The Death of Agile (Allen Holub)

 |  Niceties

Who is Allen Holub, his books.

The YouTube video transcript summary by DeepSeek discussing Agile and Scrum.

See also Martin Fowler's (one of Agile Manifesto's creators) The State of Agile Software in 2018 article.

Main Idea

Allen Holub argues that "real" Agile is being destroyed by corporate misinterpretations and the proliferation of "fake Agile"—primarily through Scrum, SAFe, and certification mills. He asserts that true Agile requires organizational-wide cultural change, not just process adoption, and that most large corporations are incapable of becoming truly Agile due to inflexible structures, cargo-cult thinking, and resistance to trust-based collaboration.

Key Takeaways

Agile is About Culture, Not Just Process

  • Agile is defined by the Agile Manifesto, emphasizing individuals, interactions, and flexibility over rigid processes.
  • Most companies treat Agile as a prescriptive process (like Scrum) rather than a mindset shift.
  • True agility requires eliminating organizational friction (e.g., bureaucracy, silos, governance delays).

Scrum is Part of the Problem, Not the Solution

  • Scrum is often misapplied as "Agile" when it’s just one small framework.
  • Scrum’s flaws:
    • Fixed timeboxes (Sprints) create waste (e.g., story-splitting to fit arbitrary deadlines).
    • Product Owners ≠ real customers (often just marketing reps).
    • Ignores organizational dependencies (e.g., finance, QA, procurement).
  • Scrum certifications are meaningless—many "certified" practitioners lack real Agile understanding.

Corporations Are "Cargo Cults"

  • They mimic Agile practices (stand-ups, burndown charts) without understanding why they exist.
  • Hierarchies, silos, and rigid processes (e.g., project managers, QA departments) prevent true agility.
  • Agile must be company-wide—not just an engineering team experiment.

Key Agile Principles Being Ignored

  • No project managers – Teams self-organize.
  • No deadlines – Work is priority-based, not time-boxed.
  • No separate QA – Testing is integrated into development.
  • No big tools – Agile needs simple communication (whiteboards, Post-its), not Jira/SAFe bloat.

The Danger of SAFe and Fake Agile

  • SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) is "waterfall in disguise"—it preserves corporate hierarchies.
  • Spotify’s model (tribes, squads, no managers) shows real scaling works without SAFe.
  • Tool vendors profit from dysfunction by enforcing waterfall-style tracking (e.g., burndown charts).

What Real Agile Looks Like

  • Culture of trust – No micromanagement, teams control budgets/work.
  • Direct customer collaboration – No intermediaries (like Product Owners).
  • Flexibility in process – If something isn’t working, change it immediately (no need for retrospectives in high-functioning teams).
  • Eliminate waste – Any activity not directly adding customer value (e.g., time sheets, expense reports) is waste.

Evolutionary Warning

  • Companies that fail to embrace real Agile will lose to more adaptable competitors.
  • Agile is inevitable—Darwinian pressure will favor flexible, fast-moving organizations.

Final Thought

Holub’s talk is a critique of Agile’s corporate dilution and a call to return to its core values: trust, flexibility, and customer focus. Most companies won’t survive if they cling to "fake Agile" while their competitors evolve.