to frustration, micromanagement and even burnout in teams that fail to see the benefits promised by agile.
Ron Jeffries, one of the original authors of the Agile Manifesto, has been vocal about these misinterpretations. He uses the term “faux agile” to describe instances where teams are merely going through the motions—attending stand-up meetings, holding retrospectives—without adhering to the deeper principles of transparency, collaboration and iterative improvement.
But even with these challenges, does the Agile Manifesto still have relevance?
Is the Agile Manifesto Still a Guide for the Digital Age?
The short answer: Yes, the Agile Manifesto is still relevant—perhaps now more than ever. The principles laid out in Snowbird provide a strong foundation that, while written for software development, can be applied to any form of digital work. Even as industries have adopted agile for marketing, product development and other disciplines, the underlying values remain steadfast.
According to Tanner Wortham, an Agile Coach and Senior Technical Program Manager at LinkedIn, the Manifesto helps put a name to practices that people often follow intuitively. “Until you can name something, you really don’t know what to do about it. I think that’s what the Manifesto did. It gave it a name. And they called it agile. I think it was something that was already occurring. But when they named it, they could start more easily identifying it.”
While it’s clear that the Manifesto itself may not need an update, the way we interpret and apply it can—and should—evolve. Agile frameworks such as SAFe, LeSS, and DevOps have built on the Manifesto’s core values to address the complexities of scaling agile in large organizations. But these frameworks only succeed when the values of the Manifesto are upheld. For example, the principle of "individuals and interactions over processes and tools" can become especially critical when organizations start leaning too heavily on AI and other processes and losing sight of people.
Agile Marketing: A Natural Evolution
As we explore the relevance of the Agile Manifesto, it’s essential to recognize the emergence of agile marketing, which applies these same principles to the field of marketing. Agile marketing embraces self-organizing, cross-functional teams that work in iterative cycles, continually refining their strategies based on real-time feedback. Unlike traditional marketing approaches, which often rely on rigid planning and lengthy campaigns, agile marketing focuses on:
Frequent releases
Experimentation
Unwavering commitment to audience satisfaction
The Agile Marketing Manifesto, created in 2012, outlines the values and principles that guide this discipline, emphasising customer value and business outcomes over mere outputs.
By prioritizing customer needs and adapting quickly to change, agile marketing not only enhances responsiveness but also aligns closely with the spirit of the original. In fact, agile marketing serves as a prime example of how the values established in Snowbird can be adapted to foster innovation and responsiveness in an ever-changing landscape. It reminds us that the essence of agility lies in collaboration, continuous improvement and a deep commitment to serving our customers effectively.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Instead of rewriting the Agile Manifesto, the focus should be on reinterpreting it in the context of today’s challenges. How can we apply its values to cross-functional teams working in what Sam Altman calls The Age of Intelligence? How do we maintain customer collaboration in remote and distributed work environments? How do we stay agile when governance structures are built for linear, waterfall approaches?
As industries increasingly integrate AI, interpreting and applying these agile values becomes essential to maintaining a human-centered approach amidst automation and data-driven decision-making. That’s why the Manifesto should be seen as a living document—a starting point for conversations rather than a rigid set of rules. If organizations embrace it as such, they can better align their unique circumstances with the core values of agility. In this sense, the Agile Manifesto continues to be a guiding light, providing a cultural foundation upon which new methodologies and frameworks can stand.
