That's not really Agile's fault. That's PMs overcommitting the team. Those bad PMs would also make unrealistic waterfall schedules.
That's not really Agile's fault. That's PMs overcommitting the team. Those bad PMs would also make unrealistic waterfall schedules.
There's a difference between "bad PMs using the tool wrong" and "ordinary, human PMs using the tool in the way that common business incentives would lead you to predict they'll use it".
If the tool is used wrong most of the time, it's at least partially to blame.
"If the tool is used wrong most of the time, it's at least partially to blame."
Only if there were other tools that didn't fall victim to the same business incentives, but they all do.
I've had PMs that find a balance with the business incentives and make it work. If you’re human and make the wrong choices, then most people, including me, will likely call you bad in that context. If they can't stand up to find balance with the business incentives, then they're a bad PM. That doesn't make them a bad person.
I mean if something doesn't ever work in real life then its not good. Intentions aside.
I have seen Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) work in multiple real program teams. Doing it successfully requires total commitment at multiple levels and many organizations are culturally incapable of making the transitions.
To be clear I am not claiming that SAFe is necessarily the best possible methodology. There is certainly room for improvement. But empirically it can work in real life.
The organizations I've seen do SAFe at the top level "coincidentally" have so much in the way of resources that if they do software at the group level at all, they do it like a gentleman farms.
"I mean if something doesn't ever work in real life then its not good."
Are you talking about Agile, Waterfall, or project management in general?
I've seen Agile work just fine. I've also seen it fail miserably. I've seen both of these at the same company with the main difference being how aggressive/delusional the leadership is. The easy test is if your leadership is legitimately ok with your team going home early if you complete your sprint commitment early, and it actually happens on occasion.
"Are you talking about Agile, Waterfall, or project management in general?" lol, yes