Our highest priority...

Rafa Sabbagh explains and interprets the Agile Principle: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software/product.” He tells us this principle is about our definition of success.

Let’s discuss the Agile Principle: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable product,” which is incredibly interesting and important. The original principle mentions “valuable software,” but I have made a slight modification to broaden its applicability to different product types.

In my view, this principle is fundamentally about our definition of success. To “satisfy the customer,” it says.

All Agile Principles originated back in 2001. If I were to update this specific principle, I would state that our priority is to generate value for both the user and the business. How do we accomplish this? By delivering valuable parts of the product early on and doing so frequently.

Traditionally, success relies on correctly following a plan. We create detailed plans, long ones in many cases, with a predetermined set of features, a schedule, and a budget. Success is typically measured by delivering the promised scope within these predefined constraints.

While budget and schedule considerations are undoubtedly important, we must not make promises about a detailed scope. Our success should not rely on adhering to a plan. The challenge lies in the fact that we do not know what truly needs to be built before actually building it. Our product evolves through the delivery of valuable increments, allowing us to learn and adapt along the way.

Therefore, this principle reminds us that success is not about following a plan but rather about creating value. That’s what this principle is about.